Immigration Newsweek
By Atty. Henry Moyal
As most of us are heading into the holiday season and bidding farewell to the 2018 year, Canada Immigration has been busy revamping some of its programs in anticipation of allowing approximately 350,000 new immigrants in the coming years. The 2018 year is reportedly on track to reach 310,000 new immigrants.
The following are key changes that are expected in the upcoming year:
BIOMETRICS
All new immigrants and non-immigrants will soon be required to be fingerprinted. In 2019, all fifty-seven ports of entry will be equipped for biometrics. Biometric information will be valid for ten years.
Applicants in Canada will only be able to undergo biometrics at some Service Canada locations starting in the spring of 2019.
PARENT AND GRANDPARENT SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM
As in past years, the parent/grandparent sponsorship program will open in early January 2019 with a target of 20,000 qualified applicants. The lottery system has ended and it is expected to be a first in first out acceptance system.
Applicants will be required to complete an expression of interest application form and sponsors will be required to insert the exact income earned in the last years together with family size. If income is not met then application will show a warning of possible ineligibility. This is a good change compared to past years where any sponsor, regardless income, applied causing delay to those who were truly qualified.
Applying more than once is not recommended, as multiple applications will only accept the last one sent and discard earlier ones.
SPOUSE OPEN WORK PERMIT
Spouse’s or common law partners in status in Canada who have an inland sponsorship ongoing have been able to obtain an open work permit for the last several years. Average processing times to obtain these work permits was an average of 129 days in 2018. However, the expiry of the program is slated for January 31, 2019. It is not yet known if it will be extended.
BUSINESS CLASS APPLICATION
There is currently no federal investor or entrepreneur program. The new year we will likely see Canada Immigration reveal a Canadian Business Experience Class or a stream allowing post graduate work permit holders to buy a Canadian business and be self-employed on their way to be immigrants.
Attorney Henry Moyal is a certified and licensed immigration lawyer in Toronto, Ontario.
The above article is general advice only and is not intended to act as a legal document.
Send questions to Attorney Moyal by email canada@moyal.com or call 416 733 3193
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