Updates from Citizenship and Immigration Canada

02-08-12

Between July 31st and August 1st, 2012, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has announced new Canadian immigration initiatives and several reforms to current Canadian immigration procedures.

• • Launch of National Consultations on Immigration Levels and Mix
  • Launch of National Consultations on Improving the Immigrant Investor Program
  • Call for Proposals for Settlement Projects
  • Operational Bulletin 450- New In-Canada 2D Temporary Resident Application Forms

Launch of National Consultations on Immigration Levels and Mix

Beginning on July 31^st in Toronto, CIC’s Parliamentary Secretaries Chungsen Leung and Rick Dykstra will initiate a series of cross-country consultations on key immigration issue-areas. The aim of these consultations is to gain feedback from relevant stakeholders within the immigration community and the Canadian public at large concerning appropriate Canadian immigration levels and Canadian immigration mix. Immigration levels pertains to ‘how many’ immigrants Canada should welcome, whereas immigration mix refers to ‘what should be the mix’ amongst the three main immigration classes; economic, family and refugee/humanitarian.

The CIC consultation will target issue-areas concerning the following three questions:

1. 1. What is the appropriate intake level of immigration for Canada? Should the CIC change the number of immigrants admitted per year?
   2. What is the appropriate distribution (mix) amongst the levels of economic immigrants, family class immigrants, and refugees/persons admitted under the humanitarian class?
   3. As economic immigration has been identified as a key immigration priority for Canada’s long-term economic growth, what role should immigration play to support Canada’s economy?

By tasking Canadians with challenge of answering these difficult questions, CIC is hoping to gain some empathy from the Canadian public, in addition to their insight.

After the meeting hosted in Toronto, the Parliamentary Secretaries will hold sessions with stakeholders in Windsor, Vancouver, Halifax and Ottawa. Members of the public are also encouraged to participate, through the online consultation available until August 31^st, 2012.

Launch of National Consultations on Improving the Immigrant Investor Program

Citizenship and Immigration Canada has begun conducting a consultation on the Immigrant Investment Program (IIP). As part of the Economic Action Plan 2012 unveiled earlier this year, business immigration programs will need to be reformed to better target potential investors in Canadian businesses.

The CIC consultation is inviting relevant stakeholders and members of the Canadian public at large to offer their input on how the Government can:

• • Increase the yields of Canadian immigrant investment capital
  • Entice experienced international investors who possess the relevant resources and skills to seamlessly integrate into the Canadian economy
  • Improve the delivery of the current Canadian investment program with a more cost-effective and efficient approach

CIC encourages interested participants to inform themselves on the current Canadian investor program by reading the CIC-prepared backgrounder.   

Canadians with recommendations on an investor program which best supports Canada’s economic goals are invited to e-mail Citizenship and Immigration Canada by September 4^th, 2012 at consultations@cic.gc.ca. As CIC intends on publishing responses, they ask participants to provide clear consent in their submission e-mails along with their name, and if applicable, the name of the organization they represent. CIC will not post submissions where consent was not given.

Call for Proposals for Settlement Projects

Citizenship and Immigration Canada has issued a called for proposals for settlement programs and services, to facilitate the integration process for Canadian immigrants and help them thrive in their new home. The scope of these projects can range from the local, regional, national or even international levels. The provinces of British Columbia, Manitoba and Quebec have separate funding for the delivery of settlement services and are therefore not included as eligible regions for the call for proposals, but can be eligible if they are national or international in scope.

Funds are allocated towards the settlement and resettlement programs for newcomers to Canada which assist in their integration into Canadian society. The budget for the 2013 set of projects will fall just short of $600 million, not including funding designated for the province of Quebec. Settlement programs are directed towards immigrants whereas resettlement programs are designed for refugees. Programs can vary from language training to career counselling, network-building, as well as providing general information.

The deadline to submit proposals is September 7^th, 2012. Interested applicants can learn more about submitting proposals by visiting the CIC website.

Operational Bulletin 450 – New In-Canada 2D Temporary Resident Application Forms

Citizenship and Immigration Canada has launched new two-dimensional bar code forms for temporary residents inside Canada. The forms made their debut on July 31^st, 2012 and are applicable to all holders of Canada visitor visas, Canada student visas, and temporary Canada work permits who are already inside Canada and seek to extend their current permit’s validity or change its conditions.

The previous Application to Change Conditions, Extend Your Stay or Remain in Canada (IMM 1249) will continue to be accepted until November 1^st, 2012 but will not be obtainable online. The new forms are currently available online and can be found here:

IMM 5708: Application to Change Conditions, Extend My Stay, or Remain in Canada as a Visitor or Temporary Resident Permit Holder

IMM 5709: Application to Change Conditions, Extend My Stay, or Remain in Canada as a Student

IMM 5710: Application to Change Conditions, Extend My Stay, or Remain in Canada as a Worker

Please note that by filling out these forms electronically and selecting the “validate” button, the data will automatically be sent to the Global Case Management System. However, these forms are not e-applications and are therefore not available through MyCIC. Instead, the applications will need to be printed, signed by applicants and submitted to the Case Processing Centre, Vegreville (CPC-V) in Vegreville, Alberta.

Please contact FWCanada directly to learn more about these new initiatives and reforms, or for any matter concerning Canadian immigration. Be sure to stay up to date on Canadian immigration news by following FWCanada on Twitter @FWCanada.