Central Intake Office Gears up for Canadian Immigration Applications

Citizenship and Immigration Canada has designated the Case Processing Centre in Sydney, Nova Scotia as the Central Intake Office (CIO) for new Skilled Worker applications with two exceptions:

1. Cases in which the applicant has Arranged Employment in Canada or
2. Cases in which the candidate is legally resident in Canada as a foreign student or foreign worker for 12 months prior to applying.

Arranged Employment means that the applicant has a permanent offer of employment by a Canadian employer and that offer has been confirmed by the regional Service Canada office. Applicants in these cases would apply directly to the visa office responsible for the jurisdiction of their citizenship or residence. For cases in which the candidate has been a foreign student or foreign worker for at least 12 months, the case may also be submitted to the visa office responsible for the candidate's citizenship or permanent residence, or to the visa office in Buffalo, NY, USA.

For other cases, the newly designated CIO will handle receipt and paper screening of skilled worker applications. Cases which are compliant with the Ministerial Instructions will then be forwarded to the responsible visa office abroad, where processing is supposed to be completed within 6-12 months. Once the case is forwarded, candidates will have only 120 days to supply adequate documentation corroborating all regulatory requirements for eligibility.