Canadian Immigration Minister Seeks more International Students

Canada's Minister of Citizenship and Immigration has announced plans to dramatically increase the number of foreign students that the country admits annually. Although no specific numbers have been quoted as yet, it was pointed out that Australia admits as many as 10 times as many foreign students from nations such as India than does Canada.

Canadian Experience Class Enacted

Following the recent announcement of plans to create a new class of Canadian Immigration application, Citizenship and Immigration Canada has announced the formal enacting of the Canadian Experience Class effective September 17 2008. This class of application allows candidates with past and present Canadian education or work experience to seek fast-tracked immigration to Canada, and which does not necessitate that the candidate leave Canada during the process.

“With the Canadian Experience Class fully in place, Canada will be more competitive in attracting and retaining individuals with the skills we need,” said the Minister of Immigration. “It, along with other recent improvements to modernize the immigration system, will go a long way in bringing Canada in line with its global competitors while further spreading the benefits of immigration into smaller centres across Canada.”

An important improvement has been announced since the original plan was described: eligible applicants who have departed Canada will remain qualified to apply in the Canadian Experience Class withing one year of such departure. The intention of this change is to enable qualified candidates to apply, even if they do not any longer possess valid Canadian temporary resident status.

Immigration in the Canadian Experience Class

Following proposals included in the 2003 implementation of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, Canada's Minister of Immigration has publish proposal regarding the Canadian Experience Class. This class of immigration, complementing the Skilled Worker class and Provincial Nominee Programs, will permit certain foreign graduates and foreign workers to apply for fast-tracked immigration within Canada.

Under the proposed changes, graduates of certain Canadian post-secondary academic institutions with Canadian work experience would need to meet the following minimum requirements:

• graduation from a minimum of a two-year program at a public of private post-secondary institution, accredited and legislatively authorized to grant degrees;
• valid temporary resident status in Canada at the time of their application;
• at least one year of skilled, professional or technical work experience (National Occupation Classification code 0, A, or B); and
• moderate or basic language skills, depending on occupational skill level.

Similarly, a foreign worker can qualify by meeting the following minimum requirements:

• valid temporary resident status in Canada at the time of their application;
• at least two years of skilled, professional or technical work experience (National Occupation Classification code 0, A, or B);
• moderate or basic language skills, depending on occupational skill level.

The proposed amendments to the legislation are presently under discussion. Final changes to the legislation will following the discussion period.