In order to offer Immigration advice, Immigration Consultants must be regulated by the Immigration Consultants Regulatory Council of Canada (CICC). The CICC is a national regulatory body that serves and protects the public by overseeing licensed immigration and citizenship consulting and international student advising professionals. By law all consultants are required to register with the CICC. To become a member, you have to complete an exam, go through a background check and submit to compliance audits.

Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants are also required to attend a number of hours of training each year to ensure they are up to date on their Immigration knowledge. Immigration Rules and Regulations are constantly changing and it is important that you receive accurate and update to advice.

Unfortunately there are many “ghost consultants” operating outside these rules. Some of them tout “special connections” with government officials and promise prospective clients guaranteed visas or work permits when they know they can’t deliver. It is unfortunate that unsuspecting customers are falling victim to crooked consultants who lack qualifications, fail to file paperwork, or simply take their money and run.

Here at SYMY Immigration Consultants and Recruitment we have a team of 4 regulated consultants.  Our consultants are professional, knowledgeable and we proudly offer the most accurate Immigration advice and guidance.   As a medium-sized company with a large client base, as well as years of experience, we are certain the advice your will receive will not steer you astray.

Spousal Sponsorship

A Canadian citizen or permanent resident may sponsor a spouse or common-law partner for Canadian Permanent Residency.

The most common delay in processing spousal sponsorship applications are incomplete and inaccurate applications.  Let our expert consultants at SYMY help you through the complex process of your spousal sponsorship application to make sure your application is complete and accurate, thereby ensuring your greatest chances of success, sooner.

At SYMY Immigration Consultants and Recruitment we understand the stresses of being separated from your loved ones.  We will do our best to ensure you and your partner get together and stay together.  

To be eligible to apply under the Family Class Spousal Sponsorship Program, you and your partner must prove that your relationship qualifies under one of three categories:

• Spouse
• Common-law Partner
• Conjugal Partner

Furthermore, as a sponsor you must meet certain sponsorship eligibility criteria.  In order to sponsor a spouse, common-law or conjugal partner (partner), you must be:

• Canadian citizen or a
• permanent resident of Canada.
• To be a sponsor, you must be 18 or older.
• Agree to support them financially. This means you have to meet certain income guidelines.

There are certain factors that may make you ineligible to sponsor your partner.  You may not be eligible to be a sponsor if you:

• did not meet the terms of a sponsorship agreement in the past,
• did not pay alimony or child support even though a court ordered it,
• get government financial help for reasons other than being disabled,
• were convicted of a serious criminal offence
• were sponsored as a spouse, common-law or conjugal partner in the past and became a permanent resident of Canada less than five years ago
• did not pay back an immigration loan, made late payments or missed payments,
• have declared bankruptcy and have not been released from it yet.

If you are eligible to apply under the Family Class Spousal Sponsorship Program.  There are two streams to consider:

In-Canada vs Outside of Canada Applications

Spousal sponsorships can be completed both if the person to be sponsored is living within Canada, or if they currently live abroad.  While processing times are generally faster for applications made outside of Canada,  many couples wish to remain together in Canada during the sponsorship process.

In Canada Processing

In Canada Processing is available if both the sponsor and the applicant are living in Canada.

CIC processes spousal sponsorship applications in two stages. Once the first stage of the application has been approved, the person being sponsored is eligible to apply for an Open Work Permit. An individual holding an Open Work Permit may work for any employer in Canada, or may be self-employed, while they wait to hear the results of their permanent residency application.

Outland Sponsorships

Outland sponsorship follows a two-stage structure similar to that of Inland sponsorship. However, unlike the Inland process, the first stage of Outland sponsorship does not make the sponsored spouse eligible for an Open Work Permit. A foreign spouse in this situation can still apply for a temporary work permit, but he or she will be subject to general requirements for work permit eligibility.

To find out which avenue is best for you, contact us at immigration@symyimmigration.com

The application process:

As part of the application process, Citizenship and Immigration Canada will ask you to complete numerous forms, they will ask for supporting documents and for evidence that your relationship is genuine.  Compiling a complete and compelling application is the key to receiveing a positive decision.  At SYMY Immigration Consultants and Recruitment, we take pride in our ability to submit applications of only the highest quality ensuring the greatest chances of success.  We want to see you start your happily ever after as soon as possible.

After Sponsorship:

Permanent Residency granted under the Spousal Sponsorship program comes with some conditions and it is important to be aware of these conditions.

• The sponsor is financially responsible for the person sponsored for three years after the sponsored person becomes a permanent resident.
• A two-year legitimate relationship regulation applies to spouses/partners who have been in a relationship for two years or less and who have no children in common with their sponsor at the time of application submission. Once in Canada, the sponsored person must live with their spouse/partner in a ‘legitimate relationship’ for two years, or face the possibility of having their Permanent Residency revoked. Exceptions will be made for sponsored spouses or partners who are suffering from abuse or neglect.
• Individuals who come to Canada as spouses are banned from sponsoring a spouse in turn for five years after receiving Canadian Permanent Residency.

For more information please contact us today.  To find out if you and your partner are eligible for spousal sponsorship, please fill out our free online assessment.

Last month Citizenship and Immigration Canada  announced how many immigrants it aims to attract for the coming year.  They also revealed a breakdown of how many immigrants will be granted entry under each of the various Canadian immigration programs.  For the coming year, the economic category will account for the largest segment of overall admissions at almost 65%.  The new Express Entry system will be the platform used to manage applications in the Economic Immigration stream.

At SYMY Immigration Consultants and Recruitment we are experts in Economic Class Immigration Programs and Express Entry. 

Of the targeted 285,000 immigrants to be selected for permanent residence in Canada in 2015, roughly 185,00 are expected to be economic immigrants.  By focusing on economic immigration, the government hopes to attract workers who will succeed in the Canadian economy and who will be able to integrate smoothly into Canadian society.

“We are recruiting a higher calibre of economic immigrants than we have ever seen before,” stated federal Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Chris Alexander.  Express Entry to be launched in January 2015,  will help the government attract the skilled immigrants who are the most likely to succeed.  Not only benefitting the foreign national, but the Canadian workforce and economy as well.

Economic Immigration is segmented into different classes all of which will be managed by the new online platform called Express Entry.  The 4 main economic immigration programs for Permanent Residence (PR); are:

• the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP),
• the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP),
• Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and
• parts of the Province’s and Territories’ PNP programs.

To see if you qualify under any of the 4 economic streams fill out our free assessment. For more information on Express Entry, download our informational PDF.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) estimates that around 51,000 federal skilled workers will be selected in 2015.  The Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs), like the AINP have  received a modest boost in allocation numbers under the new immigration plan. PNPs allow provinces to nominate individuals who wish to immigrate based on local labour market needs.  The Canadian Experience Class is for those who are currently in Canada working or studying and would like to stay permanently.  Other economic immigrants targeted for Canadian permanent residence in Canada include the various federal and provincial business and investor programs.  You can read more about the business investor programs in our coming blogs.

Economic Immigration is not the sole focus of Citizenship and Immigration Canada.  Family reunification and refugee cases remain a priority.  Canada’s stated intention to reunite permanent residents in Canada with their families abroad remains intact under the 2015 immigration plan, as will cases made by individuals seeking permanent residence as refugees.

Family sponsorship is expected to result in 68,000 new permanent residents next year. This figure covers: (Insert Hyperlinks)spousal sponsorships, parent and grandparents, and sponsoring dependant children.  As Minister Alexander states: “through the 2015 immigration plan we will welcome a record number of individuals who will contribute to our economy and labour market, while also ensuring that we reunite more families and continue to provide assistance to the world’s most vulnerable populations,” said Minister Alexander.

Let SYMY Immigration Consultants and Recruitment take care of all your Canada Immigration needs!

Contact us today, or fill out or free online assessment to see which Canadian Immigration Program you qualify for.  Let us help you make your new beginning here in Canada.

The changes have made it harder for employers to access the foreign labour market.  The federal Government has introduced a cap to limit the proportion of low-wage temporary foreign workers that a business can employ. The cap will significantly restrict access to the Program. Employers of low-skilled, entry-level positions were hardest hit by the changes.  For example the accommodation, food services and retail-trade sectors were essentially barred from the program unless they operate in an area where unemployment is below 6 per cent.

Business groups representing employers of entry-level workers are forming a coalition to push back against the changes.  Four employer groups have written a joint letter to the government calling for some of the provisions to be softened:  The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), Restaurants Canada, the Retail Council of Canada and the Tourism Industry of Canada sent the letter Monday outlining their concerns.  The employer coalition wants that 6-per-cent rule reconsidered. They also want the government to reconsider a new rule that caps and gradually lowers the percentage of low-wage temporary foreign workers at each work site from 30 per cent to 10 per cent by July 1, 2016.

CFIB president and CEO Dan Kelly says the temporary foreign worker program has been legitimately criticized for using TFWs to fill permanent labour market needs.  He adds that small businesses would much rather hire permanent workers, but the immigration system doesn’t allow them to hire people with entry-level skills. The Canadian economy needs workers at all skill levels, Kelly says.  The Canadian Federation of Independent Business is calling on Ottawa to replace its controversial temporary foreign worker program with a visa that would provide a path to permanent residence for entry-level employees from abroad.

Government officials are also  pressing for changes to the new regulations.  In Alberta, Jobs Minister Ric McIver said the province has sent a letter to federal Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander.  “I would like the federal government to take the cap off of the maximum number of provincial nominees that we can appoint so that we can bring in the people that we need,” McIver said in an interview Monday.  McIver speculates that Alberta will be short 96,000 workers by 2023.  Foreign workers are required to fill that labour shortage for both skilled and non-skilled labour.

By the end of July 2015, IRCC conducted 13 draws, issuing 15,980 invitations to apply for permanent residence.  Some highlights:

• IRCC received profiles from 112,701 potential candidates between January 1 and July 6, 2015.
• A total of 48,723 were not eligible for the pool as they did not meet the minimum criteria for permanent residence based on the Federal Skilled Worker, Canadian Experience Class, Federal Skilled Trades or Provincial Nominee Program.
• Out of the 12,928 invitations issued for the period covered by the report, 70% had qualifying scores over 600 points – meaning those candidates had qualifying job offers supported by a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) or Provincial Nomination Program (PNP) Certificate.
• The vast majority of candidates (85%) invited to apply through Express Entry were already in Canada.
• Despite issuing 12,928 invitations, only 7,528 completed applications have been received. Of these completed applications, only 844 permanent resident visas have been issued, and fewer than half of these, 411, have landed in Canada as Permanent Residents.
• There were 41,218 candidates in the Express Entry pool as of July 6, 2015.
• Of the candidates still in the pool on July 6, 2015, 87% were clustered around the 300-450 comprehensive ranking score. These candidates do not have LMIA or PNP nominations and are awaiting IRCC to lower their scores for invitations.

In 2015 the government of Canada accepted 5,000 completed applications, which were submitted in just a couple of days.  The year before the same application cap was reached within three weeks.  As the system operates on a first come, first serve basis, acting fast is key for sponsors as well as applicants.

The CIC recommends applicants prepare their file now, so it can be submitted as soon as the programme opens.