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Australia’s annual immigration intake has gained much traction among the Australian political circle and has come up with the decision that immigration intake could be slashed but more opportunities will be provided in regional Australia for migrants.

The Australian Government has also decided to bring in some changes to its immigration programs & plans. Mr Coleman, the Australian Immigration Minister said that necessary steps & improvements are being made to immigration program which eventually could fill the employment vacancies in the regional areas.

Sponsored Family Visas Get a New Sponsorship Framework

The new sponsorship framework has brought into existence a two-step application process. The steps basically being an assessment of the sponsors and after which the lodging of visa application takes place. This was basically aimed to safeguard family members especially children & wedded partners. It is expected that there will have to be an approximate of a 3 month wait period while the sponsor is being approved before applying for the visa.

Australia is Going to Cut Permanent Immigration Intake

Since the year 2011, Australia’s annual permanent immigration intake level has been set to 190,000 and there have been no changes since then, though the intake level the previous year was only 162,000 and the family & the skilled visas had to face the cut. The Prime Minister shared his views that the states and the territories should be playing a major role in deciding the immigration count for their respective areas.

New Parents Visa is About to Available in 2019

Parents of migrants get to stay in Australia with the new temporary sponsored parent visa. This visa allows individuals who are parents of immigrants to stay for a period of five years in Australia. Immigrants can get to choose between the three-year visa and the five-year visa which comes at a cost of $5000 & $10,000 respectively. The sponsors should have to make sure that their parents have health insurance and do not have any debts and should act as financial guarantors. It should be noted that immigrant couples can sponsor only one set of parents for this particular visa.

Business Visas that Doesn’t Require Any Evidence of Investment

The Australian Government has taken necessary measures to boost the economy of the country and this special visa stands as proof for that. This visa won’t require any capital plans to be explained and allows the visa holders (The Federal Government Endorsed-Subclass 408) to reside in Australia for a period of three years with their families.

The Australian Government is taking the necessary measures which would make immigration easier for potential candidates from all parts of the world. To know more about Australian immigration programs & how to migrate to Australia, get in touch with our team of experts.

The Nova Scotian Government seemed to be active in accepting & approving immigration applications which led Nova Scotia create a record number of approved applications in 2018. Nova Scotia has also stated that it is taking necessary steps to welcome an increased number of new permanent residents this year.

Nova Scotia during the year 2018 approved 2,272 applications from immigration candidates, which is definitely an increase in the number when compared to 1,651 approvals during the year 2017. The split up for the 2,272 approved applications are 1400 from the Nova Scotia Nominee Program and the rest 872 belong to Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program.

The Nova Scotia Nominee Program allows the Nova Scotian Government to nominate a fixed number of candidates for Canadian Permanent Residence who the government feels eligible to obtain a Canadian PR.

The Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program is a program that is taken care together by the Atlantic provinces (Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Newfoundland & Labrador) and the Canadian federal government. This program allows the provinces to take in international workers for positions that were not able to be filled locally.

Number of Immigrants Settling in Nova Scotia Expected to Create a Record:

The Nova Scotian province is considering immigration as a serious factor for the province’s population growth and the immigration count has only been increasing for the past three years taking the number of residents to 964,693 as of October 1^st.

Nova Scotia also reported that between the periods of January 1 and October 31^st 2018, a huge number of 5,225 newcomers made their way into the province and the possibilities of exceeding 2016’s record of 5,485 arrivals have increased.

The Nova Scotian Government is continuously working and taking the necessary steps to improve the province’s immigration count under its various immigration programs. To know more about Nova Scotia and its immigration programs, get in touch with us now!

The Canadian Government in its recent tweet said that the Parent and Grandparents Sponsorship Program will be reopened in late January and will start to accept Expressions of Interest. IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) also said that the date of the next opening will be released somewhere during the upcoming weeks.

The Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) allows citizens or permanent residents of Canada who are aged above 18 to sponsor their parents & grandparents to obtain a Canadian Permanent Resident Visa. During the previous year (2018), the program started to accept Expressions of Interest on the 2^nd of January but for this year, it seems that the Canadian Government is not following the same pattern.

IRCC stated that it expects to process 20,000 PGP expression of interest this particular year and issued to eligible sponsors in the first-come, first-serve method. Earlier, IRCC was making use of the randomized lottery process for the program which gathered much criticism from applicants and stated the method as an unfair selection process as a result of which IRCC introduced the first-come, first-serve method for selecting applicants. IRCC also said that this method will induce efficiency & flexibility for the application processing ensuring that maximum applications would be received.

The Canadian government has been helping families get reunited with its various Family Sponsorship Program and the Parents and Grandparents Sponsorship Program is one under the same. To know more about the PGP program or to check your eligibility to migrate to Canada, get in touch with our experts now!

2018 was an exceptionally good year for both Canada and the Express Entry Candidates. The Canadian government issued a massive number of record-breaking Invitations to Apply to the Express Entry Candidates. The figures were 89,800, breaking the previous year’s record and this trend is nowhere seen to be declining in the future.

Canada introduced the Express Entry Program during 2015 in an effort to welcome skilled workers from different parts of the world under the three most important immigration categories: The Federal Skilled Worker Class, Federal Skilled Trades Class and the Canadian Experience Class. During the year 2017, the number of Invitations issued was 86,023 while it was only 33,782 Invitations during the year 2016.

This shows us that the Canadian government is continually stepping up the immigration count year by year in order to meet the increasing demands in every single province. In fact, the Canadian Government has planned to increase the admission targets by 6,500 for 2019 and by another 4,400 for the year 2020.

Will There be Increased Draws or Bigger Draws During 2019?

The year 2018 started with its first Express Entry Draw on the 10^th of January and issued 2,750 Invitations respectively and the volume started to gradually increase leaving up to 3900 ITA’s issued in the last Express Entry Draw of the year.

With the Canadian Government’s increased admission targets, it is expected that IRCC will be holding Express Entry Draws less than two weeks apart on an increasingly regular basis during the upcoming years.

Provincial Nominee Program’s Growth During 2018

Out of the thirteen Canadian provinces & territories, nine provinces, and two territories participated in Canada’s Provincial Nominee Program allowing them to nominate a fixed number of economic immigrants for Permanent Residents every single year.

Obtaining a Provincial Nomination Certificate from one of the Canadian provinces can help candidates get an additional 600 CRS scores, guaranteeing them their ticket to migrate to Canada. IRCC said that among the entire 62,500 ITA’s issued during 2018’s first eight months 12 percent of them were to applicants with a provincial nomination. Like the Express Entry Program having increased admission targets, the PNP’s target will also rise in the upcoming years of 2020 & 2021.

The Express Entry Program has bought in major changes for Canada and the upcoming year 2019 seems to get bigger. To know more about the Express Entry Program and to check your eligibility to migrate to Canada, get in touch with our experts and get a free eligibility assessment now!

The 31^st of December is when Canada’s second phase of mandatory fingerprints and photo requirements will be implemented. The expansion will take place and be applicable to people from Asia, Asia Pacific and America.

The Canadian Government introduced the biometric system in order to strengthen the Canadian border and to prevent any fraudulent immigration activities, making the country an overall better place for immigrants.

The first expansion of Canada’s Biometric Program took place on the 31^st of July, making it mandatory for people immigrating from regions of Europe, Africa & the Middle East to submit their biometric details. The second stage of expansion which is about to happen on the 31^st of December will be making it mandatory for people immigrating from Asia, Asia Pacific & the Americas to submit their biometric details.

Obtaining Biometric details from immigrating individuals helps the Canadian government prevent the below-listed from happening in the future.

• Potential criminals from entering the Canadian borders.
• Identify and safeguard from fraud & theft.
• Prevent deportees from coming to Canada again without proper permission.
• Prevents failed refugee claimant who tries to enter Canada by producing false documents.

Applicants can submit their biometric details at the nearest Visa Application Centre which is authorized by the Canadian Government. The cost to submit biometric details for a first-time applicant would be CAD $85 and for a family, it would cost CAD $170. To make things easier for individuals, the Canadian Government has planned to have at least 149 Visa Application Centres by November 2019 in 99 countries.

The Canadian Government has also stated that fingerprints obtained from immigrating individuals will be treated with the highest security level & privacy by using encryption and will be kept in record for a period of 15 years after which it will be deleted. To know more about the Canadian Biometrics System or to migrate to Canada, get in touch with our experts and get free counselling & an eligibility assessment.

It seems that the number of Indians opting to live in Canada is continuously on the rise and this has eventually lead to a steep increase of Indians obtaining Canadian Citizenship to 50% when compared with the previous year. Figures state that during the end of October an approximate of 15,000 Indians obtained a Canadian Citizenship.

India is a country which is known for its huge well-educated population looking forward for more opportunities and not to mention the fact that Canada as an ideal place to migrate, the number of people moving to Canada is on the rise. The Canadian Government, for an individual to obtain Canadian Citizenship has specified that he/she should be residing in Canada for a period of three out of five years on their permanent residency.

During the year 2017, the number of Canadian Citizenship granted to Indians was 9,992 and during the year 2018, the number of granted citizenships were 15,016 which is quite massive and is a 50 per cent increase when compared with the previous year.

According to IRCC (Refugees and Citizenship Canada), approximate of 1.53 lakh people till the end of 2018 October, which is a year from the release of the new relaxed citizenship rules. Before the new rules were brought into effect, the number of citizenships granted the previous year was an estimated 1.08 lakhs said IRCC.

Despite this, there are many other Indians who live & work in Canada and are looking forward to obtaining Canadian Citizenship. India currently stands next to the Philippines in the number of Citizenship granted this year and this trend seems to be only on the rise in the upcoming days. The high standard of living & ideal living conditions plays a major role in the increase of obtaining citizenship increases.

To know more about how to migrate to Canada, get in touch with our team of experts and check your eligibility for!

Prince Edward Island in its recent draw issued invitations to apply making it a total number of 1.240 invitations through the Express Entry and Labour Market Categories for the year 2018. The Draw held on the 20^th of December issued 74 invitations. The split up was 65 invitations to Express Entry and Labour Impact Candidates and a separate 9 invitations were issued to the Business Impact: Work Permit Stream Candidates.

Though Prince Edward Island did not provide stats & details of the minimum score or how many Express Entry Candidates were invited, it could be found that the 1,240 invitations covered up almost 86 per cent of invitations that were issued through the province’s various categories this particular year.

It should be noted that individuals who possess an Invitation to Apply for a provincial nomination gain 600 additional CRS points which improves their chances to obtain a Canadian PR to a great extent. Prince Edward Island’s Express Entry Category is for candidates who have a profile in the Express Entry Stream. The Express Entry Stream is responsible for Canada’s three highly skilled immigration categories which are the Canadian Experience Class, the Federal Skilled Worker Class & the Federal Skilled Trades Class.

In order for an individual to get a PEI provincial nomination, he/she should surpass the initial requirements such as creating an express entry profile by showing their basic details and must submit an EOI to Prince Edward Island.

Candidates will be assessed on the province’s unique points-based system and those who meet the market’s labour demand will be sent an invitation to apply for provincial nomination. Instances may also happen where PEI would issue an ITA to a candidate who has no Express Entry Profile but matches with the province’s requirements.

The Labour Impact Category Candidates should either be having a job offer from a PEI employer or should currently be working with one of PEI’s employer whereas, the Business Impact Stream provides entrepreneurs with temporary work permits.

Get in touch with us to know more about Prince Edward Island’s processing ways and check your eligibility to migrate for free!

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada(IRCC) invited 3900 candidates to apply for permanent residence in Canada in the latest Express Entry held on December 19. With this draw, IRCC has set a new record in the number of ITAs issued through Express Entry in a single year. The total number of ITAs issued in 2018 is 89,800, compared 86,023 invitations issued in 2017.

The Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score requirement in the draw, 439, is the lowest of this year. It is for the first time CRS score requirement is dropping below 440 in 2018. Usually, Express Entry draws take place in every two weeks. But this time, the time gap between two of the latest consecutive Express Entry draws was only one week. As the time gap was shorter, the number of profiles submitted to the Express Entry pool must also be fewer. This is the reason for lower CRS score requirements.

As in the previous draws, tie-break rule was applied in December 19 draw as well. The date and time for tie-break was February 6, 2018, at 19:31:37 UTC. It means all candidates with a CRS score of 439 and above, who submitted their Express Entry profiles before the said date and time, were issued invitations to apply for permanent residence in Canada in the latest draw.

In 2019, Canada is planning to admit 81,400 new permanent residents through the Federal High Skilled immigration category, against 2018 target of 74900. Majority of these Federal High Skilled immigration category applications will be processed through the Express Entry system.

Minimum CRS requirements in the Express Entry draws held this year:

Express Entry is a simpler, faster Canada immigration pathway offering eligible candidates an opportunity to build a new life in Canada. If you are interested in Canada immigration, contact us for a free assessment to check your eligibility for Express Entry.

Canada has adopted the non-binding United Nations Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration that aims to optimize the “positive impacts” of migration. The agreement, signed by more than 160 UN member nations, defines migration as “a source of prosperity, innovation and sustainable development in our globalized world.” It also outlines 23 objectives for improving global cooperation on all forms of migration.

The UN pact stresses the need for enhancing the availability and flexibility of pathways for regular migration. It highlights the need for investing in skills development and facilitating the mutual recognition of skills, qualifications, and competencies. At the same time, the agreement calls for addressing the factors that compel migrants to leave their country of origin. The agreement gains more relevance in the context where more and more countries are tightening their immigration rules.

Canada’s stand on international migration pact:

The Government of Canada has observed that the pact is the first multilateral framework for the global response to migration. It gains huge relevance at a time when around 258 million people are migrants worldwide. The number is 49 per cent higher compared to the year 2000.

Canada is planning to welcome 1.3 million new permanent residents during the period between 2018 and 2021. In 2019, Canada’s target for admission is 330,800 newcomers.

23 Objectives of UN pact for international migration:

• Collect and utilize accurate and disaggregated data as a basis for evidence-based policies.
• Minimize the adverse drivers and structural factors that compel people to leave their country of origin.
• Provide accurate and timely information at all stages of migration.
• Ensure that all migrants have proof of legal identity and adequate documentation.
• Enhance availability and flexibility of pathways for regular migration.
• Facilitate fair and ethical recruitment and safeguard conditions that ensure decent work.
• Address and reduce vulnerabilities in migration.
• Save lives and establish coordinated international efforts on missing migrants.
• Strengthen the transnational response to the smuggling of migrants.
• Prevent, combat and eradicate trafficking in persons in the context of international migration.
• Manage borders in an integrated, secure and coordinated manner.
• Strengthen certainty and predictability in migration procedures for appropriate screening, assessment, and referral.
• Use migration detention only as a measure of last resort and work towards alternatives.
• Enhance consular protection, assistance, and cooperation throughout the migration cycle.
• Provide access to basic services for migrants.
• Empower migrants and societies to realize full inclusion and social cohesion.
• Eliminate all forms of discrimination and promote evidence-based public discourse to shape perceptions of migration.
• Invest in skills development and facilitate mutual recognition of skills, qualifications, and competencies.
• Create conditions for migrants and diasporas to fully contribute to sustainable development in all countries.
• Promote the faster, safer and cheaper transfer of remittances and foster financial inclusion of migrants.
• Cooperate in facilitating the safe and dignified return and readmission, as well as sustainable reintegration.
• Establish mechanisms for the portability of social security entitlements and earned benefits.
• Strengthen international cooperation and global partnerships for safe, orderly and regular migration.

Canada is keen on welcoming qualified immigrants, who can contribute to the growth of the country’s economy. Contact us for a free assessment to know if you are eligible for Canada migration.

In the latest Express Entry draw held on December 12, the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada(IRCC) issued 3900 invitations to apply(ITAs) for permanent residence in Canada. This is the sixth consecutive time in 2018, Canada is issuing 3900 ITAs in a single Express Entry Draw. This is the joint-highest number of invitations issued in any single draw so far this year.

The minimum required Comprehensive Ranking System score (CRS) was 445, the same as the previous draw held on November 28. With the latest draw, the total number of ITAs issued so far this year has become 85,900. It is only 123 ITAs away from equaling 2017 record of 86,023 ITAs. IRCC usually conducts Express Entry draws in every two weeks, which means another draw may take place before the end of this year, breaking previous year’s record.
As in the previous draws, tie-break rule was applied in this draw as well, the time stamp used being November 28, 2018, at 09:51:43 UTC. It means all candidates with a CRS score of 445 or above, who submitted their Express Entry profiles before the said date and time, were invited to apply.