New Farm Worker Programme Provides Route To Citizenship

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Dear Miss Powell,

My husband is a farm worker in Canada. He heard that there is a new programme that can help him to get citizenship. His employer said it is called the Agri-Food Pilot programme and he should talk to a lawyer about it. Can you tell us more about it, and if my husband can apply for us and our children to become citizens in Canada?

– K.W.

Dear K.W.,

Immigration Refugee and Citizenship Canada launched a new programme called the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot which is designed specifically to assist foreign workers in the agri-food industry to get permanent resident status. After living and working in Canada for a few years, the applicant and family could be eligible to apply for Canadian citizenship.

The three-year industry-specific programme is intended to assist Canadian employers in livestock rearing, the meat industry, mushroom and greenhouse production to recruit and retain qualified employees to work permanently in Canada.

The main goal of this programme is to supplement the other immigration programmes, such as the Atlantic Immigration Pilot, the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot, the caregivers’ pilots, the Global Skills Strategy, the Express Entry, and the Provincial Nominee Programmes.

Employers in the agriculture and agri-food sector will now have access to the skills and labour required to strengthen Canada’s food sector, help to grow the economy, and generally contribute to improving the living standards for all in Canada.

The programme will run from May 15, 2020, to May 14, 2023, and a total of 2,750 applications will be accepted annually. Successful applicants will have the opportunity to be on a pathway to permanent residence and, ultimately, citizenship of Canada.

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WHO CAN APPLY

You did not provide details about your husband’s, occupation. However, you should note that the persons who would qualify for this programme are non-seasonal workers in the agri-food sectors who have a job offer. The occupations and industries eligible under the pilot include meat product manufacturing, greenhouse, nursery and floriculture production, mushroom production, animal production, excluding aquaculture.

This means that the following occupations are eligible: retail butchers, industrial butchers, farm supervisors and specialised livestock workers, food-processing labourers, and general farm workers, harvesting labourers.

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EXCEPTIONS

This programme is applicable to all provinces except Quebec. Individuals who are employed in and interested in remaining in Quebec, should submit their application under the Canada-Quebec Accord.

Work experience: Applicants must have a minimum of 12 months of full-time, non-seasonal Canadian work experience. The work experience in Canada must fall under one of the occupations mentioned above.

Education: Like most programmes, education is particularly important. Applicants must demonstrate that they have a minimum of the equivalent of a Canadian high-school level education. An educational credential assessment report will be required for international education.

Language: Language competence must be proven. Therefore, applicants will need to sit the International English Language Testing System general training or the Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Programme – General English exams, or the test d’Évaluation de Français examinations to demonstrate a minimum of Canadian Language Benchmark Level 4 in English or French.

Settlement funds: Although settlement funds are required under this programme, since your husband is already in Canada, if he has a valid work permit and job offer when he applies, he will not need to provide proof of settlement funds.

I strongly recommend that you both consult with a Canadian immigration lawyer immediately to evaluate your family’s eligibility under this new pilot or other immigration programmes.

Click link to complete our free online form to FIND OUT IF YOU QUALIFY TO COME TO CANADA.

Deidre S. Powell is an immigration lawyer, mediator and notary public with office in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Submit your questions and comments to info@deidrepowell.com or call 613.695.8777. Website:www.deidrepowell.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the latest news and special offers.