CANADA IMMIGRATION NEWS AND TIPS

BOOK A TELEPHONE MEETING    Dear Miss Powell, My husband is sponsoring me to go to Canada and a travel agent helped us to put together our application. She said she submitted the application over three months now, but we haven’t heard from the Canadian government. We asked the travel agent what next. She said that we just need to be patient, and as soon as she has a response she will get in touch. I know we need to be patient, but I’m still anxious as a lot of time has passed. Do we have to do an interview? I just need to know the steps to expect, to make sure we are on the right track. Thanks for your help. – RB I must say I am amazed that you used a ‘travel agent’ to submit a sponsorship application to the Canadian government. Was this travel agent also a Canadian lawyer or an immigration consultant? Did you pay her to submit the application on your behalf? Did you get copies of the documents that were submitted and a tracking number, if the application was submitted via courier? BOO

BOOK A TELEPHONE MEETING    Dear Miss Powell, I keep hearing that there is a shortage of labour in Canada, but it looks like they have scrapped the Federal Skilled Worker Programme as I haven’t heard of anyone being selected lately. I am waiting to see if they will start selecting people again before I apply, as I don’t want to waste my time and money. Are they still selecting people from outside of Canada? What other options are there to move to Canada? Should I be exploring other opportunities in other countries? What do you think? – AH Dear AH Canada has been recognised as one of the best countries for immigrants and I have written articles highlighting some of the benefits of living in Canada. Furthermore, Canada has one of the most generous immigration systems in the world. In fact, the government announced last year that they intend to welcome 401,000 new permanent residents in 2021, 411,000 in 2022, and 421,000 in 2023. Canada has over 80 economic class of immigration programmes

BOOK A TELEPHONE MEETING    Dear Ms Powell, I recently completed my bachelor’s degree a little early and would like to pursue studies abroad. I was looking at various countries and I can’t make up my mind. My family members are suggesting the USA, UK and various countries in Europe. However, I’m drawn to Canada based on your weekly articles and Facebook posts. My degree is in management studies and I am thinking of a postgraduate professional certificate, MBA or something along those lines. I was looking at the University of Toronto, but I’m still not sure which programme yet. Do you think it would be easy to get a visa to pursue studies in Canada? Is it expensive to study in Canada? Can I work and go to school? Thank you in advance for your time. – L.L. Good day LL, Congratulations on completing your first degree early and on your decision to pursue postgraduate studies in Canada. In today’s competitive world, the best thing you can do for yourself is to pursue education that can give

  BOOK A TELEPHONE MEETING  Dear Miss Powell, I saw where you wrote something about The Global Skills category of work permit in a recent article. I read that those applications can be processed in two weeks, and it is for highly skilled persons. Can you tell me a bit more about this opportunity and how I can apply for a work permit? – P.O. Dear PO, Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) introduced the Global Skills Stream category under the Temporary Foreign Worker Programme in 2017. Under this stream, most applications can be processed in under a month. To apply under this category, you must have a job offer from an approved employer. The work permit will be granted for you to work with that named employer only. This category is employer-driven, as the employer will be the one who must first convince the government that there is a general need and shortage of persons with that required talent in Canada. BOOK A TELEPHONE MEETING  CATEGORIES A AND B There are two categories