Canada Immigration Blogs by Congra

As an update to our earlier post regarding the impact of COVID-19 on immigration dated March 25th, 2020, we would like to revisit this topic now, and to provide the most current information relating to visa processing, permanent residence processing and citizenship processing. At present, Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is not processing applications normally. Due to limited staff and volume built up over the past couple of months, processing times are no l

As the impacts of COVID-19 have been leading to daily charges in the sphere of Canadian immigration and citizenship, to follow is a summary of information that is current and that is imperative for would-be immigrants and current foreign nationals inside Canada to know. 1. Current travel restrictions announced by Transport Canada and the Governor General in Council limit entry of foreign nationals (not citizens or permanent residents) until JUNE 30, 2020. Although there have

If you are starting the process of spousal sponsorship and/or dependent sponsorship, this article is for you. Our main aim is to list useful tips that can easily be implemented by the average applicant looking to bring their family members to Canada on permanent resident status or to transfer family members from a temporary visa to PR status. Do's List: - review country-specific instructions for documents. If the principal applicant (sponsored person) lived in multiple countr

Artificial Intelligence or AI has been used in a test pilot mode since 2018 in order to automate decision-making on some categories of visa applications. An international report suggests that starting in April 2020 AI robots will be used much more prevalently in making immigration decisions than they have been in the past. There has been significant public anxiety over fairness and privacy associated with Big Data. In the age of computers and digital identities, it seems more

Many companies and individuals highlight the positive and best features of the Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program (AIPP) and the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot Program (RNIPP). It is absolutely fact that these are excellent programs featuring a simplified process to obtain work permits and/or permanent residence in Canada. For instance, you do not need a job offer backed by a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). This is a big benefit because it is an expensive and ti

The Atlantic Immigration Pilot is a pathway to permanent residence for skilled foreign workers and international graduates who want to work and live in one of Canada’s 4 Atlantic Provinces: 1. Newfoundland & Labrador 2. Prince Edward Island (PEI) 3. Nova Scotia 4. New Brunswick There are three programs to choose from as follows. Program A: International Graduates Who is this program ideal for? If you have lived and studied in an Atlantic province or are considering applying f

In early 2020, an application for permanent residence will be available under the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot for a period of three years, until 2023. This new pilot aims to attract and retain workers by providing them with an opportunity to become permanent residents and filling skill shortages, driving local economies, and creating and supporting middle-class jobs in communities across the country that will benefit all Canadians. The target industries are particularly in me

1. Is it faster to go through a provincial nominee program or through federal Express Entry? Answer: The provincial nominee program (paper application process without Express Entry) is essentially a two-step process. The first step is to apply for nomination from the province using the provincial set of application forms and checklist. However, receiving a nomination does not mean that you are a permanent resident. It would take the second step, application for permanent resi

Are you getting married soon or have you been living in a common law relationship for at least one year with a Canadian citizen or permanent resident? Are you thinking about submitting a family class sponsorship application? One of the most common misconceptions out there is that getting married to a Canadian automatically confers the same status on the foreign national or immigrant spouse. This is not the case and in fact there is a process that is not exactly fast in order

There are some monumental changes to immigration policy that allow construction workers who overstayed their visas and therefore remained in Canada illegally, to now obtain permanent resident status along with their accompanying family members. The regions of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) that are included are as follows: City of Toronto, Durham Region, Halton Region, Peel Region, York Region. Construction workers living in the aforementioned regions and working in an eligib

Many companies across Canada struggle to fill positions due to an acute labour shortage in certain industries. Canada is a vast territory of land, the second biggest country in the world in land size, with a small population of only 37.06 million (2018) people. As such, it can be difficult to find skilled workers in industries such as construction, healthcare, retail and wholesale trade, services, technology, manufacturing, agriculture and energy. We have spoken to many busin

As of June 18, 2019 Canada is now accepting applications to its two new caregiver immigration pilot programs named the Home Child Care Provider (NOC 4411 caring for children) and Home Support Worker (NOC 4412 caring for someone who needs help from a home support worker) pilot. Both pilots provide eligible caregivers with a pathway to permanent residence once they acquired two years of work experience. As pilot programs, they do have an expiry date which has been set at five y

There is a new option to immigrate to Canada for those who may be interested in living in a small community outside of the major metropolitan centres. The details of the selection criteria and eligibility are coming this summer in 2019. This program is called the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot and it is designed to invite newcomers to make these communities their forever homes. As the Canadian population ages and the birth rate declines, rural Canada’s workforce has see

1. Our clients come first. We know that without our valued customers we would not have a business so we treat each and every client equally. You will never have difficulties with getting answers to your inquiries or with follow-up regarding your immigration matter. Our mission statement conveys exactly what we perceive is our role in this industry and that is to make dreams come true one application at a time. 2. When it comes to immigration, you are risking your future, your