New Online Option For Temporary Residents in Canada

Temporary residents in Canada - including temporary workers and those with visitor visas - can now save time by renewing their permits and visas online with Canada Immigration:

Government of Canada makes it easier for temporary residents to apply for work permits or extend their visit in Canada

Ottawa, December 21, 2009 — Temporary residents seeking work permits or an extension of their visit in Canada can now apply online, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced today.

“Extending our online services to more temporary residents will significantly facilitate the application process by providing faster, more accessible and efficient services,” said Minister Kenney.

Forms submitted by mail often need to be returned because they are incomplete, adding additional time to the process. Applications online can only be submitted if they are complete, thereby contributing to faster processing. The service is open to all temporary residents except for co-op program work permit applicants.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) intends to make all types of applications available online in the future.

CIC first began offering online applications in June 2008, international students studying in Canada being the first to have access. Since then, international students have submitted close to 33,000 online applications. International students at over 200 participating educational institutions have been able to apply online for an off-campus work permit, confirm their eligibility online and renew their study permit while in Canada. They can also use our online services to apply for or extend the status of their dependent family members currently living in Canada.

Applicants can access CIC’s online services.

Work Permits for Information Technology Workers

If you wish to immigrate to Canada and apply for permanent residence and your occupation does not fall within the current restricted list of qualifying occupations, you'll need work experience in Canada first before applying for permanent residence.

In order to get work experience, you'll need a work permit. For most people, the big hurdle to overcome is to get a positive Labour Market Opinion which simply means the government agrees that it would be difficult for a Canadian employer to find a Canadian to do the work.

One way to by-pass the Labour Market Opinion requirement is to apply for a work permit under a special information technology program. Citizenship and Immigration Canada has designated certain informational technology workers who do not need to obtain a Labour Market Opinion to get a work permit.

In other words, if you fall within this category, all you need is a job offer in Canada, and the paperwork for your Canadian employer is minimal.

The qualifying IT occupations at this time are the following:

1. Senior Animation Effects Editor

2. Embedded Systems Software Designer

3. MIS Software Designer

4. Multimedia Software Developer

5. Software Developer - Services

6. Software Products Developer

7. Telecommunications Software Designer

There are detailed work and technical experience requirements for each of the above categories, but if you fit within one of them, it will be far easier for you to obtain a work permit.

Is Diabetes a Bar to Canada Immigration?

I am often asked whether diabetes makes an applicant medically inadmissible to Canada. As with many medical issues, the answer is "it depends."

Diabetes is not - generally speaking - a bar to immigration if there is no nerve end damage and it can be controlled with diet, medication or insulin.

However, an assessment is always based on personal circumstances and a medical exam. Please get legal advice and a medical opinion before deciding if your diabetes will prevent you from immigrating to Canada.

Canadian Economic Recovery Means Opportunities for Foreign Workers

The recession in Canada has come to an end. A recent report by he Toronto Dominion Bank has stated that Canada's economy will grow by a robust 2.5 per cent next year due to improvements in the housing sector, consumer spending, exports and commodity prices.

The bank's forecast is substantially higher than its previous prediction of 1.4 per cent GDP growth next year. In 2011, the Canadian economy is forecast to grow by 3.1 per cent.

TD chief economist Don Drummond said exports will contribute to Canada's growth for the first time in two years beginning in the third quarter of this year. TD estimates Canadian exports will be up 25 per cent in the July to September quarter.

Why is this important to foreign workers? As you will know from reading my blog, skilled worker applications are currently restricted to 38 occupations. One way to overcome this restriction is get work experience in Canada. As the economy continues to improve, employers will have an easier time showing difficulty in hiring Canadians for certain jobs.

Employers who can show that they need foreign workers can get a positive labour market opinion which allows a qualified foreign worker to get a work permit.

New PNP on the horizon for the Northwest Territories

This news release from CIC is important for the current immigration system. With the significant restrictions on skilled worker applicants, Provincial Nominee Programs are crucial in affording a way into the country for those who can not qualify federally.

A Provincial Nominee Program must always begin with an agreement with the federal government, so expect to see a PNP established in the Northwest Territories in the near future.

Government of Canada signs first-ever immigration agreement with Northwest Territories

Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney today announced the signing of an agreement to help attract new immigrants to the Northwest Territories. Minister Kenney made the announcement with his territorial colleagues, Education, Culture and Employment Minister Jackson Lafferty and Industry, Tourism and Investment Minister Bob McLeod.

“I am very pleased to announce the very first nominee agreement with the Northwest Territories today,” Minister Kenney said. “This pilot initiative will better extend and strengthen the benefits of immigration for the Northwest Territories and allow it to bring in the immigrants it needs faster. Provincial nominee programs are an important part of our government’s focus on ensuring that our immigration system aligns with labour market needs.”

The Northwest Territories Nominee Program (NTNP) is operated by the Government of the Northwest Territories through an agreement with Citizenship and Immigration Canada. The program will help strengthen the Territories’ economy by attracting qualified individuals to fill critical labour shortages and promote business development.

“This program will allow us to encourage the migration of skilled workers to the Northwest Territories,” Minister Lafferty said. “Foreign workers can assist us in building a strong, balanced and diversified economy that will benefit all Northerners.”

Individuals nominated by the territorial government are eligible to have their application processed on a priority basis for permanent residency through Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC). Final authority rests solely with CIC to issue permanent residency.

Applicants can be nominated for permanent residency under one of four program categories:

• Skilled Worker



• Critical Impact Worker (Service and Hospitality Sector Occupations)



• Entrepreneur Business



• Self-Employed Business

The Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment is responsible for the Entrepreneur and Self-Employed Business categories of the program. “Entrepreneurship is important in developing the Northwest Territories’ economy. This program is a new way of bringing entrepreneurs into the Territory,” Minister McLeod said.

“We will all benefit from the arrival of entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds and experiences.”Beginning today, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment will be delivering the NTNP at its service centres. This is a three-year pilot program.

New Visas Required for Mexican and Czech Citizens

Citizenship and Immigration Canada announced - without warning - that Mexican and Czech citizens now require a temporary resident visa before entering Canada.

During the peak of tourist season and the depths of the recession, this government decision makes little sense. Canada hosts over 260,000 Mexican tourists per year, and it is quite likely that many of them will seek other destinations that won't require the hassle, paperwork and fees to get a visa. This will hurt Canadian business.

The government claims that the requirements were imposed because Mexicans and Czechs make an inordinate number of refugee claims once they enter, and that the US has imposed visa requirements on Mexican citizens.

The better option in my view would be to place restrictions on refugee applications rather than severely restrict the ability of citizens of these countries to enter Canada.

Matching US requirements was not needed in Canada - we do not have the same issues with illegal Mexican workers here that they do in the US.

Looking at the bigger picture, there is no doubt that Canada will require greater immigration in future to replace our population. Preventing more people from visiting Canada means fewer will experience this country and ultimately decide to immigrate during the times we'll need them most.

Happy Canada Day

Happy Canada Day!

For newly arrived immigrants, this is a holiday to remember as the country gets out and celebrates Canada's 142nd birthday.

For potential immigrants, we hope you can join us next year!

Canada Immigration and Vulnerable Workers

The Canadian government is taking welcome steps to protect workers who are vulnerable to exploitation once they arrive in Canada:

Government of Canada introduces amendments to protect vulnerable foreign workers from human trafficking

Ottawa, June 17, 2009 — The Government of Canada will today reintroduce amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) to help protect vulnerable foreign workers such as exotic dancers and live-in caregivers who could be victims of exploitation.

The bill was tabled in the previous Parliament but died on the order paper when an election was called.

“This will strengthen Canada’s immigration system by helping to prevent situations where temporary workers in Canada may be abused, exploited or possibly become victims of human trafficking,” said Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, President of the Queen’s Privy Council and Minister for la Francophonie, Josée Verner, speaking on behalf of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney.

“The amendments will help further our agenda of increasing protections for temporary foreign workers, by preventing situations of abuse from happening in the first place,” added Labour Minister Rona Ambrose.

The bill would give the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration the authority to instruct immigration officers to deny work permits to vulnerable foreign workers who may be trafficked into Canada and forced to perform humiliating and degrading jobs against their will.

“This is one more measure that will help ensure that the expectation of safety within Canada is preserved,” added Joy Smith, Member of Parliament (Kildonan–St. Paul).

Canadian Employers Hiring Immigrant Workers

CIC is moving towards a system where many immigrants will have to find a Canadian employer as part of the immigration process. To this end, CIC is making it easier for employers to hire potential immigrants:

The Government of Canada introduces new resource for employers interested in hiring internationally trained workers

Ottawa, June 16, 2009 — A new resource to help guide employers through the hiring process for internationally trained workers was announced today by Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney.

“The Government of Canada is committed to improving the labour market integration of internationally trained workers – this is essential to building a strong Canada: socially, culturally and economically,” said Minister Kenney.

“Employers are key partners in helping internationally trained workers find jobs in their areas of training, and this resource makes it easier for employers to assess their qualifications.”

The Employer’s Roadmap will help employers meet their labour needs and will allow skilled newcomers to put their knowledge and training to work in Canada more quickly.

“This is a practical resource that employers in any sector will find useful in helping to meet their staffing needs and improve their competitiveness in a rapidly changing economy,” said Andrew Cardozo, Executive Director, The Alliance of Sector Councils (TASC). “The Employer’s Roadmap is exactly what is needed to make the process of hiring and retaining internationally trained workers a lot more efficient.”

The Employer’s Roadmap addresses questions many employers have about hiring internationally trained workers, such as how to recruit, assess and select them. It also includes suggestions on how to integrate and retain these workers once they become new employees.

Information is also provided on the range of national and regional resources available across the country to support employers.

The Employer’s Roadmap is the result of a partnership between the Foreign Credentials Referral Office (FCRO), part of Citizenship and Immigration Canada, and TASC. It is one of several measures that the Government of Canada is taking to help newcomers successfully integrate into the Canadian labour market as quickly as possible.

In addition, Canada’s Economic Action Plan includes an investment of $50 million over two years to support the development of a common approach to foreign credential recognition.

New Saskatchewan Immigration Program

The current restrictions on skilled worker applications means that applicants have to get creative and look at provincial programs.

Although most people intend to live in Vancouver, Toronto or Montreal, other cities and provinces offer potential immigrants an entry into Canada.

Here's a good article on a new Saskatchewan immigration program.

New Canadian visa scheme for entrepreneurs
June 16 2009 by Bryan Palmer

A new scheme is being launched by Candian immigration officials in Saskatchewan, with the intention of attracting foreign entrepreneurs to the region to boost business and employment.
The plan involves establishing new business immigration streams as part of the new Canadian immigration strategy.

The strategy focuses on attracting investment and entrepreneurs who may want to start new firms in Saskatchewan, thus creating jobs for the local people.

"Our new immigration initiative acknowledges the importance of entrepreneurship by building bridges between potential residents of Saskatchewan and the industries and businesses that will benefit from their investment and skills," says the province’s minister of advanced education, employment and labour, Rob Norris, who is also responsible for Canadian immigration in the region.

Under the plan, 250 immigrants will be nominated under the entrepreneurship category of the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program, over a two-year period. This will help to create around 900 new jobs, according to Norris.Earlier this month Norris said that he expected the province to grant as many as 10,000 new Canadian visas, over the coming 12 to 18 months, through the nominee programme. He said of the new arrivals, “they are bringing new ideas, new knowledge and new networks to Saskatchewan and they're helping to reinvigorate our communities.”

Conjugal Sponsorships and Canada Immigration

This is a big topic on which I've written in the past. I would like to address one question I get from so many people: "Why does Citizenship and Immigration Canada approve so few conjugal applications?"

There are some people who think that CIC targets conjugal applications for rejection. That is not true.

The reality is that most people attempting to apply through the conjugal category are simply dating. Sponsorship is reserved for people who are in a life long committed and exclusive relationship.

If you are not married, and have not lived together for at least one year, or have not even tried to live together for whatever time period you can, you have to ask yourself: are we in a life long relationship?

There are people who come to me looking for advice. They have no joint assets.

They have made no real efforts to be together other than a few weeks traveling together. They haven't even met each other's families. Objectively speaking, there is no way these people can be seen as being in a relationship that is equivalent to marriage for immigration purposes.

There are circumstances for which the conjugal application is appropriate, and I'll address those in the weeks to come.

Sponsorship and Medical Inadmissibility of a Family Member

Too often an immigration sponsorship application is rejected because a family member (whether accompanying the applicant or not) is deemed medically inadmissible. The test is whether the individual will or might reasonably cause excessive demands on the health care or social service system when that person arrives in Canada.

A recent case at the Immigation Appeal Division (Leonoff, March 31, 2009) dealt with an applicant's brother who suffered from a mental disability (the case uses the unpleasant term of "retardation").

The IAD overturned the visa officer's rejection of the application and found the brother was not medically inadmissible. The IAD stated in part:

The sponsored application for permanent residence of the appellant's parents and brother was refused on the basis that the brother was medically inadmissible in that he suffered from severe mental retardation. The appeal was allowed in law. In response to a fairness letter, the appellant submitted further medical information to counter the position taken by the medical officer that the brother's condition might reasonably be expected to cause excessive demands on health or social services. That information included letters from a psychiatrist and psychologist indicating that the brother suffered from moderate mental retardation and could be cared for at home with minimal help. It behooved the medical officer to at least indicate why he rejected their conclusions, which were different from his. There was no indication that the visa officer considered the new evidence in rejecting the applications and he failed to consider whether the medical officer’s decision had ignored evidence and was unreasonable. If that had been done, the results of the present appeal may very well have been different, as there was no reliable evidence as to what kind of services the appellant really needed and there were insufficient humanitarian and compassionate grounds to grant special relief. The refusal was invalid in law.

In other words, there was an assumption that a mental disability would prove to be burdensome on our health care system without actually investigating the facts in this case where the brother could be cared for at home with little medical intervention required.

Immigration applicants who have medical issues, or who have family members with medical issues, should be vigilent about assumptions around the amount of care required. They should voice their opinion that their medical condition can be managed without excessive demands on the health care system if possible.

Speeding Tickets and Canada Immigration

Many potential immigrants come across the criminal inadmissibilty provisions of our immigration rules and wonder if their vehicle speeding tickets will prevent them from immigrating to Canada. Surely such tickets are an offense?

Generally speaking, speeding tickets will not make you inadmissible. Section 36 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act provides that an applicant "having been convicted of an offense outside Canada, that, if committed in Canada, would constitute an offence under an Act of Parliament."

An "Act of Parliament" means federal legislation. In Canada, speeding offenses are under provincial legislation, not federal legislation. Thus, speeding tickets are not caught under the criminal inadmissibility rules.

One caveat however is if your speeding offenses amount to something more under Canadian rules than simple tickets. For example, the Criminal Code of Canada (federal legislation) contains offenses of dangerous driving, street racing, and others. If your speeding offenses fall into anything caught by the Criminal Code, you may likely be criminally inadmissible.

A Good Reason to Immigrate to Canada

Mercer has completed its 2009 ranking of the best quality of life cities in the world. Vancouver, BC came in fourth, a fraction behind Vienna, Zurich and Geneva.

The good news for immigrants is that the cost of living in Vancouver is much less than those European cities.

But Vancouver isn't the only story, Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal and Calgary also ranked highly.

Mercer summarizes North America as follows:

"There have been few changes in the rankings for North American cities. Canadian cities still dominate the top of the index for this region."

Mercer evaluates local living conditions in all the 420 cities it surveys worldwide. Living conditions are analysed according to 39 factors, grouped in 10 categories:

• Political and social environment (political stability, crime, law enforcement, etc)


• Economic environment (currency exchange regulations, banking services, etc)


• Socio-cultural environment (censorship, limitations on personal freedom, etc)


• Health and sanitation (medical supplies and services, infectious diseases, sewage, waste disposal, air pollution, etc)


• Schools and education (standard and availability of international schools, etc)


• Public services and transportation (electricity, water, public transport, traffic congestion, etc)


• Recreation (restaurants, theatres, cinemas, sports and leisure, etc)


• Consumer goods (availability of food/daily consumption items, cars, etc)


• Housing (housing, household appliances, furniture, maintenance services, etc)


• Natural environment (climate, record of natural disasters)

Canada Best Prepared for Economic Downturn

BBC News' Stephanie Flanders writes about how Canada is weathering this economic downturn better than any other G20 country. This bodes well for immigration and for continuing to attract new immigrants:

I know you can't bear the suspense. The award for "Best Prepared Country Going Into the Crisis" goes to... Canada. And what a goodie-two-shoes economy it turns out to be.

The more you look at this country's numbers, the more you understand why Gordon Brown relegated Canada to "second tier" status in the diplomatic preparations for the Summit. It was the only bit of one-upmanship with the Canadians he could still win.

Next time the prime minister talks about every country being brought down by this crisis - or the chancellor suggests that everyone made the same mistakes - remember Canada. Nowhere is immune, but by most key measures, the Canadians are coming out of this crisis in a league of their own.

Take the banking system. Canada's banks have not just had fewer bailouts than other countries. They've had none. Zero. Not a dime.

That may change - the five banks that dominate Canada's banking sector have had to write down large losses on subprime and the like. But so far they've done without government handouts. And they have raised about £5bn in equity since October. Their shares have fallen sharply, but by 40-50% - not 80-90% as they have in Britain and the US.

As the FT pointed out today, of the seven institutions in the world that still retain a triple-A Moody's credit rating, two are Canadian banks. And as their competitors have tumbled, so they have ascended the global rankings: all five Canadian banks now rank in the world top 50.

Didn't they pay a price for that boring banking - the distinct lack of securitisation and innovation? Well, it's true, Canada didn't have a nationwide house price bubble in the lead up to this crisis. And they didn't have the same kind of rise in personal debt. That's one reason the IMF used words like "resilient" and "well-placed" in its latest survey of the country's prospects.

You can see the results of this rather old-style approach in Canada's boringly consistent rate of growth. On average, between 2001 and 2007, its economy grew by 2.6%.

Across the ocean, the City was a hotbed of global financial innovation, and we were riding a heady stock market and housing boom on a sea of debt. The result? Average economic growth between 2001 and 2007 of, er, 2.6%.

Of course, Canada has been hit by this crisis - about a third of its GDP is taken up with exports to the US. The economy shrank slightly last year and the consensus is for a decline of 1.8% this year. But it looks set to have the shallowest recession of all the G7 economies, with the smallest decline in activity in 2009 and fastest growth in 2010.

Despite the openness of its economy, Canada has not even been part of the global trade imbalances I keep going on about. It had a modest surplus in the years leading up to the crisis - now it's moving into deficit.

I'm sure someone will write to tell me the blot on Canada's economic record, the fatal policy error that will cause me to sheepishly revoke its award in a few days' time. But I haven't found it yet.

Its sober management of the public finances has even left it room for a decent-sized stimulus package for this year and next. Net debt last year was an irritating 22% of GDP.

And the most impressive thing of all about Canada's position is that you are probably reading about it for the first time. Canadians are so sensible they even have the sense not to brag, in case things turn out badly for them after all.

If the UK had these vital statistics, by now the world would be sick of hearing about them. But on top of everything else, the Canadians have guarded against hubris as well. Goodie-two-shoes is right. If I were Gordon Brown, I'd be wishing Canada wasn't coming at all.

Canada Immigration and Young Workers

The new Ministerial Instruction makes having employment experience in Canada that much more important in order to immigrate to Canada. If your occupation does not fall within the narrow list of occupations in the Ministerial Instruction, you will need Canadian employment experience (or fit within other categories).

If you are between 18 and 30 years of age with no dependents, you may qualify for an open work permit if you are a citizen of a country with which Canada has an exchange agreement.

I can not list all the countries and criteria here as the list is too extensive. Countries all over the world participate, so it is worthwhile taking the time to see if your country has an agreement with Canada. If so, you may be able to work here quite easily for any employer you wish for a limited amount of time.

If you are planning to apply as a skilled worker in the future, gaining work experience in Canada first would be a wise (and possibly required) step before applying for permanent residence.

When Can a Permanent Resident Sponsor for Canada Immigration?

I get a lot of questions from new permanent residents asking when they can start the sponsorship process for parents or other relatives.

For sponsorship applications that require a sponsor to meet the low income cut off (such as sponsoring parents) that sponsor will need to 12 months of Canadian income, no matter how many assets that sponsor immigrated to Canada with.

Typically, this means a permanent resident will have to work in Canada for 1 year before starting the sponsorship process.

However, if a permanent resident had reported foreign income in Canada for 12 months - even prior to arriving in Canada - that income will generally count towards the income requirement as well.

Applications that do not require the sponsor to meet the low income cut off (typically spousal sponsorships but not always), do not require the sponsor to show 12 months of Canadian income.

New Citizenship Rules from Immigration Canada

A new law will come into effect on April 17, 2009, amending the Citizenship Act. The new law will give Canadian citizenship to certain individuals who lost it and to others who will be recognized as citizens for the first time.

Citizenship will be automatic and retroactive to the date of loss or date of birth, depending on the situation. People will not have to apply for citizenship, but may need to apply for a citizenship certificate to prove their citizenship. Individuals who are Canadian citizens at the time the law comes into effect will keep their citizenship.

Until the new law comes into effect, the current law will apply. This means that people who will become citizens under the new law are not citizens yet. Once the new law comes into effect, these people may apply for proof of citizenship.

As well, foreign-born persons adopted by a Canadian citizen between January 1, 1947, and February 14, 1977, must wait to apply for citizenship until the new law comes into effect.

This also means that people who will become citizens under the new law but wish to move to Canada before it comes into effect must contact a lawyer to find out what steps they must take to come to Canada using current immigration processes.

Also, people born outside Canada who are subject to the retention rules and who will turn 28 before the law comes into effect must still take action to retain citizenship.

Who will become a citizen

The law restores citizenship to the following individuals who lost it because of the rules in effect under the previous laws:

• People who became citizens when the first citizenship act took effect on January 1, 1947, including people born in Canada prior to 1947, war brides, and other British subjects who had lived in Canada for at least five years before 1947 and who then lost citizenship;
  
• People who were born in Canada or who became Canadian citizens on or after January 1, 1947, and who then lost their citizenship; and
  
• People who were born outside Canada, on or after January 1, 1947, in the first generation born abroad, to a parent who was a Canadian citizen at the time of the birth.

The law gives citizenship to the following individuals who have never been citizens:

• People who did not take the steps necessary to become citizens and who were born outside Canada on or after January 1, 1947, in the first generation born abroad to a parent who was a Canadian citizen at the time of the birth.

Who will not become a citizen

The following individuals will not become citizens under the new law:

• People who did not become citizens when the first citizenship act took effect on January 1, 1947;
  
• People born in Canada who are not citizens because at the time of their birth, one of their parents was a foreign diplomat;
  
• People who were born outside Canada to a Canadian parent, who are not already citizens or who lost their citizenship in the past, and who were born in the second or subsequent generation abroad;
  
• People who were born outside Canada to a Canadian parent, in the second or subsequent generation born abroad, and who lost their citizenship because they did not take the steps needed to retain their citizenship;
  
• People who renounced their citizenship as adults with the Canadian government; and
  
• People whose citizenship was revoked by the government because it was obtained by fraud.

Adoption

The rules that came into effect in December 2007 allowing children born outside Canada and adopted after February 14, 1977, to become Canadian citizens without having to become permanent residents will be extended to people adopted on or after January 1, 1947.

For the adopted person to be eligible for citizenship, certain requirements must be met, including the submission of an application. This also includes people adopted by someone who will reacquire Canadian citizenship under the new law.

Persons born or adopted outside Canada after the new law comes into effect

The new law changes the rules for people born outside Canada. Individuals born outside Canada to a parent who was a Canadian citizen at the time of the birth will only be Canadians at birth if:

• the parent was born in Canada;
  
• the parent became a Canadian citizen by immigrating to Canada and being granted citizenship.

This means that children born in another country after the new law comes into effect will not be Canadian citizens by birth if they were born outside Canada to a Canadian parent who was also born outside Canada to a Canadian parent.

This limitation will also apply to foreign-born individuals adopted by a Canadian parent. The adopted children of Canadian citizens will be considered to be the first generation born abroad.

This means that:

• if a person born outside Canada and adopted by a Canadian parent has a child outside Canada, that child will not be a citizen by birth;
  
• if a person born outside Canada and adopted by a Canadian parent adopts a child outside Canada, that child will not be eligible to apply for citizenship under the adoption provisions of the Citizenship Act; and
  
• if a person born outside Canada to a Canadian parent, in the first generation born abroad, adopts a foreign-born child, that adopted child will not be eligible to apply for citizenship under the adoption provisions of the Citizenship Act.

There are exceptions to these rules. The limitation will not apply to a child born or adopted abroad in the second or subsequent generation if, at the time of the child’s birth or adoption, their Canadian parent is working outside Canada for the Canadian government or a Canadian province or serving outside Canada with the Canadian forces.

Children who are not eligible for citizenship under the Citizenship Act may be sponsored as permanent residents and then apply for citizenship. An application for citizenship for a child under 18 may be submitted as soon as the child becomes a permanent resident.

How to prove you are a Canadian citizen

For most purposes, people born in Canada may use their provincial or territorial birth certificate to prove their Canadian citizenship. Individuals who were born in Canada, who lost their citizenship in the past and who either resumed their citizenship in the past or reacquired it under the new law should be able to use their birth certificate as proof of citizenship.
People who were born outside Canada require a citizenship certificate to prove their Canadian citizenship.

The Most Unique Way to Immigrate to Canada

Andrew Duffy of the Ottawa Citizen writes today about the most unusual way I've seen to immigrate to Canada.

Mile-high baby granted Canadian citizenship

Andrew Duffy, Canwest News Service Published: Wednesday, January 07, 2009

OTTAWA -- Canada has its first mile-high baby: Ottawa has granted citizenship to Sasha, the child born to a Ugandan woman on an international flight over Canada.

The 2.2-kilogram baby was delivered on a crowded Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Boston on New Year's Eve. The mother, who was 8 1/2-months pregnant when she boarded, went into labour about six hours into the eight-hour flight and delivered the child as the plane crossed through Canadian airspace.

Alykhan Velshi, communications director for Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, said that under the law, almost anyone born here is a Canadian citizen.

That general rule, he said, has select exceptions, one of which means that children born to foreign diplomats in this country are not Canadian citizens.

But it is the government's opinion, she said, that the rule does apply to someone born in an airplane over Canada.

"Our government believes that Canadian territory -- and, as a result, the full reach of Canadian sovereignty -- extends to our airspace," Velshi said. "This means that a child born in Canadian airspace is a Canadian citizen."

U.S. officials deemed the baby a Canadian when the plane landed at Boston's Logan International Airport at 10:30 a.m. ET, in order to speed her passage through customs. The woman and her new baby were taken to Massachusetts General Hospital, and later released.

But Canadian officials were, at first, uncertain as to whether the child was eligible for citizenship. Since there was no known precedent in Canada, federal immigration lawyers were asked to review the case.

Baby Sasha can now obtain proof of her citizenship, Velshi said, by applying to Citizenship and Immigration Canada with a birth certificate and other identification.

The name of Baby Sasha's mother has not been released by the airline. It's not clear why she decided to fly so late in her pregnancy.

Baby Sasha joined Northwest Airlines Flight 59 in dramatic fashion.

An appeal was made on the Boeing 757's public address system for help with a medical emergency and two doctors - a radiology oncologist from Minneapolis, Dr. Natarajan Raman, and Dr. Paresh Thakker, a family physician from Massachusetts - came forward, according to accounts in U.S. papers.

The doctors laid the woman across a row of seats in coach class; a blanket was rigged around the seats to create a makeshift delivery room. Thakker told the pilot that it was too late for an emergency landing since the baby had already crowned and was on its way.

Sasha was born without complications about 10 minutes later, at 9 a.m., as the flight passed over Canada's East Coast. The entire plane erupted in applause when the baby was handed to her relieved mother.

Delta Air Lines, which owns Northwest, does not impose travel restrictions on pregnant women, but it does recommend that women in their final month of pregnancy consult a doctor before flying.

Ottawa Citizen

New Rules for Skilled Workers and Canada Immigration

With the mini "constitutional crisis" over, it appears that Minister Jason Kenney's instructions to Visa officers regarding the processing of skilled workers will stand.

Note that these instructions are effective retroactive to February 27, 2008.

Unless you fall within the new criteria for federal skilled workers, your application will not be processed and your application fee refunded. You will have to find another way to immigrate to Canada.

In order to qualify within the federal skilled worker class, an applicant must have at least one of the the following (in addition to all the other requirements of the skilled worker class):

1. An offer of arranged employment in Canada, or

2. One year of employment or student experience in Canada, or

3. You must have experience in one of the following categories (NOC reference included):

0111 Financial Managers
0213 Computer and Information Systems Managers
0311 Managers in Health Care
0631 Restaurant and Food Service Managers
0632 Accommodation Service Managers
0711 Construction Managers
1111 Financial Auditors and Accountants
2113 Geologists, Geochemists and Geophysicists
2143 Mining Engineers
2144 Geological Engineers
2145 Petroleum Engineers
3111 Specialist Physicians
3112 General Practitioners and Family Physicians
3141 Audiologists and Speech Language Pathologists
3143 Occupational Therapists
3142 Physiotherapists
3151 Head Nurses and Supervisors
3152 Registered Nurses
3215 Medical Radiation Technologists
3233 Licensed Practical Nurses
4121 University Professors
4131 College and Other Vocational Instructors
6241 Chefs
6242 Cooks
7213 Contractors and Supervisors, Pipefitting Trades
7215 Contractors and Supervisors, Carpentry Trades
7217 Contractors and Supervisors, Heavy Construction Equipment Crews
7241 Electricians (Except Industrial and Power System)
7242 Industrial Electricians
7251 Plumbers
7252 Steamfitters, Pipefitters and Sprinkler System Installers
7265 Welders and Related Machine Operators
7312 Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics
7371 Crane Operators
7372 Drillers and Blasters – Surface Mining, Quarrying and Construction
8221 Supervisors, Mining and Quarrying
8222 Supervisors, Oil and Gas Drilling and Service
9212 Supervisors, Petroleum, Gas and Chemical Processing and Utilities

If you applied before February 28, 2008, your application will be processed according to the rules in place at that time.