The Canadian Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism
announced that Canada will maintain its immigration level in 2009, welcoming
between 240,000 to 265,000 new permanent residents. The 2009 plan includes up to
156,600 immigrants in the economic category; 71,000 in the family category; and
37,400 in the humanitarian category. These levels are among the highest for this
country over the past 15 years and reflect a continued commitment to an
immigration program that balances Canada's economic, humanitarian and family
reunification goals.
Minister Kenney also issued new instructions for how Canadian immigration
visa officers will treat Federal Skilled Worker applications, including all
those that have been submitted since February 27, 2008.
The Action Plan for Faster Immigration calls for visa officers to process the
Federal Skilled Worker applications of candidates who have at least one year of
continuous full-time or equivalent paid work experience in the last 10 years in
one of 38 qualifying occupations that are in high demand
in Canada or who have an offer of
Arranged Employment in Canada or who have been legally living in Canada for
at least one year as a temporary foreign worker or international student.
"We expect new federal skilled worker applicants, including those with
arranged employment, to receive a decision within six to 12 months compared with
up to six years under the old system," said Minister Kenney. He also added
that "these steps this Government has taken to improve our immigration system
will help ensure that Canada remains competitive internationally and responsive
to labour market needs domestically"
New federal skilled worker applications that do not meet the eligibility
criteria outlined above will not be processed, and the application fee will be
fully refunded. It is important to note that an application, which is returned
is not considered to be refused or rejected and presumably can be resubmitted at
a later date, when the processing queues become shorter. These regulations have
been put in place to reduce the backlog of applications in the
system and to speed up the processing times of existing immigration applications.
Applicants who aren't eligible for the federal skilled worker category may
qualify under many other categories such as the Provincial Nominee Program, or
as temporary foreign workers, which could then put them on a path to permanent
residency through the new Canadian Experience Class.
List of Qualifying Occupations
- 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
