Tag Archive for 'immigration'

Canadian immigration wait times increasing

Published by
Justin
at February 11, 2008 in Canada Immigration. 3 Comments

Canadian Immigration wait times have surged more than 20 per cent since 2004, according to statistics released by Liberal MP Jim Karygiannis.

Karygiannis obtained the figures from Citizenship and Immigration Canada through the Access to Information Act.

The figures also reveal disparities in the way Canada processes applications from different countries.

Some immigrants are forced to wait a staggering 2,300 per cent longer than others depending on where they’re from and what immigration category they fall under.

A dependent child whose file is dealt with by Canadian officials in Beijing, Seoul or Ankara, for instance, has an 80 per cent chance of being processed within four months. But a child’s average wait time is 13 months in Singapore, 19 months in Guatemala and 34 months in Cairo.

Similar disparities occur in the skilled workers category.

A skilled worker could expect to be processed within 14 months in Lima and 15 months in Paris but would likely wait up to 71 months in Kyiv.

The 2006 figures released to Karygiannis indicate:

-For dependent children, although 80 per cent of overall cases were processed within 11 months, there were significant variations by geographic area. Eighty per cent of cases were completed within three months in Vienna, five months in Jamaica, seven months in Damascus, eight months in London, and 19 months in Haiti and Guatemala.

-For parents and grandparents, 80 per cent of cases were processed within 40 months. But the figures were eight months in Sao Paolo, 11 months in London, 19 months in Mexico, 30 months in Colombo, 34 months in Beijing, 36 months in Rabat and Guatemala, 40 months in Islamabad, and 45 months in New Delhi.

-For skilled workers, 80 per cent of cases were processed within 62 months – an increase from 43 months in 2004. Eighty per cent of cases were completed within 14 months in Lima, 15 months in Paris, 31 months in Vienna, 54 months in London, 59 months in Rome, 62 months in New Delhi, 63 months in Islamabad, 64 months in Beijing and 71 months in Kyiv.

-Processing times increased most dramatically in the skilled workers category. The parents/grandparents category also saw a sizeable increase, while processing times fell significantly for children and slightly for spouses.

-For spouses and partners, 80 per cent of cases were processed within nine months. Eighty per cent of cases were completed within five months in Taipei, 13 months in Buffalo, N.Y., and Buenos Aires registered among the longest wait times at 15 months.

-The overall percentage of applications for temporary resident visas refused by Canadian officials has remained stable.

-In 2006, 32 per cent of applications for temporary resident visas were rejected from Africa and the Middle East. That compares with a rejection rate of 19 per cent for the Asia-Pacific region and 14 per cent from the Americas.

Canada tech industries facing IT skills shortage

Published by
Justin
at January 22, 2008 in Canada Immigration, IT and skilled workers. 3 Comments

A coalition of industry professionals – “Canadian Coalition for Tomorrow’s IT Skills” has called on the Canadian government to loosen Canada immigration requirements to more easily allow highly-educated skilled workers to live and work in Canada. The coalition also intends to market the technology sector to high schools in an effort to attract more high-tech post-secondary students.

More than 90,000 jobs in the information technology sector will need to be filled in the next three to five years and could potentially impact the Canadian economy to the tune of $10.6-billion, said Conference Board of Canada vice-president of organizational effectiveness, Dr. Michael Bloom.

“The problem is much bigger than any of us at the Conference Board has identified,” said Mr. Bloom.

A “perfect storm” of socio-demographic factors, negative perceptions of the tech sector following the bubble burst of 2002 and a significant drop in university enrolment in IT programs across Canada has all come together to create this dire scenario, said Mr. Bloom.

source: David George-Cosh, Financial Post
Published: Monday, January 21, 2008

Labour shortage could cripple Canada’s tech industry: report

Canada Needs Immigrants

Published by
zena
at December 14, 2007 in Canada Immigration. 2 Comments

CANADA’S economy needs immigrants to support its aging native population.

Of recent immigrants, 57% been in the prime working age group of 25-54, compared to only 42% of Canada’s native population.

“It really makes Canada’s cities international. It makes them a place of global connections and global talent,” comments Ratna Omidvar, executive director of the Maytree Foundation, a Toronto-based private foundation dedicated to immigration issues.

Over 85% of immigrants qualifying for citizenship have opted to take up the opportunity. Citizenship and Immigration Minister Diane Finley said via e-mail: “It speaks to what a great country we have that so many want to be a part of it.”

Over one million migrants have arrived in Canada in the past five years, making the country a combination of people with more than 150 languages, from over 200 countries.
Currently nearly one in five people (6.2 million individuals) in Canada were born abroad – the country’s largest proportional foreign-born population since the beginning of the Great Depression (when immigrants accounted for 22% of inhabitants).

In terms of multiculturalism among western immigrant-magnet nations, Canada is now second only to Australia, where 22% of the population are foreign-born.

The vast majority of immigrants are drawn to Canada’s cities, often because of job prospects, family members or friends. This emphasizes the importance of the economic role of migrants, as without immigration the only two ways to fuel the workforce would be natural increase (more births than deaths) or movement from rural to urban areas, both of which have levelled off in Canada in recent years.

Immigration accounts for two thirds of Canada’s population increase

Published by
graham
at June 29, 2007 in Canada Immigration. 0 Comments

The first three months of 2007 saw Canada’s population increase by 0.23 per cent, two thirds of which has been attributed to international migration, Statistics Canada have revealed.

The population estimates report stated that Canada’s population is in the region of 32.85 million as of 1 April this year, compared to 32.78 million on 1 January.

Despite the growth in Canada’s population, only the four westernmost provinces experienced growth rates at or above the national average.
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