New British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program

September 15, 2015 nkic

The new British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BCPNP) introduces changes to the application process and requirements in the Entrepreneur Immigration stream, effective July 2, 2015. Specifically, the BC PNP has introduced a mandatory online Entrepreneur Immigration.

Registration and updated program criteria

Program Criteria:

ENTREPRENEUR IMMIGRATION (FORMERLY BUSINESS IMMIGRATION):

• BC PNP has streamlined two categories – Business Skills and Regional Business – into one Entrepreneur Immigration stream to improve efficiency and outcomes.
• A mandatory online Entrepreneur Registration system is now available to simplify the intake process and ensure timely processing for high-impact applications.
• For more information on changes to program requirements, the new online registration process, or applications to the Entrepreneur Immigration stream, see our Program Requirements page.
Entrepreneur Immigration Requirements:
• General Nomination Requirements
◦ active and ongoing management of the day-to-day business operations
◦ demonstrated residence in B.C.
◦ admissibility to Canada
• Personal Requirement ◦ personal net worth of at least $600,000
◦ business and/or management experience
• Business requirements
◦ establish a new business or purchase and improve an existing business
• Investment requirements
◦ make an eligible personal investment of at least $200,000 in the business

• Job requirements
◦ create at least one new full-time job for a Canadian citizen or permanent resident in the business

It is your responsibility to demonstrate that you meet the program requirements.

An Entrepreneur Immigration Registration is not an application to the Entrepreneur Immigration stream or a guarantee that you will be invited to apply.

The BC PNP may refuse your application if the information in your registration is materially different from your application.

WHAT HAS CHANGED?

The Entrepreneur Immigration Registration is a points-based ranking system based on a registrant’s personal and business information, including the proposed business concept in B.C. Registration requires a CAD$300 non-refundable fee and registrants will receive their scores through BC PNP Online.
Registrations that exceed the minimum score will be placed in a selection pool valid for up to six months.
Periodically, the BC PNP will invite the highest-scoring registrants to submit an application. The frequency and number of invitations will be based on BC PNP processing capacity. Estimated processing times for new applications will be 3 – 4 months from receipt of a complete application. With a focus on reducing the inventory of existing applications, BC PNP estimates that less than 100 invitations will be issued in the 2015/16 fiscal year.

HOW DOES THIS IMPACT EXISTING APPLICANTS?

If you applied to the BC PNP on or before March 31, 2015, you will not be affected by these changes. Your application will be assessed against the program requirements in place at the time you applied.

CAN I REGISTER UNDER THE NEW ENTREPRENEUR STREAM?

You may choose to submit an Entrepreneur Immigration Registration through BC PNP Online. If you are invited to apply under the new stream, you will be required to withdraw your existing BC PNP applications and submit a new application based on the updated requirements.

If you are not invited to apply, your existing application will remain in the BC PNP inventory and be assessed according to the posted processing times.

Please Contact Us for more information.

Express Entry, News

Express Entry System Latest Draw

September 15, 2015 nkic

September, 2015
Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) Express Entry System latest draw was done on September 8, 2015, issuing 1,517 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) to candidates in the pool with 459 or more Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points.

The fact that the draw took place on a Tuesday surprised many candidates who received the good news of having received an ITA. These candidates are now in a position to submit an application for Canadian permanent residence. Every previous draw since the Express Entry system was launched in January, 2015 had taken place on a Friday.

The sixteenth Express Entry draw was the seventh in succession in which a number of candidates without a qualifying job offer or an enhanced provincial nomination certificate were selected. It is also the seventh draw in a row in which more than 1,400 candidates were selected.

Express Entry quick facts, from January 1 to September 9 (All dates are for 2015)
• Launch date: January 1
• First draw from the pool: January 31
• Most recent draw from the pool: September 8
• Minimum CRS points required for selection in any one draw: 451 (July 17)
• Largest number of invitations to apply issued in any one draw: 1,637 (March 27)
• Fewest invitations to apply issued in any one draw: 715
• Largest decrease in CRS points required between two consecutive draws: 273 (from May 22 to June 12 draws)
• Smallest decrease in CRS points required between two consecutive draws: 6 (from June 27 to July 10 draws)
• Largest increase in CRS points required between two consecutive draws: 302 (from April 17 to May 22 draws)
• Smallest increase in CRS points required between two consecutive draws: 3 (from August 21 to September 8 draws)
• Longest gap between two consecutive draws: 35 days (from April 17 to May 22 draws)
• Shortest gap between two consecutive draws: 7 days (on five occasions)
• Total number of invitations to apply issued: 20,467

Please Contact Us for more information.

Canadian Temporary Visitors, News

Canada’s New Electronic Travel Authorization

September 15, 2015 nkic

Canada’s New Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) will become mandatory on 15 March 2016, and costs $7 CAD (per person). Any person who is from a non-Visa required country and who is flying into Canada, must be able to present an eTA approval document in order to be admitted into Canada. It is important to note that an eTA must be completed for each family member who is flying into Canada irrespective of age or dependency.

There are exceptions to the eTA program, such as: US citizens; visitors, students or workers who seek to re-enter Canada after solely visiting the USA and returning to Canada before the expiry of their current CIC document; diplomatic passport holders, etc.

A foreign national can apply online to obtain an eTA that is valid for 5 years. The eTA is linked to the foreign national’s passport, and thus, if the foreign national loses his/her passport or if it is lost or stolen, then a new eTA must be obtained.

The online service requires the foreign national to have a valid passport, credit card and email address. The foreign national will need to go online and fill out the form which asks for basic information (name, date of birth, passport details, etc.). The form also asks the foreign national for the following details:
• Preferred language of communication with Citizenship and Immigration Canada (English or French);
• Marital status;
• Whether the foreign national has multiple citizenships or permanent resident status in another country;
• How much money the foreign national will be travelling with;
• Job title, occupation and the employer’s name and address;
• Whether the foreign national has been denied entry into any country, including Canada;
• Whether the foreign national has ever been charged with or been convicted of a crime;
• Health questions;
• The reason for coming to Canada.
Generally, the eTA application will be approved within minutes, but there are instances where CIC requires more time. In those cases, CIC will send the applicant email correspondence (within 3 days) which outlines the next steps. As the program develops, eTA processing times will be posted on the CIC website (www.cic.gc.ca).

If the person is a Canadian Permanent Resident then he/she does not need an eTA

Please Contact Us for more information.

Citizenship by Investment - Commomwealth Countries

EU Visa-Free Travel for Dominica and Grenada Citizens

July 4, 2015 nkic

The new EU Visa-Free Travel for Dominica and Grenada Citizens signed on 28 May, 2015 allows allows for short-stay visa waivers. Other countries included in the agreement are St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, the Republic of Vanuatu, the independent State of Samoa and the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

On behalf of the EU, the agreements were signed by Ms. Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica, Parliamentary State Secretary for EU Affairs, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Latvia, and by Mr. Dimitris Avramopoulos, Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship. On the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group (ACP) side, representatives from the 7 countries signed the agreements.

The new visa regime provides for visa-free travel for EU citizens when traveling to the territory of these countries and for citizens of these countries when traveling to the EU, for a period of stay of 90 days in any 180-day period. “Today’s agreements will encourage people-to-people contacts, boost tourism, and invigorate business between the EU and these seven ACP countries”, said Ms. Zanda Kalniņa -Lukaševica, Parliamentary State Secretary for EU Affairs of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Latvia.

In order to benefit from visa-free travel, citizens from the EU and the signatory countries must be in possession of a valid ordinary, diplomatic, service/official or special passport. Visa-free travel applies to all categories of persons and for any kind of purposes of travel (for instance tourism, cultural visits, scientific activities, family visits, business etc.), except to persons traveling for the purpose of carrying out a paid activity.

The decisions on the conclusion of the agreements will now be sent to the European Parliament with a view to obtaining its consent before they can be concluded. However, they will apply on a provisional basis as from 28 May 2015.

Ireland and the United Kingdom will not be subject to the application of the agreement, in accordance with the protocols annexed to the EU treaties. The visa regime to these member states remains subject to their national legislation.

Please Contact Us for more information on the Commonwealth of Dominica and Grenada citizenship programs.

Canadian Immigration

New minimum age of eligibility of spouses and partners

July 4, 2015 nkic

The new minimum age of eligibility of spouses and partners in temporary and permanent Canadian immigration programs applications will help decrease the risk of early and forced marriage and may also serve as a disincentive for individuals under 18 to enter into marriages of convenience in order to obtain immigration status in Canada, as they will no longer be able to be sponsored as a spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner. It may also decrease the number of potentially vulnerable young spouses or partners immigrating to Canada who are unable to prevent an early or forced marriage from occurring because they have not yet reached full maturity or do not possess the ability to act in their own best interest.

The Regulations changes include:

5. For the purposes of these Regulations, a foreign national shall not be considered

(a) the spouse or common-law partner of a person if the foreign national is under the age of 18 years;

(b) the spouse of a person if

(i) the foreign national or the person was, at the time of their marriage, the spouse of another person, or

(ii) the person has lived separate and apart from the foreign national for at least one year and is the common-law partner of another person.

117. (9) A foreign national shall not be considered a member of the family class by virtue of their relationship to a sponsor if

(a) the foreign national is the sponsor’s spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner and is under 18 years of age;

125. (1) A foreign national shall not be considered a member of the spouse or common-law partner in Canada class by virtue of their relationship to the sponsor if

(a) the foreign national is the sponsor’s spouse or common-law partner and is under 18 years of age;

These changes came into effect on June 10, 2015.

Please Contact Us for more information on theses changes.

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