Tag Archives: NKIC News Letter – March 2019

Citizenship by Investment - European Countries, News

Bulgarian Fast Track Citizenship Program

Bulgaria Fast-Track Citizenship Program (PR and citizenship in 1 step): 

– Financing Option of EUR 260,000, or Real Estate Purchase Option of EUR 430,000

– Supplemental Offering (EUR 80,000) allows a spouse or non-dependent child to apply for citizenship at the same time as the rest of the family.

– Prices are locked-in at the time of investment (so not effected by market fluctuations)

– Simpler and more stream-lined application process than the 2-step program

– Cheaper than the 2-step program.

Bulgaria Permanent Residence Program (2-step citizenship; citizenship application after 1 year of PR): 

– Applicant chooses either the Financing Option (EUR 155,000) or Real Estate Option (EUR 215,000) for the PR process.

– After 1 year of PR, applicant chooses either the Financing Option (EUR 125,000) or Real Estate Option (EUR 215,000) for the Fast-Track citizenship process, so can ‘mix & match’ investment options.

– Costlier in total, but smaller cash outlay initially

– Citizenship pricing subject to change in future, based on market conditions

Bulgaria Permanent Residence Program (PR; citizenship application after 5 years of PR):

– Applicant chooses either the Financing Option (EUR 155,000) or Real Estate Option (EUR 215,000) for the PR process.

– Applicant waits 5 years and applies for standard citizenship (no additional investment required)

Benefits of the programs include:

– Bulgaria PR will allow the applicant and his/her family to work, live and study in Bulgaria

– Once Bulgaria becomes a member of Schengen (expected to occur in 2019), PR-holders will have visa-free access to all Schengen countries

– Bulgaria citizens have the right to reside, work, and study anywhere in Europe

– Bulgaria citizens have visa-free access to approx. 142 countries (including Canada and Europe)

– Applicant receives PR in 4-6 months, and citizenship in less than 2 years in total (Fast-Track program)

– Citizenship is transferrable by descent (to all children and grandchildren)

– Applicants may choose either a Financing Option or Real Estate Purchase Option

– No language requirement, no age limit, and no management experience requirement.

Please Contact Us for more information

British Columbia PNP, News

BC Provincial Nominee Program – Entrepreneur Immigration

Known as the Entrepreneur Immigration (BC PNP) — Set to Launch early in 2019 and it is a two-year pilot program. The pilot program aims to assist smaller communities around BC.

BC PNP to work in partnership with regional communities of less than 75,000 people to welcome approved immigrant entrepreneurs who want to open a new business.

Communities must be located farther than 30 kilometers from a population center of more than 75,000 people in order to be enrolled in the pilot.

The program is to help the smaller communities and in exchange they will nominate the business Immigrants.

Potential interested applicants must make an exploratory visit  and get a referral from the visited community.

 Among other eligibility criteria, candidates must:

  • have a minimum of $100,000 in eligible business investments;
  • have a minimum personal net worth of $300,000;
  • conduct an exploratory community visit;
  • have 3+ years of experience as an active business owner-manager or 4+ years as a senior manager within the last 5 years;
  • take on a minimum of 51 per cent ownership;
  • create a minimum of one new job for a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada.

During the visit the Candidates will present their proposal to the designated pilot representative and obtain a referral.

All candidates will receive a score upon registering and the highest-scoring candidates will be invited to submit a full application to the BC PNP through monthly invitation rounds.

The pilot will open to registrations in early 2019 and will run for an initial period of two years.

Please Contact Us for more information.

Canadian Immigration, News

Proposed changes to Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations

Changes are being proposed to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) that will support greater use of technology across temporary and permanent resident immigration programs, and streamline and clarify processes for international adoptions and permanent resident sponsorship applications.

The proposed changes to the IRPR are outlined in the Canada Gazette, Part 1. The consultation period closes on February 24, 2018. The proposed changes involve:

  • ensuring that applicants who are paying fees or applying electronically only use the electronic systems provided by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), where available
  • requiring that most temporary resident applications submitted from within Canada, as well as International Experience Canada applications, be submitted electronically on Canada.ca
  • requiring that all IRCC clients pay their immigration fees online, unless
    • a disability prevents them from doing so, or
    • IRCC provides other payment methods, such as paying in person at a visa application centre
  • listing situations where the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, or the Minister of Public Safety, can provide applicants with alternative ways to apply for immigration services in the event of an unforeseen circumstance, such as a natural disaster or system outage
  • outlining a clear process for IRCC officers to timestamp electronic applications, or other application-related communication, to give both clients and IRCC officers a clear and consistent point of reference when calculating processing times
  • allowing sponsorship and permanent residence applications for inter-country adoptions to be submitted before a child has been identified, so that the approval process can start earlier
  • requiring that clients include their permanent resident application with their family sponsorship application submission to help reduce processing delays
  • removing existing requirements that specify where all non-electronic (paper) applications can be submitted, to give IRCC more flexibility in order to maximize processing efficiency and accommodate clients

Please Contact Us for more information

News, Ontario PNP, Provincial Nominee Programs

Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program Masters Graduate Stream

Overview

The Masters Graduate Stream is an immigration stream under the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program.

It gives international graduates with an Ontario master’s degree the opportunity to apply to permanently live and work in Ontario.

You must apply online to be nominated by the Ontario government for permanent residence. If you are nominated, your next step is to apply to the federal government through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). They make the final decision on who becomes a permanent resident.

Before you apply

1. Make sure you meet the mandatory requirements

This stream has a number of mandatory requirements you must meet before you can apply.

2. Understand the application process

Please note:

  • you have to apply online through the OINP e-Filing Portal
  • it takes about two hours to complete the application
  • you do not have to complete the application in one session, you can save your work and return to it later
  • you must submit your application within 14 calendar days after you register or your registration will expire (if it does, you can re-register provided we are still accepting new registrations under this stream)
  • you can complete the application yourself or have a representative complete it on your behalf
  • you have to pay $1,500 to apply
  • you have to pay by credit card, we only accept Visa or MasterCard

3. Have your supporting documents ready

You also need to make sure you have all your supporting documents, in English or French, scanned and ready to upload when you apply. If you do not, your application will be returned as incomplete and your application fee will be refunded.

Mandatory requirements

You can apply to the Masters Graduate Stream if you meet all the criteria in the eight categories below. You don’t need a job offer to apply.

Please refer to section 8 of Ontario Regulation 422/17 and the application guide for more details on each requirement.

1. Education

To qualify, you must have completed the requirements necessary to get a master’s degree.

This means:

  • at least one academic year of full-time study (that is at least 15 hours of instruction per week over the academic year)
  • the degree is from an eligible university in Ontario

You don’t qualify if you are enrolled as a student when you are applying, unless:

  • it is for the purpose of meeting the requirements to be licensed in a regulated occupation in Ontario, or
  • you are also working full-time in Ontario

You don’t qualify if you have received a bursary, grant or scholarship that requires you return to your home country after you earn your master’s degree. You may only apply after you have fulfilled those commitments and can demonstrate an intention to live in Ontario.

2. Language

You must be able to understand, read, write and speak in English or French at a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level 7 or higher.

To prove that you have the mandatory language skills, you must take an approved English or French language test before you submit your application to this stream.

The test must be no more than two years old at the time you submit your application.

For English tests:

  • International English Language Testing (IELTS) (General Training test only)
  • Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP) (General test only)

For French tests, we accept:

  • Test d’évaluation de français pour le Canada (TEF)
  • Test de connaissance du français pour le Canada (TCF)

3. Residency in Ontario

You must have legally lived in Ontario for at least one year in the past two years before you apply.

4. Settlement funds

You must have enough money to support yourself and your dependent family members when you settle in Canada.

You can meet this requirement through one or a combination of any of the following:

  1. funds as demonstrated by the balance listed in bank statements, or statements of accounts showing other investments such as non-locked in, fixed term deposits, mutual funds, etc.
  2. annual earnings from ongoing employment in Ontario, and/or
  3. a job offer in Ontario

5. Intention to live in Ontario

You must intend to live and work in Ontario after you’re granted permanent residence. We determine this by examining your ties to Ontario, which can include doing things like:

  • working or have worked in Ontario
  • getting job offers or applying/interviewing for jobs
  • studying
  • volunteering
  • leasing or owning property
  • visiting
  • having professional networks and affiliations, family ties or social or personal relationships

6. Residency at time of application

At the time you apply, you must be either:

  • living in Ontario with legal status (study permit, work permit, visitor record)
  • living outside Canada

You don’t qualify if you’re living in a province or territory in Canada other than Ontario at the time you apply.

7. Legal status in Canada (if applicable)

If you are applying from within Canada, you must have legal status (a visitor record, study permit, or work permit) at the time you apply and should maintain that status until the time of nomination.

8. Application period

You must submit your application within two years of completing the requirements necessary to obtain your master’s degree.

This means that the date on your degree must be within two years of your OINP application submission date. For example, if your degree is dated June 1, 2017, you must apply to this stream before June 1, 2019.

If you don’t have your degree yet, use the date on the official letter from your university which states when your degree will be granted.

Please Contact Us for more information.