Immigration Essentials

Canada recognizes the decree published by the Venezuelan National Assembly on June 7, 2019, regarding the validity of expired Venezuelan passports. Venezuelan passport holders wanting to travel to or stay in Canada can now continue to use their passport if it expired less than 5 years ago or will soon expire. Venezuelans can use these passports to apply for a visitor visa, a study or work permit, or permanent residence or to extend their stay in Canada.... Applicants must meet all eligibility and entry requirements to travel to and stay in Canada. Venezuelans who wish to travel to another country should contact the embassy of that country to learn about its specific travel document requirements. Lets talk! becomingcanadian.com

Canada is supporting the Association for New Canadians to help newcomers better integrate into the community by improving employment services. In partnership with Academy Canada, a local culinary training institution, and the Restaurant Association of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Association for New Canadians has developed a social enterprise food truck called Global Eats. The Global Eats truck will provide training, mentorship and work experience to 2 groups of 12 refugee ...participants. The participants, including youth and women in the St. John’s Metro area, will develop their employability and entrepreneurship skills within the food service industry. The food truck made its first appearance in the community at a special open house on June 19 in honour of Refugee Week, offering a sampling menu to attendees. A dedicated Service Delivery Improvements fund was created to improve and innovate with better ways to deliver services to and meet the needs of newcomers and support their integration into Canada. Becomingcanadian.com

Attracting workers to the agri-food sector across Canada July 12, 2019 Mississauga Canada is committed to attracting the best talent from around the world to fill skill shortages, drive local economies, and create and support middle-class jobs in communities across the country that will benefit all Canadians. Canada is launching a new 3-year economic immigration pilot that will fill labour shortages, particularly in meat processing and mushroom production, within the agri...-food sector and help meet Canada’s ambitious export targets. The agriculture and agri-food industry is an important contributor to Canada’s economic growth and vitality, supporting 1 in 8 jobs across the country. Agricultural exports hit a new record in 2018, reaching $66.2 billion. Over the past several years, industries such as meat processing and mushroom production have experienced ongoing difficulty in finding and keeping new employees. This new pilot aims to attract and retain workers by providing them with an opportunity to become permanent residents. The Agri-Food Immigration Pilot complements Canada’s economic immigration strategy, which includes the Atlantic Immigration Pilot, the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot, the Global Skills Strategy, a revitalized Express Entry and an expanded Provincial Nominee Program. BECOMINGCANADIAN.COM

Attracting skilled talent to drive prosperity for all Canadians June 24, 2019Toronto, ON Canada continues to move forward with a bold and long-term immigration plan to spearhead economic growth and support middle-class jobs from coast to coast to coast. Since 2015, Canada has focused on attracting the best and the brightest from around the world through specific pilot programs to deliver on the recommendations made by Canada’s Advisory Council on Economic Growth by:... Setting up the first, ambitious long-term immigration levels plan which will strategically increase the amount of immigrant workers needed to support Canadians and seniors as they retire. Modifying Express Entry to attract highly skilled global talent and former international students who have the skills Canada needs to fill labour shortages. Creating the Global Skills Strategy to attract investments of innovative companies, helping thousands of businesses and benefiting 40,000 people with a 2-week application processing time. Introducing the Global Talent Stream, which has been used by more than 1,100 Canadian companies to hire approximately 4,300 highly-skilled foreign workers. Making the Start-Up Visa Program permanent, which has attracted more than 300 entrepreneurs leading about 200 start-ups that have been launched in Canada. Spearheading the Atlantic Immigration Pilot, an innovative partnership aimed at attracting and retaining skilled immigrants and international graduates to meet the unique workforce needs of the Atlantic region. This pilot has led to close to 1,900 participating employers who made more than 3,700 job offers to skilled foreign nationals or international graduates, resulting in almost 3,000 permanent resident admissions to Atlantic Canada. Launching the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot, a 5-year pilot addressing the unique labour and skills needs of rural and northern communities and the ability to create new businesses within those smaller communities. The communities selected will serve as a blueprint for the rest of the country. Canada is steadfast in its commitment to welcome newcomers from across the globe to make Canada their new home in order to address labour shortages to support businesses and to support Canadians as they retire. Becomingcanadian.com

The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship; the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Foreign Affairs; and the Honourable Maryam Monsef, Minister of International Development and Minister for Women and Gender Equality, today issued the following statement: Canada’s support for refugees is a longstanding, unwavering commitment supported by communities across the country. Canadians have continually supported Canada’s international humani...tarian response to refugee crises around the world. This tradition of humanitarian support demonstrates to the world that we have a shared responsibility to help those who are displaced, persecuted and most in need of protection. We also recognize the particular, intersectional vulnerabilities experienced by women and girls, children, LGBTQ2 persons, and all others belonging to marginalized and targeted groups. This year we celebrate Canada’s 40th anniversary of Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program. We thank the more than two million Canadians who have helped sponsor more than 327,000 refugees and have made the program a model around the world. Canada is sharing this expertise by helping other countries set up refugee sponsorship programs. On World Refugee Day, we acknowledge the struggles faced by refugees and we highlight their courage and resilience. We also commend all the compassionate Canadians who helped out others in need. As a recognized leader in humanitarian assistance, Canada is working hard globally to change the way humanitarian assistance is designed and delivered so that women and girls are not left behind. Canada is an open and diverse country. For refugees fleeing danger, intolerance and chaos, these qualities are a source of hope, and provide a safe haven for the world’s most vulnerable people. This is the tradition we commemorate on World Refugee Day. Becomingcanadian.com

Eleven rural and northern communities have been selected as part of the new Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot to invite newcomers to make these communities their forever homes. As the Canadian population ages and the birth rate declines, rural Canada’s workforce has seen a significant decrease in available workers. This pilot will help attract people that are needed to drive economic growth and help support middle-class jobs in these communities. The participating rural an...d northern communities will have access to a range of supports to test this new innovative, community-driven model that will help fill labour gaps. The selected communities are: Thunder Bay (ON), Sault Ste. Marie (ON), Sudbury (ON), Timmins (ON), North Bay (ON), Gretna-Rhineland-Altona-Plum Coulee (MB), Brandon (MB), Moose Jaw (SK), Claresholm (AB), West Kootenay (BC), and Vernon (BC). The participating communities were selected as a representative sample of the regions across Canada to assist in laying out the blueprint for the rest of the country. To complement the Rural and Northern Pilot, Canada is also working with the territories to address the unique immigration needs in Canada’s North. Canada is committed to attracting the best talent around the world to fill skill shortages and drive local economies in rural Canada that will benefit all Canadians. Becomingcanadian.com