Masskara Festival Society of Canada

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT Dear AIPP Candidates, The Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program is an immigration stream whereby four participating Atlantic province...s (Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia) are accepting foreign skilled workers with the minimum work experience and language skills to immigrate to Canada. The Key Requirement is a JOB OFFER from a designated employer that operates in the four provinces. Without a JOB OFFER, you will not qualify. I have seen so many advertisements online where Agencies in the Philippines are touting AIPP as the easiest or the fastest way to immigrate to Canada. DO NOT BELIEVE this. Without a JOB OFFER, you are going NOWHERE. Why would you want to hire an Agency? To help you look for work in the said provinces? What is their special skill and advantage that they will be able to find work for you? UNLESS they have direct contacts and direct working relationships with DESIGNATED EMPLOYERS, they cannot do anything for you. THEY WILL ONLY TAKE YOUR MONEY and tell you IT’S THE PANDEMIC, IT’S NOT THEM. You pay them to do the job search and all they do is go online and surf job search websites. Do it yourself. You are on Facebook most of the time, might as well look for work. Sometimes, it is not enough to send resumes. You need to conduct cold calls to employers directly. With technology, calling employers is not impossible. Fun fact, Agencies charge way higher than immigration lawyers. They have to because that is how they make money. Papatungan nila yung professional fee because they also need to pay the immigration lawyer who reviews and submits the application. The worst part is when they do not use immigration lawyers and apply on behalf of a client (using the client's CIC online account). Eliminate the middleman. Call the immigration lawyer directly. Their contact information is readily available online. With the advent of advanced technology, you can look up and contact lawyers directly. Believe me, you can probably get 50% less in professional fees compared to Agencies.

The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a curveball, if not a wrench, in our lives. Whatever problems we have encountered pre-covid times have been exacerbated by the ...pandemic. While most of us try to go on with our lives as we normally do, some of our Kababayans are struggling. Those who belong to the marginalized sections have been struggling to make ends meet. The good thing is, the government of Canada tries to lessen the blow by giving us financial aid like financial support for learners, the CERB, EI, etc. However, there is a certain part of our local population in Canada that lives on the fringes of society. Kababayans who lost their legal status to stay in Canada but opted to stay because they had no choice and they have to do it for the sake of their families back home. Some of them are victims of scams or illegal recruiters; while some of them come to Canada as tourists with the best intention of trying to secure a job offer and switch their status to workers. However, due to factors beyond their control, they end up losing their legal status. Can you imagine how hard it is for our Kababayans who cannot run to the government for assistance because they have no legal status in Canada? While we try to complain about the lockdown, there is a certain part of our Filipino community members who are struggling to make ends meet because cash jobs are not as plenty as they used to be due to the covid 19 pandemic. They cannot run for assistance to the government out of fear of being removed or deported from Canada. Some keep their status issues as secrets even to their friends because they are embarrassed or they fear being reported. At the end of the day, they did what they did with the best intentions, but their plans did not work out. So, if you are complaining about the lockdowns and travel restrictions in Canada, do yourself a favour. Stop for a while and ask your friends and your neighbours how they are doing. Just the mere act of asking how are you? can help. We are all in this together and we should be mindful of those we mingle with socially. Our Kababayans who do not have legal status may feel like they have nowhere to go; that there is no solution to their predicament and that their only option is to live on the fringes of society and hope that they never get caught. Well, there is always hope. There are remedies in immigration law that they can avail of. All they need to do is seek help from professionals who practice immigration law. There is even legal aid available if you do not have money to pay for a lawyer. Look for one through one of the provincial law societies (the government bodies of lawyers in Canada; their counterpart in the Philippines is the Integrated Bar of the Philippines). Click on the websites below and search for lawyers that may be able to assist you like the Law Society of Ontario.

Is this Agency Legit or Not? This is the common question I come across in different FB groups interested in studying, working, immigrating or visiting Canada. ...How do you know if the agency you are trying to hire is legitimate or not? First step Ask the agency exactly as to what application/stream/category you are qualified in. If they do not give you a specific answer and resort to generalizations, they are fake. Second step Ask for the name and contact information of the immigration lawyer or immigration consultant that will be handling your application. If they do not give you the name and contact information, they are fake. Third step If they give you the name and contact information you should follow up with the question: If an immigration lawyer, ask where is the lawyer a member of, specifically, WHAT IS THE LAW SOCIETY OF THE LAWYER. What law society does he belong to? Search for the name of the lawyer in the specific law society. If an immigration consultant search for their name on the ICCRC website. Check if the lawyer or immigration consultant has a history of violations or disciplinary actions. It should be on the website of the organization they belong to. HERE IS ANOTHER TIP if the agency opens an online CIC account for you but does not give you access, they are unlicensed consultants. They are what we call Ghost Consultants. They use your account and apply on your behalf but IRCC does not know that the one using your account is an illegal or unlicensed representative. A lawyer or licensed consultant will always use the ONLINE REPRESENTATIVE PORTAL (MASTER PORTAL) to submit your application and when you ask for the screenshots and information in your online profile, they provide it within a reasonable period of time. I hope that helps.

It is hard to believe but there are a lot of people living in Canada without status for a very long time. Some initially start as workers but eventually lost th...eir legal status because of unfortunate circumstances or just plain bad luck. It is not the end of the world though. There are remedies available for people who lost their legal status and the possibility of regaining status as a worker and/or even getting permanent residency. It is just a matter of knowing the remedies under immigration law. See more

Holders of a post-graduate work permit that will expire on November 26, 2021 or earlier can apply for an extension of the PGWP for an additional 18 months. The last day to file the extension is on July 27, 2021.