Moving To Canada

Second Express Entry draw in five days invites candidates with scores as low as 467 The Canadian Experience Class-specific Express Entry draw is the second of its kind since 2015 The Government of Canada has released the details of this week’s Express Entry draw, inviting 3,232 candidates to apply for permanent residence....Continue reading

Canada invites 668 Express Entry candidates to apply for permanent residence Invited candidates had provincial nominations granting them an additional 600 CRS points The Government of Canada has released the details of this week’s Express Entry draw, inviting 668 candidates to apply for permanent residence....Continue reading

Canada and the U.S. provide more information on the status of work permit holders Despite cross-border travel restrictions that take effect on March 21, it appears some work permit holders will be able to travel between the Canada-U.S. border. In advance of travel restrictions to be implemented at their border effective tomorrow, on Saturday, March 21, both the Canadian and U.S. government have released more details on who will be included and excluded from the restrictions.... Included in the restrictions are those seeking to travel between the border for non-essential purposes. The Canadian government has defined non-essential travel as that which is done for tourism or recreational purposes. Such travellers are forbidden from travelling across the border for the 30-day period following March 21, after which both Canada and the U.S. will review the border restrictions. The Canadian government’s statement suggests that American and Canadian work permit holders will be deemed as essential travellers, however, this should not be interpreted as an exhaustive waiver for all work permit holders until official confirmation is provided by either the American or Canadian government. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security also released a notice today on the provisions of the travel restrictions. It states that travel through land ports of entry and ferry terminals along the U.S.-Canada border shall be limited to essential travel, which includes but is not limited to: U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents returning to the United States; Individuals travelling for medical purposes (e.g., to receive medical treatment in the United States); Individuals travelling to attend educational institutions; Individuals travelling to work in the United States (e.g., individuals working in the farming or agriculture industry who must travel between the United States and Canada in furtherance of such work); Individuals travelling for emergency response and public health purposes (e.g., government officials or emergency responders entering the United States to support Federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial government efforts to respond to COVID-19 or other emergencies); Individuals engaged in lawful cross-border trade (e.g., truck drivers supporting the movement of cargo between the United States and Canada); Individuals engaged in official government travel or diplomatic travel; Members of the U.S. Armed Forces, and the spouses and children of members of the U.S. Armed Forces, returning to the United States; and Individuals engaged in military-related travel or operations. The bulletin bold indicates Canadians will be able to travel to the U.S. for work. CIC News will confirm whether this is, in fact, the case as more information becomes available.

Canada rated top country for quality of life in 2020 Being safe, politically stable, and having a well-developed public health system drove Canada’s quality of life ranking to the top of the Best Countries 2020 list For the fifth year in a row, people from around the world named Canada as the top country for quality of life.... Out of the countries surveyed, Canada ranked number one overall for being politically stable, number two for having a good job market, and number four for having a well-developed public education system. Global citizens also ranked Canada high for having a well-developed public health system. The 2020 Best Countries rankings were conducted by U.S. News & World Report. A total of 20,548 people from 36 countries were surveyed on their perceptions of 73 countries. Countries were assessed in nine different categories that were weighted to produce an overall score: Quality of Life Entrepreneurship Adventure Citizenship Cultural Influence Heritage Movers Open for Business Power Canada came in second place overall, falling behind Switzerland, which came in first overall but did not place on top in any one category. In the Citizenship category, Canada placed second behind Sweden. Countries that scored high in this section were perceived to care about human rights, the environment, gender equality, and religious freedom. They were also seen as progressive, as respecting property rights, being trustworthy, and having well-distributed political power. In the Open for Business category, Canada finished third behind Luxembourg and Switzerland. This category is for countries that are perceived to be business-friendly. Countries were assessed based on their level of bureaucracy, manufacturing costs, corruption, tax environment and government practices. Canada ranked high for scoring zero out of 10 for perceived level of corruption and a perfect 10 for transparent government.

New Brunswick pushing for more immigrants The bilingual Maritime province is looking to increase immigration to 10,000 newcomers every year; Canadian Press The Premier of New Brunswick wants to increase the province’s population to one million in 2040.... Premier Blaine Higgs brought up the province’s ageing population and labour market shortage during an annual state of the province speech, the Canadian Press reports. The premiere referred to the province’s population growth strategy released this past summer, which says that nearly 120,000 jobs will become available in New Brunswick over the next decade. The growth strategy also says that New Brunswick will raise the number of economic immigrants settling in New Brunswick each year to 7,500 by 2024. However, those numbers were set by the federal government, and Higgs told the audience of businesspeople and reporters that the province would be pushing for an intake of 10,000 each year. He said the province is opening new offices in India and Europe in order to promote New Brunswick immigration to foreign talent and investors. Immigrating to New Brunswick through Express Entry Foreign nationals who want to bring their skills, education, and work experience to New Brunswick may qualify for the New Brunswick Express Entry Stream. The provincial immigration stream is aligned with the federal government’s Express Entry system, which manages applications through three immigration programs: the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Federal Skilled Trades Program, and Canadian Experience Class. In order to qualify for the New Brunswick Express Entry stream, candidates first need to create an Express Entry profile, where they will be given a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score based on their work experience, education, age and language proficiency. If those in the federal pool receive a provincial nomination from the New Brunswick Express Entry stream they will receive an additional 600 CRS points. This effectively guarantees that candidate an Invitation to Apply (ITA) in a federal Express Entry draw. Once candidates are in the Express Entry pool, and can meet certain province-specific eligibility requirements they can create an Expression of Interest (EOI) with New Brunswick’s portal. On occasion, New Brunswick will invite candidates directly from the Express Entry pool in response to labour market needs.