Archive for the ‘Canadian Immigration’ Category

Footballers grounded by Canada visa rules

Canada’s tough new visa restrictions for the Czech Republic last week had many travellers and government officials in uproar. The bad blood between the two countries over the Canada visa decision has now moved to the sports field.

Those who help run Czech Football  are worried that junior players will be affected by the new visa rules, fearing that young talent will now find getting to play and forge a career in Noth America now more difficult.

Meanwhile, a Czech cycling team had to get on their proverbial bikes and head over to Vienna, Austria to apply for their visas last minute – and that meant cancelling a practice session.

Canada’s reputation continues to skate on thin ice in the Eastern European country as hockey, one of the Czech’s most popular sports, has also suffered. Players and management have been quoted in the press expressing concern that the ruling requiring a visa for Canada will have knock-on effects for both players who play in Canada and their families.

All in all,  the government’s clampdown on Canadian immigration seems to be viewed as a rather unsporting decision by many Czechs.

Who will blow the final whistle on the spat bewteen the two countries?

Canadian immigration in the media

A week after Canada imposed visa restrictions on Czech and Mexican nationals coming into the country, we look at the mix of reactions coming out of the Canadian media.

We begin with comment from the National Post. The paper backed the visa decision, although it did pay respectful homage to the Czech’s contribution to high art and fine pilsners, commisreating that the visa reforms would be Canada’s cultural loss. Their editorial rested on the consensus that,“it is simply better all around if those whose refugee claims are likely to be turned down are never admitted to this country in the first place.”

And while the visa decision caused outrage in both the Czech Republic and Mexico, the Post tried to quell readers’ guilt by urging them not to  feel ashamed about “refusing to play patsy” to the many thousands of illegal immigrants who attempt to “abuse Canada’s good nature.”

The paper’s staunch editorial stance was backed by guest columnist Martin Collacott. He argued that the government had simply “no choice” following a “massive abuse” of the Canadian immigration system.

Collacott said: “Canada has the most generous refugee system in the world. We resettle the largest number of refugees per capita, we have the highest acceptance rates and we have the most generous package of benefits. We have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.”

In Canada’s other national newspaper, the Globe and Mail,a newspaper usally the first to shame any government policy blunder, the paper published comments by eminent immigration expert Catherine Devaugne. She described the Canadian visa decision as “a high-profile Band-Aid that creates perverse incentives and belies Canada’s human-rights commitments.”

Elsewhere, Micael DenStadt of the Toronto Sun boldy proclaimed that Canadians were “quietly furious about our flabby, porous and ridiculously over-bureaucratized refugee system”. He called for reforms to the Canadian immigration system. The Montreal Gazette agreed, calling for any new system to be “stable” and “practical”.

It took the Toronto Star to break perhaps the most heart-wrenching story of the week to come out of the Canada visa controversy. Readers were saddened to read the August wedding of Katie Murphy and Jose Gonzalez was in disarray after the new visa regulations. 20 guests who had planned to make the trip from Mexico would now not be coming.

The Star’s website tugged viewers’ heartstrings further, writing: “All the couple can do now is save the gifts they prepared for their guests.” The gifts were miniature bottles of Mexican spicy sauce with a photo of Murphy and Gonzalez on them.

The spoiling of the bride and groom’s big day is just one instance of how the Canada visa reforms will affect thousands on many levels. The parents of Gonzalez won’t be receiving their spicy sauce bottle as a direct result of the Canada visa rulings, and Canadian immigration will continue to be a hot issue for many others.

Minister Jason Kenney under fire after Canadian visa reforms

This week’s decision by the Canadian government to place visa requirements on Mexico and the Czech Republic has caused controversy and feuding between the three countries and beyond. 

A Mexican government in uproar and Czech prime minister, Jans Fischer vowing to impose retaliatory visa sanctions on Canadian visitors, while promptly whipping his Canadian ambassador out of the country. Canada must be regretting they ever tried to tackle the issue of immigration. 

As the 27-country European Union ambled into the debate, scornful of Canada’s actions, the Canadian government must have been itching to close its borders and ears to the world, never mind a few false-form-filling migrants.

You’ve got to feel for an increasingly confused and under pressure Canada. Their immigration problem has rumbled on for more than a decade. No one yet has been able to get the balance quite right between opening its doors to legitimate refugees and dealing with illegal immigrants.

After Jason Kenney’s promise that there will be even more reforms aimed at tackling the Canadian immigrationproblem, it would seem that Canadian genorisity is being stretched by the desperation of migrants abusing the system to seek a better life.

The only winners in the battle between Canada and its border intakes appear to be to those who are cynically abusing the Canadian immigration system. These people are illegitimately claiming to be political refugees but are economic parasites intent on attaining only personal gain.

Canadian journalist James Travers, writing in The Star, warns of the problems these opportunists bring. He writes: “By slipping through border policy fissures, they jump long queues waiting in the world’s worst places. Once landed, they clog a layered bureaucracy with false claims and take advantage of not-today-maybe-tomorrow deportation practices to stay, sometimes forever.”

As Canada stands firm on visa requirements, it is innocent refugees and tourist visitors to the country who will suffer greatest.

Will the new Canadian visa laws be enough to deter migrants filling in false statements and making illegitimate claims to secure easy passage into Canada?

Was this week’s reaction by Czech Republic and Mexico excessive in the light of recent Canadian immigration figures?

Has the latest Canadian visa reform improved the country’s reputation as an immigration ‘soft-touch’? 

Have your say below:

Changing face of Canada immigration law

The announcement by Canada’s Immigration Minister Jason Kenney to impose new visa requirements on Mexican and Czech Republic migrants has sparked controversy about what this means for Canadian immigration applications as a whole.

The move by the Canadian government comes in reaction to the escalating number of migrants to the country and the problem of migrants applying illegitimately for permanent residency.

Roughly 40% of all applications from the Czech Republic are accepted by the Canadian government as genuine cases, but as Kenney argues:

“The relatively higher acceptance rate of refugee claims originating in the Czech Republic masks the troubling fact that more than half of the claims are abandoned or withdrawn before a final decision is made by the Immigration and Refugee Board.”

Statistics for Mexican applicants are even less favourable. In 2008, the Immigration and Refugee Board reviewed 5,654 Mexican claims last year and accepted only 606.

Mexico and the Czech Republic are the two highest sources of refugee claimants looking to move to Canada.

Kenney has defended Canada’s right to impose the visa requirements and also the country’s sustained commitment to immigration. He argues that Canada is on course on immigration in 2009, welcoming around 250,000 new permanent residents. Of this number only 37, 400 (around 8%) were in the humanitarian category.

He says: “While countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia are talking about taking fewer immigrants, our planned numbers for 2009 are on par with last year and are among the highest for this country over the past 15 years…  The numbers reflect a continued commitment to an immigration program that balances Canada’s economic, humanitarian and family reunification goals.”

The new Canada visa requirements are not planned to be extended to any other countries in the near future. But the move has, in the opinion of some, tarnished Canada’s reputation as an safe haven for anyone suffering in their home country and needing to flee.

Toronto immigration lawyer Max Berger for one said says:

“To re-introduce this visa requirement, it really tarnishes our reputation in the international community with respect to refugee protection because we are slamming the door on genuine refugees.”

A work visa can boost your brainpower

Don’t just take Global Visas’ word for it that living and working abroad is better for your mental health. A research project has proved there is actually a proven link between improved creativity and living abroad.

The study was conducted by two psychologists, William Maddux of INSEAD, a business school in Fontainebleau, France, and Adam Galinsky, of the Kellogg School of Management in Chicago. Their findings were published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology and a brief overview of their work is summarised below, in an article featured on the Economist.com website:

Maddux and Galinksky conducted two experiments to test their theory. The first, asked 155 American business students and 55 foreign ones studying in America with a test used by psychologists as a measure of creativity.

To check that they had not merely discovered that creative people are more likely to choose to live abroad, Dr Maddux and Dr Galinsky identified and measured personality traits, such as openness to new experiences, that are known to predict creativity. They then used statistical controls to filter out such factors. Even after that had been done, the statistical relationship between living abroad and creativity remained, indicating that it is something from the experience of living in foreign parts that helps foster creativity.

Given a candle, some matches and a box of drawing pins, the students were asked to attach the candle to a cardboard wall so that no wax would drip on the floor when the candle was lit. (The solution is to use the box as a candleholder and fix it to the wall with the pins.) They found 60% of students who were either living abroad or had spent some time doing so, solved the problem, whereas only 42% of those who had not lived abroad did so.

A follow-up study with 72 Americans and 36 foreigners explored their creative negotiating skills. Pairs of students were asked to play the role of a seller of a petrol station who then needed to get a job and a buyer who would need to hire staff to run the business. The two were likely to reach an impasse because the buyer had been told he could not afford what the seller was told was his minimum price. Nevertheless, where both negotiators had lived abroad 70% struck a deal in which the seller was offered a management job at the petrol station in return for a lower asking price. When neither of the negotiators had lived abroad, none was able to reach a deal.

Given the importance of creativity to working practices and individual self-development and the relevance of multicultural experience in our increasingly globalised world, such research is of insignificance for anyone who makes the effort to obtain a work visa and live abroad, or for employers who recruit from an international pool of workers.

A new survey has revealed that Canadians are embracing a variety of once taboo work practices which are set to change how the workplace is perceived by the many millions who live and work in Canada.

Sleeping in the office, drinking alcohol and kissing co-workers were once frowned upon workplace activities. The survey by employment experts Careerbuilder.ca, reveals that such behaviours are now commonplace in Canadian offices everywhere.

Knowing how the working life of another culture and country operates is a major challenge for anyone who makes the decision to obtain a work visa and emigrate overseas.

Understanding Canadian working life for migrants it would appear now doesn’t mean knowing what is allowed in the workplace, but rather discovering if there is any behaviour that is not allowed.

Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources for CareerBuilder.ca says: “Things that are considered ‘taboo’ in the office have changed as workplace environments have evolved over the years. Employees need to be more aware of what is and is not OK in a professional setting to avoid negatively impacting their career.”

The survey reveals:
• 46% of Canadian workers have fallen asleep at work
• 35% of those surveyed have kissed a co-worker
• 31% have consumed an alcoholic drink while on the job
• 28% of Canadian workers have stolen from their office
• 26% have spread rumours about a co-worker

For anyone who has made the move to Canada adjusting how you behave from where you have been previous and adjusting to whole new work culture and lifestyle can take some time and effort. With these rather shocking statistics, it seems to work in Canada: anything goes.

We at Global Visas offer you some handy hints as to how to most efficiently secure your all important work visa:

1.  Patience is paramount in the visa process.
We all know someone who thinks the rules don’t apply to them.  But Immigration laws apply to everyone equally and the process takes time. In only very exceptional cases, fast tracking visas is possible,  but in most cases, the visa process must run its set course. Make sure you plan well head, allowing plenty of time for the visa(s) to be granted.

2.  Don’t book a flight until the visa has been issued.
This may sound like obvious advice, but even the most straightforward cases can be delayed.  Recently we had a client who booked a flight thinking the case visa would be issued in ample time. Unfortunately the employee’s passport was expiring within six months and this prevented a visa being granted.  The visa would have taken 24 hours to secure. His passport took six weeks to renew.

3.  Visa restrictions last longer than you think
Every visa comes with rules and conditions that must be adhered to. And that means even after your employee has arrived in ther host country. Your company must continue to track and manage their visa status any changes to their role, leave your employment, or extend their stay beyond their visa expiry date, then such changes must be reported to the relevant authorities and the visa amended. A visa only ceases to be an issue after your employee has returned back to their home country.

4.  Be prepared for others’ mistakes
It is not uncommon for a government employee to misread a form and then reject a perfectly acceptable case, or for a busy line manager to forget to sign a box.  Don’t panic! Immigration decisions made in error are common and there are procedures to correct them.  Managers in host countries often do not recognise the importance of just one form but with a close eye these things can be picked up early enough not to affect the case.

5.  Keep it simple
Your business maybe rocket science or even dealing with complex brain surgery. But that should not make securing your work permit any more difficult.  Immigration laws are the same regardless of what your company does.  The law is blind to certain details even if they are critical to your business.  When dealing with visas, keep it simple and only focus on the laws and what they are asking for to administer that law.  Ensure  your explanations on visa applications meet the requirement of the Immigration law only.  Offering explanations of how complex your business is will only confuse the officer charged with dealing with the case.  Stay focused on the rules.

6.  Protect your brand
Governments the world over need to show they are no pushover when it comes to enforcing Immigration law. Do not allow your brand to become that ’six o clock news’ example.  Always aim to ensure your staff remain compliant with the Immigration law at all times in all countries.  Immigration audits which show up any negative issues can have an adverse impact on a business’s reputation and should be avoided.  Even if you make a mistake but tried your best that will go a long way in your favour.

7.  Use a reputable Immigration consultancy
Make sure any immigration consultancy you use is up to the job. Do they have registered offices? Do their staff have the experience and, most importantly, are they qualified to address Immigration issues for the host country that you require?  In many regions across the world local “immigration advisors” operate with no supervision or control.  Their limited resources and knowledge can lead to difficulties and should be avoided.  Aim to secure the services of a company that is able to assist pre-departure and has offices in the host country.

8. Understand dependents
Dependents of employees often want to study or work in the host country.  Usually it’s a straightforward process to make the necessary arrangements or to explain why they are unable to do so if restrictions apply. Whatever the outcome, dependents are as important to the main applicant as his or her own visa.  The visa process may change depending on when the dependents apply for their visa.  Polygamous marriages are banned in many countries but acceptable in others, as are gay marriages and the maximum age a child can be a dependent.  Make sure you take into account all the issues before confirming a secondment the expat declines later due to family reasons.

9.  Localised staff can bring you benefits
Many on expat benefits find it hard to give them up, but a company can make big savings if they localise their expats quickly.  If a person elects to stay in a host country, you should be ready to arrange residency and even citizenship in that country.  It will mark the end of expatriate status and localise the employee in a supportive way.

10.  If in any doubt, ask
Immigration law tends to be one of the most complex areas of any country’s legislation.  Our team are always happy to answer our clients’ questions and we would prefer they confirmed facts rather than assumed them.  Our reputation is attached to the success of our clients international mobility programs and we want to get it right 100% of the time.  Whatever your question, we want to hear about them because you are important and so is your business

For all your work visa needs, let Global Visas be your one stop immigration advice and solution finder.

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Are you Canadian?

Changes to Canadian immigration rules could mean hundreds of thousands of people around the world might automatically qualify for Canadian citizenship.

Amendments to Canadian Citizenship rules last month automatically grants citizenship to those affected under the old Canadian Citizenship Act, including children whose parents were born in Canada.

From April 17, 2009, Canadian citizenship has been retrospectively restored to people forced to give it up when they moved to another country.

According to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), you may be a Canadian Citizen if you:

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Canadian immigration minister Jason Kenney

Canadian immigration minister Jason Kenney has spoken out after the leader of a Canadian-Arab organisation called him a ‘professional whore’ for supporting Israel after a recent anti-Israel rally in Toronto.

Khaled Mouammar, president of the Canadian Arab Federation, which campaigns to fight negative stereotyping of Arabs, made the remarks after Kenney spoke out at the January 10 protests in Toronto where demonstrators screamed for the war to continue so ‘Hezbollah could wipe the state of terrorism off the planet’, waved Hezbollah flags and spat at counter protesters.

Speaking to Sun Media, Kenney announced ‘groups whose leaders say intolerant or hateful things shouldn’t get taxpayer funding’.

“We should not be rewarding those who express views that are contrary to Canada’s best liberal values of tolerance and mutual respect,” said Kenney.

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Ker-ching!

6 things you need to know to get you there

Canada is one of the most rewarding and dynamic countries in the world. The United Nations voted it into 4th place 2007/08, up two places from the previous year.

Scoring it on health, educational and economic indicators, it beats Australia, Ireland, UK and USA.

There are many avenues to explore to become a Canadian citizen, here we look at the Federal Skilled Worker programme.

Immigration applications are assessed on six factors designed to indicate which applicants are likely to become economically established upon immigration to Canada.

The selection factors are summarized as follows:

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