Citizenship and Immigration Canada has announced important changes to three of its immigration programs that will come into effect July 1st, 2011. The changes affect the Federal Skilled Worker Program, The Federal Immigrant Investor Program and the Federal Immigrant Entrepreneur Program.
Changes to the Federal Skilled Worker Program Effective July 1st
Only 500 applications will be accepted for each of the 29 occupations on the list of 29 eligible occupations  here for a total of 10,000 applications being considered in total, unless the applicant has a valid job offer from a Canadian employer – at which point they are not affected by the caps.
The 29 occupations will also remain the same this year.
Changes to the Federal Immigrant Investor Program Effective July 1st
As of July 1st there will be a cap of 700 applications processed for the Federal Immigrant Investor program. The cap for this program is expected to be reached within days.
These deadlines have made it extremely important for you to get your application filled out properly the first time !
Changes to the Federal Immigrant Entrepreneur Program Effective July 1st
Citizenship and Immigration Canada is not accepting any more applications for this program as of July 1st and has not stated when they will open up again. This is a BIG deal! No more Entrepreneur cases will be accepted come July. This program has been “dead” for sometime. Applications we have found were taking around 5 years to process. Other categories will have to be explored for those applicants wishing to apply as Entrepreneurs.
These changes are hot off the presses. Stay tuned for more information as we learn about the details. We will keep you posted!
President & CEO
Michael Niren
Mr. Niren is CEO of VisaPlace LLC and the President and Managing Partner of VisaPlace Legal Canada, an immigration law firm based in Toronto, and VisaPlace Legal US a law firm registered in The District of Columbia, USA. Mr. Niren is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Canadian Bar Association’s Citizenship and Immigration Section, American Lawyers Association, and an Associate Member of the American Bar Association.
