Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has announced changes in Federal Immigration comprising: Federal Skilled Worker Program, Federal Immigrant Investors Program and Federal Entrepreneur Program. All the changes are affirmed by Immigration and Refugee Protection Act approved by Parliament in 2008 as part of the Action Plan for Faster Immigration. These changes are effective from July 1, 2011 and will allow the government to regulate the intake of immigration applications with emphasis for immigration.
Federal Skilled Worker- The government limits the number of federal skilled worker applications to be processed from 20,000 to 10,000 a year. The list of 29 priority occupations remains the same but, a maximum of 500 new applications will be considered within each category. (Federal Skilled Worker Program includes the applications that responded to Canada’s labour needs, such as applicants with arranged employment offers from Canadian employers or with experience in an occupation in high demand)
Federal Investor Immigrant Program-Along with the above changes, a cap of 700 on new federal investor applications is introduced. This cap has been introduced in addition to the last year changes that raised the minimum net worth and investment requirements. This will further help to reduce the backlog.
Federal Entrepreneur Program- As regards to July 1, temporary moratorium on new federal entrepreneur applications has been introduced. The Federal Entrepreneur Program will be enhanced so that Canada is a better place to retain entrepreneurs. Canada receives many more immigration applications than can be accepted every year. These changes effective from July 1, 2011 will help the government to meet their commitments and receive the sufficient amount of files.