According to the Ministerial Instructions (MI), the new Operational Bulletin Number 173 has been introduced to elucidate the requirement of evidence for work experience in one or more the occupations mentioned in the National Occupation Classification. This bulletin has been put in to effect immediately.

The Operational Bulletin states that the all the skilled worker applicants under Federal Canada should have at least a year of full time work experience or equivalent in the tenure of the previous 10 years, which is paid. This is not restricted to only one specific occupation that is mentioned in National Occupation Classification. An applicant is permitted to have a combined experience of a year as well in different professions. With this, the Bulletin also demystifies the question of gaps between jobs for the applicants under the SW1 and SW3.

Previously, the eligibility included having a minimum of one year of professional experience which is full time and continuous in a specific profession. However, the amendment made now continues to mandate the same terms for professional experience but with a slight change. The applicant is no more restricted to work in the same profession. He could have worked in different professions continuously for a year and would still be eligible.

Now, the gaps between each employment which are not of long duration would be permitted. For instance, an applicant was employed in a contractual basis and seeks a new job before finishing his tenure. In this case, the candidate would have to join his new job shortly after his contract with his previous employer is over. The short period before joining his employer would be accepted by the Canadian High Commission. However, the occupations in both the cases must be present in the list of the MI. This is specific for both – SW1 and SW3 categories.

Additionally, those applicants who were deemed as ineligible would now be qualifying for the same. A follow – up operational bulletin would be issued for them. This bulletin is still in the process and thus, in the meantime these applicants would have to consult their specific Regional Program Advisor.

Certain norms have been placed by the Canadian High Commission when it comes to seeking citizenship. It is mandatory that any immigrant applying for a Canadian citizenship must have resided in Canada for a minimum of 1095 days out of the entire last 4 years.

With the above, it is important to document that period of residence. This means that some form of evidence has to be provided for the same. It would be easier for your application to be accepted if you have one of the following documents –

• A driver’s license
• Provincial medical coverage

It would also be easier if you are either working or studying full – time in Canada.

On the other hand, if you travel frequently on work purposes, it becomes important to document the specified number of days that an immigrant has resided in Canada. In this case, it is important that you have your passports intact to be produced when asked for. This also includes all your expired passports in the last four years as well. If you are not able to produce a passport for a relevant period of time, it might impact negatively on your application.

Tax returns are another aspect that proves your residence in the country. With this is a reference letter from the Canadian employer which confirms you as a full time employee in that particular organization. A credit card receipt is another document that could be asked for as a reference. This would prove that you made purchases in a local store and that you were physically present in the country. However, these cannot be considered as the most important of all the documents but would certainly prove to fill in where the documents have been found to be deficient. On the other hand, it cannot be said whether it would suffice for the immigration official or the citizenship judge.

In order to check the eligibility of the candidate, there are many tests approved by the citizenship officials. However, a final decision could only be known when the judge announces. Thus, it is always better to keep all the documentary proofs safe in order to get your citizenship hassle free. To know more, contact an Immigration and Visa Consultant.

Many a times, Immigration Representatives are confused or interchanged with immigration consultants. For those with the above thinking, it is for them to know that there is a difference between the two. An Immigration Representative is authorized to represent an applicant by the Canadian High Commission.

However, it is not mandatory to hire the services of a representative. It is totally on the applicant since it doesn’t give any added advantage or additional points with a representative. However, he would be able to guide you better. These services would definitely help you in taking the right steps. You can avail their services to act on your behalf and present your case.

While selecting an Immigration Representative, you have to be very particular on whom to select. It is important to know that there are two types of Immigration Representatives. These are –

• Paid Representatives – These include established lawyers who are in good books with the Canadian Provincial or the Territorial Law Society. This category also involves Immigration consultants who are registered with the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants and the Notaries who are the members of Chambre des notaires du Québec as well.
• Unpaid Representatives – These representatives do not charge any fee for their consultation. These include your own friends and family or someone from the non – governmental or a religious group or organization.

In both the cases, the Government of Canada does not comply with unauthorized representatives presenting cases on behalf of the applicants.

In case of representatives, there have been many instances where in the applicants have been duped for money. So, it is always better to do a background check of the consultancy. This could be done by interacting with other clients and being informed in prior.

All in all, a well planned step would ensure a good of your money!

According to the recent changes, the Indian rupee which is equivalent for cost recovery fee will change from October 12, 2009 onwards as far as the Immigration services are concerned.

Some of the included amendments are:

The list is endless. It would be an intelligent decision to consult a veteran attired with a healthy experience in the field of Immigration to go for a bother-free future. Also, applications with an incorrect fee would be returned. Therefore it is advised that the applicants should delay their submission and at the same time consult a person who is updated with the latest happenings in the Immigration world. This way, the applicants can survive a visa-denial.

As far as the refused or withdrawn applications are concerned, the processing fee is not refundable. It is mandatory to go for the option of Bank Drafts and Certifies cheques (in favor of “Canadian High Commission” or “Receiver General for Canada”) rather than cash payments as the later is not accepted. It would be better to take guidance from an Immigration and Visa expert and know more about the new amendments in the cost recovery fee.

The Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has brought out new rules for the applicants for Guyana. According to the new norms, only those applications would be accepted which have a machine readable passport. This law has been implemented from 1st September 2009.

If you are citizen of Guyana who intends to immigrate to Canada, you can visit the official website of Guyana for the new passport. The site has all the guidelines on how to apply for a new passport.

In addition to this, the Canadian High Commission has stated its working hours for the acceptance for the completed visa applications. The timings are from 8.30 am to 11 am; Mondays to Thursdays.

You can also visit www.trinidadandtobago.gc.ca for more information on Canadian immigration and other conditions for the visa. The application forms could also be downloaded from the website.

It has been predicted that in the coming years, many nationals from Guyana and its surroundings are expected to move to Canada. The basis for this has been the World Population Data Sheet from the Population Reference Bureau. According to the statistics, US and Canada would have an increase in its population among the developed nations. This would be mainly due to immigration.

Thus, if you are one of those planning to immigrate to Canada, it is best that you contact an Immigration and Visa Specialist who is equipped with all the recent details. This would lead to less delay; prevent wastage of money, time and resources.

So, contact one today!

The Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) values the importance of a family, especially the one which is reuniting after many years. To make this possible, CIC has a special Sponsorship program which allows the family members to sponsor their spouses and relatives. A sponsor is defined as the person who is a citizen or a permanent resident living in Canada and is financially stable enough to support his family members emigrating from another country. He should be above the age of 18 years.

These family members to be sponsored could include spouse/common law/conjugal partner, children, parents, grandparents, siblings, nephews and nieces or grandchildren who were orphaned before they were 18 years of age. However, one can only apply as a sponsor if the dependents are accompanying him.

While sponsoring the spouse and the dependent children, the sponsor must promise to support them financially. Thus, the eligibility criteria regarding the financial status of the sponsor should be met. However, if the sponsor has previously sponsored his relatives who have later on gone to seek the help of the government, he might not be allowed to sponsor an immigrant again.

A spouse is defined as the person to whom the sponsor is married to or if their marriage is legally valid. A common – law partner is someone who has been living in a conjugal relationship for a minimum of a year uninterruptedly.

A conjugal partner classification is meant for those couples who for some reason have not been able to qualify under the common – law – partners category. A spouse can apply in the conjugal partner if he/she has had a conjugal relationship with the sponsor for a minimum of a year.

A son or a daughter is considered to be dependent if he/she is below the age of 22 years and is not engaged/has a common law partner. Also, the dependent children should be full time students and financially dependent on their parents and if the child is dependent due to a disability.

It would be easier for you to apply if you belong to any of the above categories. However, for the best possible outcome, it is best to contact an Immigration expert who would know all the rules and regulations regarding the scheme of sponsorship.

Stay tuned to know more on this program!

To ensure that skilled migrants who enter Canada on permanent resident visa make essential contribution to the development of the Canadian economy, the Canadian government has identified 38 qualifying occupations that make you an eligible applicant under the federal skilled worker Migrant program for Canada.

These occupations are decided based on labor market trends in the Canadian economy. However, this is not as easy as it sounds. The complication arises when qualifying occupation may match your job title in your home country but still your application stands rejected. That is because duties and responsibilities performed by you in the home country do not match with job descriptions under the said job title in the NOC. It especially hurts when your job duties might have permitted you to file under another qualified NOC/Occupation title. This is quite a common predicament that annoys many immigrants and may even make them feel that the Canadian High Commission has treated them unjustly.

The reality is that job titles may vary from one country to another and also among different industries. This is why it is important to know the inside story of the occupations that are listed in NOCL as you read through job descriptions and everyday duties that a professional of that occupation is expected to fulfill.

Primary duties

This article elaborates job descriptions, job titles and everyday duties that form a part of the occupation of Financial Managers, listed in NOCL. Financial Managers perform a majority or all of the duties given below:

• Planning, direction, control and evaluation of the ways of working of financial and accounting departments
• It further engulfs development and implementation of the financial systems and policies of business establishments
• Preparation and presentation of financial reports, cost-benefit analysis and financial summaries to the senior management
• Establishing profitability standards to handle mergers, acquisitions and investment activities
• Coordinating budget process, financial planning as well as correction and analysis of estimates
• Supervising implementation and development of financial models
• Evaluation of investment activities, accounting procedures and financial reporting systems along with providing suggestions to enhance operating systems, budget management and procedures
• Recruitment, training and management of staff
• Act as a liaison between the investing public, financial analysts from outside the company, shareholders and the company
• Notify about immediate concerns related to financial performance of the company to the senior management

Job titles to qualify

Employed in accounting and financial departments of companies, you can see them working in both government and private sector. Some of the primary job titles that stand good chances of qualifying under this occupation are – financial director, controller, treasurer, financial administrator, accounting director, director of financial services, manager of financial control, internal audit services, financial analysis et al.

Educational requirements

Besides the checklist for job duties and job titles, a check of the employment requirements is also mandatory. You can review the employment requirements for the occupation of Financial Managers below:

• A bachelor’s degree in economics, commerce, business administration or any other related field
• A recognized designation, like CGA, CA or CMA, may be necessary for audit and accounting managers
• A Master’s degree or its equivalent in administration (with finance as the specialized subject)
• Extensive experience in auditing, financial analysis, financial planning, auditing, budgeting and accounting

Hence, it is important that you comply by these requirements generated by NOCL, in order to qualify under the occupation of Financial Managers. In addition, keeping in mind that identification of correct qualifying occupation forms the very basis of acceptance of your immigration application under the federal skilled worker category; you will do well to take assistance of a seasoned and experienced immigration consultant and advisor while filing your permanent resident visa application.

Every year, many homosexual and transgenders singles and couples migrate to Canada. The country is one of those very few recognizing homosexuality at par with heterosexuality. In Canada, a gay or a lesbian couple has the right to get married as well as adopt children along with other human rights. The country has some of the most friendly gay and lesbian immigration laws when compared to other countries. There are two ways to immigrate to Canada – get sponsored by your Canadian partner or apply under the General Skilled Migrant category.

If you have a partner/married to a person of the same sex for a year or more, you can qualify for Sponsorship under the Family Class (provided your partner is a Canadian/Permanent Resident in Canada). This means that you could be sponsored as a spouse, common law partner or conjugal partner.

On the other hand, if you and your spouse are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents, you can apply for immigration under the Skilled Migrant category. In this case, one of the partners would be the Principal Applicant and other being the common law partner included in the same application. This category is the most sought after since it considers applicants only on the basis of merit. An assessment is done based on the following:

• Educational qualifications
• Work experience
• English and French language skills
• Age
• Adaptability
• Arranged employment.

If you clear the pass mark including all of the above, you can easily obtain a visa from the Canadian High Commission.

It has to be noted here that all applications from the same sex couples are treated in the same manner when compared to the other applications. However, a certain level of scrutiny is maintained. This makes it even more important to submit the right documents asserting your relationships. This aspect is checked twice by the Canadian High Commission. Thus, there is nothing secondary to a well – documented application. To achieve this, contact an Immigration and Visa Consultancy Firm specializing in Canadian immigration.

In spite of the economy fallout, Canadian employers are still on the look out for skilled professionals from other countries. Accountancy, being one of the 38 important occupations holds key for the skilled migrants. Other occupations include financial managers, computer and information systems manager and so on.

Chartered Accountants from all over the world are encouraged by the Canadian government to apply for a work permit in Canada. This is because the country has always been on the shortage for accountants. It is also seen that in any organization or a business enterprise in Canada, part of its employees consists of immigrants from other countries. Also, the Canadian High Commission is very particular about the selecting the right candidates to contribute to its economy.

In addition to the need and the job opportunities, the application and the processing time for the visa is faster when compared to other countries. The country also offers a Temporary Work Permit for those planning to work on a contractual basis. The short term work permit caters to the immediate need for employees with certain particular skills. This clearly depicts the need of the country and its economy for skilled and qualified immigrants. With this are the state of the art facilities, brilliant infrastructure, better living and working conditions and so on.

Inspite of the country taking measures to provide more opportunities for its own citizens, it has been constantly found that the necessary skills and qualifications required by the business enterprises are lacking in the local people. This has called them for recruiting people from other nationalities.

In other words, the country is highly dependent on immigrants for its economic growth. Thus, if you are on the look out for immigration options; this is the best time for it and Canada is the right country. You are on an advantage if you have a finance related background. The Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants has recognized 13 foreign designated accounting bodies. The members of CICA have to pass a law tax in order to be practice in a particular province or territory.

The skills required for such candidates include a level of competency, credibility, confidence and so on. For more, contact an experienced immigration specialist today who can assist you with further options.