At the time when most immigrant doctors from India are struggling to get their degrees recognized by Canada in one of the most popular Canadian cities, Toronto, here is the news that would make all Indians feel proud, as well as inspire medicos to make it big in foreign land. The founder of BSA Diagnostic Medical Imaging Center, who hails from Amritsar, Punjab in India has made it big in the Canadian land. The center happens to be one of the largest medical facilities in Canada. A graduate from the Amritsar Medical College, Birinder Ahluwalia is a famous figure in Canada, thanks to not only his professional achievements, but also for his contributions to the cultural aspect.

Physician Ahluwalia immigrated to Toronto in the year 1985. He started off his career in the Canadian city as a courier boy. However, he did not wait much time, as soon after he joined the chief of the RDS Diagnostics as his assistant. Alongside, he was training as a diagnostic imaging specialist. He just took the right move at the time. Diagnostic imaging was just taking off, where there were lots of opportunities in the field at that time.

He then opened the BSA Diagnostic Imaging Center in the year 1989- the vehicle for his successful journey! In 2009, the center handled a total of seventy thousand cases. According to Mr. Ahluwalia, his center expects to treat even more patients this year. It was his achievement which earned him the one of the top 25 slots for the immigrant achievers in Canada. He accompanied the Canadian PM Stephen Harper to India in 2009.

Birinder Ahluwalia’s achievements are not restricted to only his profession. He is one of the founders of the Toronto’s Spinning Wheel Film Festival. Mr. Ahluwalia is the perfect example of a promising immigrant who holds the determination to make something remarkable in foreign land. He, especially, is a role model to immigrant doctors in Toronto, where one can find the highest number of immigrant physicians who are earning their livelihood as taxi drivers, due to the non-recognition of their degrees.

For all those prospective applicants who are intending to immigrate to Alberta, here is the not so good news. The province has stopped accepting applications from the applicants who are intending to apply under the Family Stream and the U.S. Visa Holder Category.

But cancellation has been performed on a temporary basis and is applicable until any further official notice is not brought in action. The same has been confirmed by a press release by the Government of Alberta.

Those who have already applied or are intending to apply, should know that applications under these two categories that were postmarked on or before August 23, 2010 would have their share of acceptance for processing further. The processing would be done in accordance with the current program criteria.

According to Thomas Lukaszuk, Minister of Employment and Immigration for the province of Alberta, the processing schedule would be continued for all those applicants who are decked with perfect skills and the enhancing economic needs of Alberta.

The applications under following programs would continue to gain acceptance: Engineering occupations, International students, Skilled workers, Semi-skilled workers in certain occupations, Compulsory trades, and Self-employed farmers.

The main motto behind Alberta’s immigration is to lure more and more applicants through its provincial nomination program rather than giving preference to those who want to come on a temporary basis.

The International Graduate stream of the Nova Scotia Nominee Program lets the province’s employers hire and retain the international graduates who have been studying or living the Nova Scotia. In other words, this stream is meant for international graduates who are living and working in the province and have the intention to establish their careers in Nova Scotia.

Here are the basic eligibility criteria for the applicants of this stream:

• International graduates must have graduated within the last two years. They must have pursued the degree/certificate/diploma from a provincially-accredited post-secondary institution in Canada.
• They must be legal residents in Canada on a temporary work permit.
• They must have a permanent, full-time employment offer from a Nova Scotia employer in their field of study. They must have been working in a regular position for minimum 3 months.
• Job offers for international graduates must require them to be in positions which fulfill the requirements of the NSNP, pertaining to the skill level.
• Graduates must have the required skills, qualifications, and training for the job.
• They must have the intention and ability to settle in Nova Scotia, permanently.
• They must posses the adequate settlement supports.
• They must fulfill the criteria pertaining to age, language proficiency and education set for the International Graduate Stream.

To more about this stream of the Nova Scotia Nominee Program, contact an Immigration and Visa Consultant!

The Nova Scotia Nominee Program’s Skilled Worker stream enables the province’s employers hire international skilled workers in order fill up the job positions, reason being the local workers lack the required skills. In order words, Nova Scotia employers make use of this program in appointing foreign skilled nationals, when they are unable to find Canadian citizens or Canadian permanent residents with the needed skills to fill those positions.

In order to be able to qualify for this stream applicants must possess a permanent, full time employment offer from a Nova Scotia employer in hand, much before filing their immigration application with the Nova Scotia Nominee Program. The skilled worker applicants can expect priority processing of their applications whose:

• Employers (from whom they receive employment offer) have genuinely tried to find and recruit qualified Canadian citizens or permanent residents for the positions.
• Employers are in a position to demonstrate that they will assist foreign workers with additional supports for settlement in the province.
• Employers have a practical strategy to recruit, as well as retain immigrant workers in the province.

Below are the eligibility criteria for skilled worker applicants:

• Applicants must have lawful status in the country where they are residing at time of applying for the NSNP.
• Applicants must intend to settle in Nova Scotia, permanently.
• Applicants must possess adequate settlement supports.
• Applicants must have a permanent, full time employment offer in Nova Scotia from a well settled Nova Scotia business/employer.
• Applicants must possess required qualifications, training, work experience, for the job.

For more information, contact an Immigration and Visa Consultant!

Under the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program’s Strategic Initiatives stream, the province of Manitoba manages to meet the objectives of the CMIA (Canadian Manitoba Immigration Agreement) by letting foreign skilled workers to enter the province and fill the job positions in Manitoba, thereby meeting the needs of the labor market. Foreign nationals are eligible to file petitions with the MPIP through the Strategic Initiatives stream if;

• They have received an invitation letter to apply as part of a Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program targeted promotional initiative; OR
• They have been favored by a Manitoba-based ethnic/cultural group or a regional economic development entity, which will assist you in arranging an introductory visit (pre-approved by the MPNP) to the province; OR
• An adult dependant of a MPNP nominee who does not meet the criteria of a eligible accompanying dependant can also be qualified for the Strategic Initiatives stream, given he/she proves his/her financial capability to put up in the province and will receive assistance from the nominee in establishing himself/herself in Manitoba.

Below are the basic criteria that all the Strategic Initiatives stream applicants need to meet:

• Applicants must have the educational qualifications as well as the training as described by the terms of a specific initiative. However, the applicants must have completed high school.
• Applicants must demonstrate their employability to be employed in the province of Manitoba. They must have the work experience.
• Applicants must have proficiency in English or French language so that they can be employed in the Canadian province.
• Applicants must have the intention, as well capability to establish themselves in Manitoba based on their employability and settlements supports.

Contact an Immigration and Visa Consultant to know more about the Strategic Initiatives Stream!

Like any other Canadian Provincial Nominee Program, Nova Scotia Nominee Program facilitates skilled foreign nationals to immigrate to the Canadian province in order to lead a better and satisfied life. Nova Scotia employers or companies make use of this provincial program to hire skilled immigrants into their operations, when they find the local Canadian lack in the required skills. As for the international skilled workers, the Nova Scotia Nominee Program is a quicker way to be qualified for the permanent residents of Canada.

The Nova Scotia Nominee Program is administered by the province’s Office of Immigration, aided by the Citizenship and Immigration Canada. The program allows the province to recruit and choose immigrants who can contribute to the Nova Scotia economy and meet the labor shortages of the province.

Once an applicant is nominated by the Nova Scotia Nominee Program, he/she, along with spouse, dependent, children can apply with the Citizenship and Immigration Canada for permanent resident visa.

Different streams of the Nova Scotia Nominee Program include:

• Skilled Worker Stream
• Family Business Worker stream
• Non-Dependent Child of Nominees Stream
• International Graduate Stream
• Community-Identified Stream

For detailed information on each of the streams, contact an Immigration and Visa Consultant!

In order to hire international long haul trucking drivers under the Saskatchewan Immigration Nominee Program, Saskatchewan trucking firms are required to meet some eligibility criteria. Let us have a look at them:

• The trucking firms must have been in operation in the province of Saskatchewan for a minimum period of 5 years.
• The carriers run by the firms must have acceptable safety rating, confirmed by the Highway Traffic Board.
• The firms must be engaged in long-distance shipping. In other words, they must be in operation which requires them to travel inter-provincially, as well as internationally.
• A trucking recruitment and settlement plan must be submitted by the firms, which should include the recruitment and screening international truck; providing training for the nominated ones; and settlement aids for international drivers and their families.
• The firms must meet various requirements as set by the Service Canada.

The Service Canada also requires all trucking firms to fulfill the following:

• The firms must provide the proof of on going efforts to recruit local Canadians workers at the time of filing applications with the Saskatchewan Immigration nominee Program.
• They must also demonstrate that they have tried to fill the positions with unemployed Canadians through provincial employment programs and Human Resources and Skills Development Canada.
• The firms must consult the province’s local union and make sure if the position is covered under a collective agreement.
• The firms must come into an employer-employee agreement, which must contain wages, duties, as well as conditions pertaining the transportation, accommodation, and occupational safety of the international truck drivers.

There are other requirements as well, which the Service Canada requires trucking firms to meet. To know more, contact an Immigration and Visa consultant!

The Students category of the Saskatchewan Immigration Nominee Program is designed for international students who wish to live in the province and obtain Canadian permanent residence status. Foreign students who have been studying or have studied in Saskatchewan find it easier to speed-up the process of obtaining Canada immigration visa as compared to other federal programs. Let us have a look at the eligibility criteria that all prospective Students category applicants have to meet:

• Applicants must have graduated and obtained certificate/diploma/degree from an accredited program (institution) in Canada. The program must have continued for at least one academic year of full-time study.
• Applicants must have worked for a Saskatchewan employer for at least 6 months. They must have worked on a post-graduate work permit.
• Applicants must have a current permanent/regular employment offer from their respective employers.
• However, it is not necessary that the employment offer is related to what they have studied.
• Applicants must have applied and obtained a post-graduate work permit from the Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

For more information on the Students category of the Saskatchewan Immigration Nominee Program, contact an Immigration and Visa consultant today itself.

The Hospitality Sector Pilot Project of the Saskatchewan Immigration Nominee Program lets the province nominate those foreign workers to be engaged in occupations in hospitality sector who are currently working in Saskatchewan for a minimum of six months on a temporary work permit. The applicants must be holding a valid Canadian Temporary Work Permit for one of the below mentioned occupations:

• Food or Beverage Server
• Food Counter Attendant or Kitchen Helper
• Housekeeping or Cleaning Staff

In other words, to be eligible to apply for this category, prospective applicants must start working in the Canadian province for an employer that has been recognized by the Saskatchewan Immigration Nominee Program. For this they need to obtain a temporary foreign work permit from the Citizenship and Immigration Canada. If the employer with whom an applicant is working offers a permanent regular employment offer, after six months of minimum working period, then the latter can apply for the PR status with the Saskatchewan Immigration Nominee Program.

Apart from working in any of the above mentioned occupations, applicants are also required to fulfill the following criteria:

• Saskatchewan employers must have employed them in one of the above mentioned positions for a minimum period of 6 months.
• Applicants must be educated up to Grade 12, in least.
• Applicants must possess the required knowledge of English language in order to be eligible for the Saskatchewan employment.

For more information, contact an Immigration and Visa Consultant!

The category of Farm Owners/Operators of the Saskatchewan Immigration Nominee Program is meant for those foreign nationals who hold experience in farming, along have sufficient fund to make investment in a farming operation or purchase a firm in the province of Saskatchewan. This category also includes a stream called Young Farmer which facilitates international young farmers and families to establish their lives and farming operations in Saskatchewan.

Below are few of the eligibility criteria for the Farm Owners/Operators category:

• Applicants must have a net worth of 500,000 Canadian Dollars.
• Applicants must supply signed agreement confirming the purchase a farm operation or land to start a new operation.
• Applicants must deposit a refundable good faith cash of 75,000 Canadian Dollars.
• Applicants must visit Saskatchewan for minimum of five working days and meet with an SINP representative.
• Applicants must make the visit within 2-3 years period before signing an agreement to purchase an operation.
• Applicants must provide documentation, including educational qualifications; experience; training; financial documents from their previous businesses.
• Applicants must also demonstrate that they have proper knowledge of farm operations.

For more information about the Farm Owners/Operators category of the SINP, contact an Immigration and visa Consultant!