Search
Contact
Login
Share this article
IMPACT – HIGH
What is the change? Canada will reopen its Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) program with a new cap of 25,000 applications and more than double the eligible occupations. The caps on the Federal Skilled Trades (FST) program and Canadian Experience Class (CEC) will also be reset.
What does the change mean? Starting May 1, 2014, applicants may apply under the FSW program and the eligible occupations will be increased from 24 to 50. The cap for the FST program will be increased to 5,000 applications and all 90 skilled trades will be eligible for consideration. The cap on CEC applications will be reset at 8,000.
Background: On April 23, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) Minister Chris Alexander announced the re-opening of the Federal Skilled Worker Program in light of the expected elimination of the backlog. CIC will accept 25,000 new applications beginning May 1 in an expanded number of occupations. The 50 eligible occupations are listed here. CIC also announced it will accept 5,000 applications under the Federal Skilled Trades program for 90 eligible occupations. These will be the last applications accepted until the launch of Canada’s Express Entry system in January of next year.
The Canadian Experience Class caps will be reset to accept 8,000 new applications beginning May 1. Applications under that program recently exceeded 6,000 out of an initial cap of 12,000. The adjusted quota will cover the transition period leading up to Express Entry.
BAL Analysis: Companies will welcome the availability of more permanent residency granted to skilled workers in a greater number of job categories.
This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice group. For additional information, please contact your BAL attorney.
Copyright © 2016 Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. All rights reserved. Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. For inquiries please contact copyright@bal.com.
The U.S. Department of Labor has posted updated processing times for permanent labor certification (PERM) applications. PERM Processing: As…
Immigrant visa issuance continued to climb in fiscal year 2023, surpassing pre-pandemic totals, according to recently published State…
EU member states’ ambassadors have agreed on a draft regulation that would let the EU suspend visa-free travel for countries…
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced this week that it will implement a streamlined process to provide Employment…