The revamped Canadian immigration programme that came into effect from January 1 this year could be the answer to many waiting to immigrate to the North American country.
The Canadian Express Entry programme is a points-based system which is linked to the country’s employment needs. Under this system, 50 per cent of the points will be alloted to those applicants who have a job offer or nomination certificate duly approved by Canadian authorities. “I am hopeful about this new system as it is unbiased. The applications will be assessed on the basis of merit unlike the earlier when you had to wait for years together. My husband had applied for immigration three years ago, but he hasn’t received a response till now,” said a resident of Oman.
Immigration agents say the new system is a positive sign and will attract a large pool of quality applicants. Lt Col B S Sandhu (retd), CMD, Welcome to WorldWide Immigration Consultancy Services Group told Muscat Daily, “We have received more than 500 applications from across the globe since December-end. We are looking forward to process more applications.”
Another resident who has been working in Oman for the past six months said, “I came to Oman six months ago. I wanted to go to Canada but I was reluctant to apply for a Permanent Residency (PR) since the earlier system was not employment-based. Though my brother who went there two years ago is a Canadian citizen, he does not have a job. I want a PR with a job and since I am an engineer I know I will get preference under the new system.”
Lt Col Sandhu added, “Unlike the Federal Skilled Worker Programme, this one has no priority occupation list, hence a vast pool of applicants can apply for PR under this programme. The new system has moved away from passive processing to employment-based system. Now, the authorities will select the candidates who are likely to succeed in Canada rather than those who happen to be first in line as was the case before.”
As part of the new system, applicants are required to submit their profiles online. Applicants who meet the minimum requirements will be accepted in a pool and ranked according to several factors, including age, education, language proficiency and Canadian experience. Candidates with the highest ranking will be invited to apply for PR.
The processing time is being reduced to six months for those who qualify the four streams and have registered themselves under the express entry system.
Muscatdaily