Changes to Canadian Experience Class: Comments FWCanada
Montreal, Quebec (PRWEB) November 15, 2013 -- Last week, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) announced changes to its Canadian Experience Class (CEC), an immigration stream designed for individuals who have worked or studied in Canada. CIC has adopted annual caps on CEC applications to reduce backlog and increase efficiency. Although the effort to shorten processing times is much appreciated, it is disappointing that the Canadian government must cap applications to do so, comments FWCanada.
"The government is taking action to reduce backlog and processing times. By making these changes to the Canadian Experience Class, we are moving toward a more effective and efficient immigration system," said Chris Alexander, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. "The Canadian Experience Class has allowed more than 25,000 people to stay in Canada permanently to contribute their skills and talents.”
According to CIC, the new policy allows for 12,000 CEC applications to be accepted from November 9, 2013 to October 31, 2014. CIC also states that it will admit approximately 15,000 individuals under the CEC even when the annual cap is adopted. Furthermore, CIC will apply sub-caps of 200 applications to skilled occupations under National Occupational Classification section, beginning on November 9, 2013.
Under the new policy, cooks, food service supervisors, administrative officers, administrative assistants, accounting technicians, bookkeepers, and retail sales supervisors, are eliminated as eligibleo ccupations for the CEC applications. This is an attempt to decrease the over-representation of certain occupational categories, stated CIC.
"The Canadian Experience Class is one of the most popular immigration streams. It has a high success for foreign nationals who work and study in Canada," said Marisa Feil, supervising attorney at FWCanada. "However, I am disappointed that the government has decided to cap these applications though we are looking forward to shorten processing times."
In order to be eligible to apply under the CEC program, applicants must be either workers or international students living in Canada. For workers, they need a minimum of one year of skilled and paid work experience at a full-time job, or a part-time job totaling 3,900 hours over the span of 36 months. For students, they need to have studied under a recognized post-secondary institution on a full-time basis, and have completed at least two academic years (16 months) or study.
Applicants to the CEC must also meet requirements for language proficiency in either English or French. The only way to prove language proficiency is to take one of the tests administered by CIC. It is also important to note that work or study experiences gained in the province of Quebec do not count toward the CEC--applicants must go through the Quebec Experience Class.
FWCanada is a Canadian Immigration Law Firm which provides
expertise in immigration services such as Temporary Resident Permits, Criminal Rehabilitation, Study Permits and Work Permits. Marisa Feil and her team ensure that each case is closely evaluated to determine the most relevant program. For more information, contact FWCanada at 1-855-316-3555.
Marisa Feil, FWCanada, http://www.canadianimmigration.net/, +1 (855) 316-3555, [email protected]
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