A great misconception for many would-be immigrants, who are seeking to move to Canada, is that it should be possible to do so in a relatively short amount of time, say 3 - 4 months.
Every so
often, I encounter someone who just doesn’t believe that it takes much longer
than that. ‘What’s the big deal?’ they exclaim with disbelief. ‘You just fill
out the forms, send them off and you get your answer!’
I inform
them that to begin with, starting from their own end, it usually takes a fair
amount of time to gather all the requested documentation and to then properly
and painstakingly complete the application forms. (Remember: measure twice, cut
once?) After being mailed, patience is the rule, as we uncomplainingly endure
while the immigration bureaucracy meticulously surveys the application and
carries out its investigations. “What takes so long?” Good question, but it
does.
What made
me think of this recently, was a NY Times article, published on 02
November ’12,
(“At a Loss? There’s Always Canada”) forwarded to me by an American
friend. The article highlights and discusses the reactions of some Americans
(particularly the left-leaning ones) to the possible outcome of the US election. Each political side possesses
its cronies, with some proudly boasting that if [you put in the candidate’s
name] wins the election, they will pick themselves up and move on up to Canada.
Ah, but of
course! It makes such perfect sense! Just move to Canada. Come on up! Not a problem at all.
Good ol’ Canada. Reliable, dependable, rugged. A
refuge, no less! Canada — the pure glistening,
summer cottage and resort area, a place to relocate to when things don’t look and
feel so fuzzy good at home. We — the morning-room to their kitchen, the cozy
spot to saunter over to in bathrobe and slippers, while reading the morning
news and nursing a piping hot cuppa joe. You don’t fancy the US (this minute)? Fret not — just park
yourselves in welcoming, accepting, adoring Canada. We will be waiting for you with
flowers at the borders.
NOT!
First of
all, before anything, (as the article also makes a point of mentioning) Canada, ironically, has a somewhat
right-wing political agenda of its own as of now, albeit our distinct Canadian-style
conservatism. US left-wingers seeking to escape from
Republican Romney-politics, would be sorely disappointed if they were
expecting in Canada a free-thinking and ‘liberal’
utopian society.
I should
also draw attention to another very serious irritant and sore point for many
left-wing ideologues, by taking this opportunity to trumpet quite loudly our Prime Minister Mr
Stephen Harper and his government’s principled, committed, unflinching and
unwavering support for Israel, never heretofore witnessed by the
Canadian public and oft-times much to the chagrin of the majority of the
international community.
But frankly,
it’s really the immigration component that I’m thinking of here. Dear American
cousins of the above-mentioned article, how exactly do you suppose you can ‘come
to Canada’?! On which legal principles do you
believe that you would be given entry to Canada to study or work? Sorry to be the
one to burst your bubble, but it just ain’t that easy! We love you as our
neighbours and friends — we really, really do, but when it comes to immigration,
you stand in line mostly like everybody else!
Forgive me,
but you just don’t get to ‘come over’ to Canada at your whim.
Indeed, Canada is a phenomenal country — political
stability; healthy economy; cultured; broad and generous social-care system;
and great weather (okay, four out of five isn’t too bad!). Our country receives
an incredible amount of immigration applications each year from persons wishing
to migrate here and share in our precious resources.
And,
precisely because of this never-ending flood of applications, the Canadian
immigration system had, of recent, become seriously inflated and backlogged
with immigration applications. However, new changes to the Canadian immigration
system have attempted to relieve this condition, and they have also tightened
the rules and narrowed the passage-way for immigration-candidates wanting to achieve
Canadian permanent residence.
Backlogs
in immigration file-processing is not a new issue and has been a problem in the
past as well. However, under the old immigration system prior to recent changes
(discussed below), the build-up of unprocessed applications had reached an
unmanageable and unfathomable 640,000
The reason
for the incredible growth of this backlog monster is that while international
Canadian visa offices had quotas for the amount of permanent resident visas
which they could issue, there was no such similar limit on the amount of
applications that they could receive. As a result, the amount of submitted
applications outstripped the amount of available visas. Demand had simply
overburdened the supply.
Seeing
this imbalance, feeling the need to ease the incredible backlog which had
resulted, and also to address the issue of attracting and selecting better
candidates to become permanent residents, the Canadian government enacted
significant changes to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act in
February of 2008.
Under
these amendments, the Minister of Immigration could make changes to the Federal
Skilled Worker program (the most conventional and routine way to enter Canada,
other than through Quebec), by limiting the amount of applications which it
would consider for processing, and slapping on new immigration requirements and
categories which applicants would have to fit into before consideration by the
government. It was determined that these changes would be applicable only to
files submitted on or after 28 February 2008.
Indeed,
the Minister did eventually issue ‘instructions’, effectively narrowing the
funnel of the intake of applicants to the Federal Skilled Worker program. It
really was quite a change from the previous system!
However…the
unexpected by-product of all this was that the newer files were being processed
before the older files (i.e. those submitted
before 28 February 2008), and the older files continued to
stack up in the back rooms. In 2011, only 34% of permanent residence visas were
issued from the pre-2008 era; the rest remained untouched and untreated by
immigration officials.
Back to
the drawing-board again, and still seeking to eliminate the burdensome build-up
of files, a new law was introduced on 30 March 2012. It effectively eliminated any
applications which had been submitted prior to 28
February ’08,
and which had not yet received a positive response by 29 March
2012. This
resulted in a return of a whopping 280,000 immigration applications (along with
their processing fees worth $130 million), amounting to about 95% of all the pre-2008
applications! This clearing-out process was expected to continue until about
2017.
Needless
to say, there was a public outcry, both at home and abroad, in reaction to this
momentous decision by the government. People who had pinned their hopes of a
better future on Canada were saddened and befuddled to be
so turned away, years after they had applied. And of course…that anger and
resentment has turned into the undertaking of legal action against the federal
government.
In a case
to be presented before the Federal Court, the first issue for determination
will be whether all rejected immigration applicants could be included in a
class-action lawsuit. If they could, then only one case would have to be tried
and decided, with the result applicable to all affected participants.
The second
matter to be adjudicated rests on the merits of the case, and subsequently the
legality or illegality of the new law and backlog-clearance. The case is
expected to start in November 2012.
More recently, on 02 November last, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Mr Jason Kenney, announced that
only(!) 100,000 files remain in the system, (from a high of 640,000) and that he
expects these to be cleared by the end of 2013. He further stated that by the
end of next year, immigration files will be able to be processed within a year as
opposed to the eight-year delay which had become the standard.
Not to be
the odd man out, Quebec has also toughened up its own immigration
process. As you may be aware, even though the domain of Canadian immigration is
legally under federal jurisdiction, by agreement, Quebec has been given the right to select
its own immigrants (while applicants’ final acceptance still remains in
federal hands).
By a Quebec government decision, published in
the Gazette officielle du Québec on 29 June, 2012, the Ministère de l’Immigration et
des Communautés culturelles has also placed limits on the intake of
applications corresponding to designated immigration classes. It is now
necessary to meet new criteria established by these recently enacted rules.
Thus, it
is clearly evident that whether immigrating through Quebec or the rest of Canada — from any country of origin — the
process is hardly a walk in the park. Americans-from-the-article, beware!
Notwithstanding
all of the above, and to be fair and perhaps present a more balanced picture, I
think that it might be possible to argue that US citizens still do have a bit
of an advantage in coming to Canada.
On a very elementary
and common level, Canadians and Americans enjoy mutual, relaxed and
restriction-free ‘visitation rights’ to each other’s countries: a) there are no
visitor-visa requirements from either country imposed on their respective
citizens, when travelling from one country to the other; and b) unless
someone’s got a fishy story or they’re acting like they’ve got something to
hide, a visitor to either country will not normally be prevented from entering.
Generally speaking, it is only when an immigration officer suspects that the
‘visitor’ may actually be entering to work or study without authorization (or
other matters at play), that he/she may be refused entry.
As for employment
opportunities, if Canadians want to work in the US or vice-versa, there is this handy law
known as NAFTA or the North American Free Trade Agreement. It is actually
quite a vast law; however, as it pertains to our discussion, let it be said
that it greatly facilitates the exchange of professional workers between the
two countries. It alleviates much of the standard paperwork, and when possible,
really provides a great opportunity for certain classes of workers to find
employment in each other’s countries.
And even with the new immigration rules in place for those seeking
Canadian permanent residence, US nationals might also be favoured.
For one, Canadians and Americans share cultural, political and societal
norms. Moving from one country to the other would not necessarily entail an
upheaval in one’s life. Generally speaking, Americans are easily transportable
from their society to ours, as we are to theirs.
A common complaint heard from recent or prospective immigrants to Canada when searching
for a job opportunity, is that prospective employers want them to have
‘Canadian experience’. Of course, this is not such a comical catch-22: the
immigrant can’t have Canadian experience if no one is willing to hire him, and
then conversely, no one is willing to hire him because he has no ‘Canadian
experience’.
US nationals would face no such discrimination and would be more readily
able to garner Canadian employment opportunities. Both Canada and US workers
have their respective particular work habits and traits, and each country’s
employees could wisely learn from each other. Canadian employers would welcome
US workers’ know-how and forward-thinking attitudes. No issue of lack of
‘Canadian experience’ with this segment of immigrants.
This is buttressed by the fact that schooling; teaching and educational
methods; and certificates, diplomas and degrees of higher education of both Canada and the US are
usually accepted at face value by either country. Whereas foreign educational
credentials need to be assessed for their Canadian equivalency in any
immigration application, this is usually not the case with degrees issued in
the US.
Finally, the new legislation coming into effect in January 2013 will
place greater emphasis on English language skills, which Citizenship and
Immigration Canada has recognized is “a key factor in the success of new
residents in Canada.” As
(most) Americans share English with us as their mother tongue, they could
reasonably expect to improve their chances for immigration based on this fact
alone.
So as not to alarm some readers, none of the above has anything to do
with spousal sponsorships! That is its own kettle of fish and, although it has also
recently undergone significant changes, is beyond the purview of this article.
In summation, behold you have witnessed the under-belly of the
immigration process, fraught with personal, time and legal challenges!
Migration from one country to another, though greatly valued by some, is truly
not for the faint-of-heart. Immigrants to this country have often expended
great efforts on their immigration projects.
So, to those Americans who are unhappy with the election results: you’re
always welcome to come here, but…it just ain’t as easy as you think!
