U.K. immigration crackdown could hit 6,000 Canadian students

2015/08/11 2 Comments

Strange – the worry about fraud undermines a pathway to skilled immigrants (cancellation of pre-Permanent Resident credit in Canada towards citizenship residency requirements, while not as strong as UK measures, will likely reduce attractiveness of Canada as a destination):

British Home Secretary Theresa May has announced a wave of changes to the United Kingdom’s immigration rules, effective in November, that target international students.

The aim is to curb what the government calls an increase in visa fraud by students who arrive on a study permit and enter the job market instead, thereby bypassing the strict requirements needed to obtain a legal work visa.

It’s the latest in a series of crackdowns by Prime Minister David Cameron’s government, which has promised to reduce annual net migration to the U.K. from “hundreds of thousands to tens of thousands.”

The U.K. is one of the most popular places for Canadians to study abroad, second only to the U.S. For the 2013-14 academic year, there were more than 6,000 Canadian students enrolled at higher education institutions in the U.K., a three per cent increase from 2012, according to Britain’s Higher Education Statistics Agency.

Like Hirschy, many of these students hope to stay and work, but the new legislation will make this more difficult.

U.K. immigration crackdown could hit 6,000 Canadian students – Canada – CBC News.

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Foreign students left behind in new Express Entry immigration program | Toronto Star

2015/03/27 2 Comments

Oversight or by design? Metropolis Panel on Temporary Foreign Workers March 27 will have opportunity to discuss:

International graduates from Canadian universities and colleges say Ottawa’s new skilled immigration system actually hinders their access to permanent residency instead of promoting it.

The scholars say their once-prized assets — Canadian education credentials and post-graduate work experience — have little to no value under the new Express Entry program, which came into effect Jan. 1.

The problem, which the federal government denies, lies in the significance given to a certificate called the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). It is issued by Ottawa to ensure a candidate’s skills are sufficiently in demand to warrant hiring an immigrant.

Ottawa says applicants for Express Entry, such as international graduates, do not need an LMIA to qualify. But Express Entry acceptance is based on a point system and it’s not possible to earn enough points without an LMIA, immigration experts say.

“The new system is flawed,” said Toronto immigration lawyer Shoshana Green. “We want people who went to school and have work experience in Canada. These people are already fully integrated. And now we are ignoring them. It is just bizarre.”

Under the Express Entry system, an applicant may earn a maximum of 1,200 points. An LMIA automatically earns applicants 600 points. The other 600 possible points are awarded for personal attributes such as education, language skills and work experience.

How many points does it take to qualify for Express Entry? It changes. So far it has been as high as 886, and has dropped to 735 points. Regardless, the qualifying level is more than 600, so an LMIA is necessary.

Foreign students left behind in new Express Entry immigration program | Toronto Star.

Also covered in the Globe:

International students in limbo under immigration system changes – The Globe and Mail

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New immigration rules risk leaving international students behind

2015/02/11 Leave a comment

Curious and wonder what the rationale was:

“Students are the worst done by in this Express Entry system because, how do you prove for someone with [little] work experience that there is no Canadian to do the job?” said Evan Green, a partner and immigration lawyer at Green and Spiegel LLP in Toronto.

Students are still able to apply for permanent residence through other avenues, such as provincial nominee programs (PNP), which prioritize applications from international students with Canadian postsecondary credentials and professional work experience. The majority of Ontario’s 2,500 PNP spots are filled by international students, for example.

But tens of thousands of students have stayed in Canada as a result of the federal program, and those spots cannot be transferred to the provinces without negotiations.

The changes to how applications from those eligible under the Canadian Experience Class would be processed were announced last winter but the exact details were only released by Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander in early December.

“This is a radical move that is devastating to international students that relied on policies that were put into place by this government to help post-graduate international students transition to permanent residence, based on their findings that these were the best people to adapt to life in Canada,” said Robin Seligman, a Toronto-based lawyer who has international student clients.

Along with removing credit for students for pre-permanent residency time for citizenship, likely reduces the attractiveness of Canada compared to other jurisdictions.

New immigration rules risk leaving international students behind – The Globe and Mail.

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Changing citizenship rule could hurt Canada’s efforts to woo foreign students: observers

2014/02/24 Leave a comment

Ironic, as the Government has been innovative in attracting foreign students through new categories like the Canadian Experience Class, that no longer counting time as a non-permanent resident student is part of the proposed Citizenship Act revisions. Unclear whether this will have much direct impact on recruitment efforts for international students but that is the fear:

The change is raising some eyebrows as it creates a potential hurdle for those who typically make well-integrated, sought-after immigrants.

“Increasingly international students are seen as a fabulous talent pool for Canada, they’re golden immigrants,” said Jennifer Humphries, a vice-president at the Canadian Bureau for International Education.

“They can be huge contributors to the Canadian society, Canadian economy. If we create roadblocks to them, what will happen could mean that they could get their education in Canada and end up going to work in the U.S.”

Changing citizenship rule could hurt Canada’s efforts to woo foreign students: observers – Canada, Need to know, News & Politics – Macleans.ca.

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