Canadian Immigration – Umka Immigration Consulting https://umkaimmigration.ca by Cenk Kemal Haznaci Sat, 05 Feb 2022 01:14:01 +0000 en-CA hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://umkaimmigration.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/cropped-Originalfavicon-32x32.png Canadian Immigration – Umka Immigration Consulting https://umkaimmigration.ca 32 32 A Historic Express Entry Draw! https://umkaimmigration.ca/a-historic-express-entry-draw/ Sat, 13 Feb 2021 15:28:41 +0000 https://umkaimmigration.ca/?p=2937

A Historic Express Entry Draw!

By CENK KEMAL HAZNACI

27,332 invitations to apply in a single draw!!

Today, February 13, 2021, marks a historic day in Express Entry and Canadian immigration in general. A whooping 27,332 Express Entry profiles under Canadian Experience Class were invited to apply for permanent residence in Canada. This is HUGE! To put things into perspective, shortly before this Express Entry draw, the EE pool had 152,714 candidates in it. That means 1/5.5 of Express Entry candidates got an invitation. This has never happened before.

the lowest cut-off score ever — 75!

The cut-off score was a shocking 75! This is the lowest cut-off ever. What that means is currently there is likely no one left without an invitation to apply in Express Entry pool under Canadian Experience Class.

What will be the ripple effects of this?

  • With so many Canadian Experience Class people suddenly out of the pool, it is not unreasonable to think the cut-off score will drop for other programs as well. Provincial Nominee Program class people inherently don’t have a hard time securing a high CRS score, but for Federal Skilled Worker it is another story. So, rejoice FSW people! You might see much more favorable cut-off scores in the coming draws.
  • The previous record high of invitees in a single draw was 5,000. Now that this record is shattered by a landslide, it is not hard to predict an enormous workload for IRCC case processing agents and visa officers. This might reflect in longer processing times for all Express Entry applicants. We were already having slow-downs due to COVID-19, this now might push things even further into an uncomfortable zone. With that said, we also know that IRCC is hiring officers as we speak/type/read. Will they be able to absord such a load without a prolonged processing time? Time will tell.

Why such a ginormous draw?

In October 2020, Government of Canada had already announced its plans to support economic recovery though immigration. Due to COVID-19, Canada’s immigration numbers had fallen and did not meet the 2020 targets.

In a press release today, Government of Canada points to the fact that travel restrictions limit the intake of immigrants. To tackle that, they have turned their attention to temporary residents who are already in Canada. That mainly means temporary foreign workers as Canadian Experience Class requires at least 1 year of Canadian work experience.

Ultimately, this giant draw is part of Canada’s economic recovery efforts.

Congratulations to everyone who got an invitation to apply today! Should you need help with filing your application, do not hesitate to contact us at contact@umkaimmigration.ca 

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]]> IRCC Speeds Up Processing Times for Spousal Sponsorship Applications! https://umkaimmigration.ca/ircc-speeds-up-processing-times-for-spousal-sponsorship-applications/ Fri, 25 Sep 2020 03:07:56 +0000 https://umkaimmigration.ca/?p=2425

IRCC Adds 66% More Agents on Spousal Applications to Speed Things Up!

By CENK KEMAL HAZNACI

It is no mystery that all Canadian immigration applications have been affected by the pandemic. Since March 2020, both temporary and permanent residence applications have been moving slowly. Perhaps paper applications took the worst hit. Online applications regrouped relatively quickly with case processing agents working remotely. But paper applications were not that lucky with zero to few agents at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (IRCC) offices. Well, that is changing as of today!

Today, Marco E. L. Mendicino, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced that IRCC will add 66% more processing capacity to deal with the backlog of spousal sponsorship applications. This is mainly thanks to a new technology. IRCC is piloting a technology that digitizes paper applications. That way, IRCC case processing agents will be able to ‘handle’ spousal sponshorship applications at the comfort of their homes. The target is 6,000 spousal sponsorship applications to be processed per month until the end of year.

In the announcement, there is word of other initiatives too. In addition to the biometrics measures, IRCC will conduct interviews remotely, testing another new technology.

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These are certainly welcome news for those separated by their loved ones. There has been a significant #prioritizefamilysponsorship movement lately. Particularly a facebook group named Spousal Sponsorship Advocates truly pushed for a change and did everything they could to make their voices heard. This includes numerous rallies in all major Canadian cities, petitions (6,000+ signatures strong), recruiting Members of Parliament to the cause, engaging media both broadcast, print and online. My hat’s off to all those who fought for what they believed in.

Now, all that we hope is for the new technology to work without serious hickups, so that the target levels can be met. It is also unclear whether or not the permanent residence application element of outland spousal applications will be included in this initiative. If not, then this initiative might help with only one part of the problem. Visa offices around the world are still working at limited capacity. Also, biometrics collection is an ongoing problem in many Visa Application Centres around the world. But let’s not sour the tone here! Today is a good day!

Feel free to contact me for your spousal sponsorship applications. I will be happy to assist you.

Thank you,

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]]> New Exemptions to the COVID-19 Travel Ban https://umkaimmigration.ca/new-exemptions-to-the-covid19-travel-ban/ https://umkaimmigration.ca/new-exemptions-to-the-covid19-travel-ban/#comments Sat, 21 Mar 2020 03:41:32 +0000 https://umkaimmigration.ca/?p=2389

New Exemptions to the COVID-19 Travel Ban

By CENK KEMAL HAZNACI

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced new exemptions to the COVID-19 travel ban on foreign nationals that came into effect on March 18, 2020. Please note that the new exemptions are announced but have not taken effect yet. Do not travel just yet and follow the Government of Canada’s official page.

With the new exemptions, international students, temporary foreign workers and outland permanent resident applicants whose applications had been approved by IRCC may travel to Canada. However, some of the exempted groups have a cut-off date. 

There is no cut-off date for temporary foreign workers and all work permit holders may come to Canada. But for international students, the story is a bit different: Only those who held a study permit or whose study permit application had been approved at the time of the travel ban took place are exempted. The travel ban took effect on March 18, 2020. So any study permit applicant who was approved for a study permit on and after March 19, 2020 are not covered under this exemption, and they may not travel to Canada.

For permanent resident applicants who got the approval but haven’t yet traveled to Canada, there is another date to worry about. IRCC mentions the announcement date of the travel ban as the cut-off date for PR application approvals. The travel ban was announced on March 16, 2020. So only permanent resident applicants who were approved before March 16, 2020 but haven’t yet landed in Canada are now exempt from the travel ban and may come to Canada.

Please note that there are other exemptions and if one qualifies for those, they may still travel to Canada. One of the most notable of those previously announced exemptions are immediate family members of Canadian citizens or Canadian permanent residents (PR). Immediate family member means:

  • spouse or common-law partner
  • a dependent child of the Canadian citizen/PR or of the Canadian citizen/PR’s spouse or common-law partner
  • a dependent child of the dependent child
  • the parent or step-parent of the Canadian citizen/PR or of the Canadian citizen/PR’s spouse or common-law partner
  • the guardian or tutor of the Canadian citizen/PR

It is also worth noting that this exemption does not release the traveler from their duty of 14-day self-isolation. Any traveler to Canada are expected to self isolate for fourteen days and not come into contact with others, including their family members at their household.

Like the students and workers, these new exemptions come as a relief to the education industry and the industries that rely on temporary foreign workers, most notably the agriculture, fish/seafood and caregivers.

]]> https://umkaimmigration.ca/new-exemptions-to-the-covid19-travel-ban/feed/ 1 Why work with an immigration consultant? https://umkaimmigration.ca/canada_immigration_why_work_with_a_consultant/ Fri, 18 Oct 2019 04:24:15 +0000 https://umkaimmigration.ca/?p=1994

Why work with an immigration consultant?

By CENK KEMAL HAZNACI, RCIC

First of all, you don’t have to work with an immigration consultant to be successful in a Canadian immigration application. Then why work with one? I’ll give you my two cents about it in three aspects:

  1. You
  2. An RCIC (Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant)
  3. Other factors

1. You

TIME = MONEY

Without a doubt, the “You” aspect is the most decisive factor of all. After all, you pay the money; it is your immigration application; and you know yourself the best.

You have to look at the pros and cons of going at it alone. How much time will it take you to learn about how to submit an application? How much time will it take you to learn about other potential programs and streams? How much time will it take you to make sure you don’t miss anything? Do you have that much time? And how much is your time worth? In other words, how much do you make in an hour, doing what you do for a living? I used the word ‘time’ a lot because this will take a heck of a lot of time. And time is money.

I’ll give you a bit of a first-hand information here because I did this weighing the pros and cons thing for myself in 2014. At the time, I was in Turkey, working as a freelance translator and pondering on moving to Canada. And honestly, I didn’t do the pros and cons correctly. I couldn’t estimate the time to be spent accurately. And I didn’t even take into account my time’s worth. The sticker shock was enough for me to make up my mind when I received my first quote from an immigration consultant. I ran the other way and did not ask another consultant for their fees ever again.

The initial learning of how Canadian immigration system works probably took me about 200 hours. This requires going through immigration forums every day, reading through the IRCC website and trying to read/watch whatever else you can find to get some kind of guidance and wrap your head around the things you see for the first time. So if your first application is successful, 200 hours might be the time you expect to spend to get there.

THE MATH

The math is simple—multiply your hourly rate with 200. If the result is smaller than what your immigration consultant quoted you, going at it on your own might be a financially viable choice. That is until you make a mistake and your application is rejected and you have to start over. That’s exactly what happened with me. After my application was returned for being incomplete—effectively making me lose my chances since the mail took 3 months to reach Turkey and it was already 2015 by then and the submission window had been closed—I had to go through a whole system makeover in 2015 (the introduction of Express Entry), a provincial nominee application and a second federal PR application. The hours I spent probably exceeded 600. So sometimes even doing the math right might not save you.

LACK OF EXPERIENCE

That takes me to another question: Will the effort you put in to learn things be enough for you as an inexperienced applicant, especially when the matter is of a life-changing nature, such as an immigration application? Even when you think you don’t make errors too easily, a squeezed schedule, lesser hours to sleep etc. might turn the tables on anyone. You have to get it right at your first try. Not everyone is cut out for this kind of a gamble.

2. An RCIC

The second aspect is a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant, a. k. a. RCIC. This part is going to be easy.

An RCIC will charge you not just for the time they’ll spend on your application, but also the time they spent on learning and becoming who they became—a person with training and experience in immigration matters.

A PROFESSION

RCICs make a living out of immigration services. Your application is not going to be their first. Even if it is a new RCIC, you will still be in good hands because as per the regulations and codes of ICCRC—the regulating body for Canadian immigration consultants—RCICs lacking experience or competence in an immigration matter must introduce a co-counsel (an experienced RCIC or an immigration lawyer) to your case. All in all, an RCIC’s chance of a grave error is greatly lower than yours.

RCICs go through Practice Management Education sessions and must meet Continuing Professional Development requirements on a continuous basis, which means having to attend immigration-related events, webinars and training sessions regularly. And we are audited annually.

A WIDER VIEW

In Canada, federal programs and provincial streams combined, there are almost a hundred ways to go to for immigration. An applicant might not be aware of all of their options. By looking at your answers to an intake questionnaire, an RCIC can show you alternative routes that you might never have thought of. That is one of the biggest values RCICs add to you.

NUANCES

You may be surprised to hear this, but Canadian immigration processing is not carried out uniformly throughout the world. There is officer discretion in most matters, and some visa offices might be quite harsh while others might be lenient. Knowing the behavioral patterns, the nuances, of visa offices makes a difference.

LEGAL JARGON

RCICs almost always write a submission letter and submit it along with your application. A submission letter addresses the weak and/or strong points of an application and makes a case for a positive decision. We cite the relevant articles from Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations and Act and also the case law in support of the application. This eases the visa officer’s job and often leads them towards a favorable decision.

3. Other factors

Full representation is not the only service most RCICs offer. All you need might be an Initial Consultation Session to clear your head about a few things you got stuck on before submitting that application. An hour of consultation session might be a cheap but a very effective solution for some.

When you do everything on your own and fail, you have no one but yourself to blame. When you work with an RCIC, you can always blame them! LOL. But I know you’ll be nice and not do that to your RCIC. Kidding aside, if you think something was not done right, you have rights. 

CONCLUSION

As I said at the beginning, you don’t have to retain a professional to be successful in a Canadian immigration application. It all boils down to you and your needs. If your time is valuable, I think it is a no-brainer—you have no reason not to go with an RCIC. Even if your time is not that valuable and when you do the math you spend a few hundred dollars less without retaining an RCIC, think about what you read above. I think you are still much better off working with an RCIC. 

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]]> Ontario Foreign Worker and International Student Streams Closed for 2019 https://umkaimmigration.ca/oinpforeignworker-intstudent-closed-2019/ https://umkaimmigration.ca/oinpforeignworker-intstudent-closed-2019/#comments Tue, 24 Sep 2019 16:09:44 +0000 https://umkaimmigration.ca/?p=1436

Ontario Foreign Worker and International Student Streams Closed for 2019

By CENK KEMAL HAZNACI

On September 23, 2019, Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) announced that it closed intake for its two popular immigration streams, namely Foreign Worker Stream and International Student Stream. I will give you the good news fast: This closure is only for 2019. The said streams will re-open in 2020.

The reason for the temporary closure is that OINP reached its annual target for the two streams. The Government of Canada allocates a nomination quota to the provinces. And the provinces determine target numbers for each of their streams in a given year. Ontario reached that target for Foreign Worker Stream and International Student Stream. Both streams are under the Employer Job Offer category.

Here is a brief overview of these two streams:

1. Foreign Worker Stream

Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker Stream is an Ontario immigration stream for permanent resident hopefuls with a job offer in a skilled occupation at Skill Type 0 or Skill Level A or B of the National Occupational Classification (NOC). Foreign nationals outside of Canada also qualify under this stream.

The job offer must be permanent and full-time, and the work must occur in Ontario. The wage cannot be lower than the median wage for that occupation. Within the last 5 years, the applicant must have at least 2 years of work experience in the same occupation, or the applicant must hold a license for the offered job. A license becomes mandatory if the occupation is regulated in Canada.

The employer offering the job also has to meet some criteria:

  •  In business for at least 3 years
  • a minimum of $1,000,000 in gross annual revenue if the work is in  the Greater Toronto Area (GTA)
  • a minimum of $500,000 in gross annual revenue if the work is somewhere in Ontario excluding the GTA
  • At least 5 Canadian citizens or permanent residents must already be working full-time where you work if in the GTA
  • At least 3 Canadian citizens or permanent residents must already be working full-time where you work if in Ontario excluding the GTA
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2. International Student Stream

Just like the Foreign Worker Stream, International Student Stream also requires a full-time and permanent Ontarian job offer in a skilled occupation at Skill Type 0 or Skill Level A or B of the National Occupational Classification (NOC). The wage cannot be lower than the low wage level for that occupation.

The applicant must have received either one of the two from an eligible Canadian learning institution:

  • a degree or diploma that takes at least two years to complete if the applicant studies on a full-time basis, OR
  • a degree, diploma or certificate that takes at least one year to complete if the applicant studies on a full-time basis and that requires a completed degree as an admission requirement.

At least half of this study time must have occurred while the student was physically present in Canada. You must apply within two years of the date on your diploma, degree or certificate.

The employer requirements are exactly the same as the Foreign Worker Stream:

  • In business for at least 3 years
  • a minimum of $1,000,000 in gross annual revenue if the work is in  the Greater Toronto Area (GTA)
  • a minimum of $500,000 in gross annual revenue if the work is somewhere in Ontario excluding the GTA
  • At least 5 Canadian citizens or permanent residents must already be working full-time where you work if in the GTA
  • At least 3 Canadian citizens or permanent residents must already be working full-time where you work if in Ontario excluding the GTA.

Feel free to contact Umka Immigration Consulting for your immigration needs, including OINP streams. I will be happy to assist you.

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