Canada Visa

Ottawa, December 28, 2012 — New measures to prevent fraud in the International Student Program (ISP) were proposed today by Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney.

"“Attracting the best and brightest young minds from around the world is key to the continued success of Canada’s economy and long-term prosperity,”" said Minister Kenney. "“But there are too many stories of international students who pay a lot of money and leave their families back home to study in Canada, only to find out they have been misled. These changes will help us better protect international students and the reputation of Canada’s post-secondary education system by making sure that international students are coming to quality institutions that comply with basic standards of accountability.”"
Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) is proposing regulatory changes to limit study permits to students attending institutions designated by provinces and territories. The proposed changes would address concerns that some institutions are providing poor-quality programs or facilitating, knowingly or not, the entry of foreign nationals to Canada for purposes other than study.
Under the proposed amendments, CIC would work with provinces and territories – which are constitutionally responsible for education – to develop a framework to designate educational institutions that will be permitted to host international students. If a school is not designated, it would be able to continue offering programs of six months or less to foreign nationals in Canada on regular visitor visas. Visitors who wish to enroll in short-term courses do not currently require a study permit, and this would continue to be the case.

Eligible international students attending designated institutions would also be able to work part-time off-campus, without having to apply for a separate work permit. This new flexibility would contribute to Canada’s appeal in attracting the best and brightest students from around the globe.
Furthermore, to help eliminate abuse of student visas, changes are being made to ensure that the primary intent of an international student in Canada is to study. Currently, foreign nationals are able to apply to any Canadian school or business offering training in Canada and need only demonstrate an intent to study – there is currently no requirement for them to actually pursue studies once in Canada and no way of tracking whether they do. These changes would provide CIC the authority to request evidence from study permit holders to verify their compliance with study permit conditions. International students would be removed from Canada if they fail to meet new requirements.
The proposed changes respond to findings from a 2011 evaluation of the International Student Program, which concluded that gaps in the program leave it open to abuse and fraud. Similar reforms have already been implemented by Canada’s key competitor countries for international students. These changes will strengthen Canada's position as a leader in international education.
"“By improving the International Student Program, we are strengthening Canada’s reputation as a destination of choice for international students,”" said Minister Kenney. "“In addition to the economic impact, international student graduates are a great source of potential permanent immigrants. For those who choose to stay in Canada, their Canadian education and their language skills are important factors for success.”"
"“International students are vital to the global experience offered on university campuses across Canada,”" said Paul Davidson, president of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC). "“They enrich our institutions with their cultures, languages and unique perspectives and have a positive economic impact on communities coast to coast. We support efforts to strengthen Canada’s reputation as a destination of choice for students around the world.”" "“The Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) and CIC collaborate to maintain the integrity of Canada as a destination of choice for international students,”" said James Knight, President and CEO of the ACCC. "“Canada’s 140 public colleges and institutes are renowned for the quality of their programs and services for international students. We welcome measures to preserve the excellence of the Canadian brand.”"
As part of the consultative process, the proposed changes were posted today in the Canada Gazette for a 45-day public comment period.

Building a stronger Canada: Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) strengthens Canada’s economic, social and cultural prosperity, helping ensure Canadian safety and security while managing one of the largest and most generous immigration programs in the world.

Canada Visa Information's

Each year, Citizenship and Settlement Canada (CIC) sets settlement focuses to meet the Canadian legislature's investment, family reunification, and compassionate targets. 2012 will see a great build in the issuance of visas from abroad, with aggregate reports climbing from 217,800 in 2011 to an extrapolated 255,100 for the present year.

Very nearly all classes of Canadian settlement will see builds in the product of visas being issued in the upcoming year. Right around these, some have built drastically. Visas good to go to folks and grandparents, for example, numbered 11,200 the previous year. For the present period, the target has been set at 36,500. Different critical expands have been extrapolated for Federal Skilled Laborers (55,900 to 61,000), and Provincial/Quebec Chosen people (73,600 to 78,000). In aggregate, abroad visa issuance will ascent a unbelievable 17% for the present year. A further 26, 884 visas are looked for to be issued to workers presently in Canada On top of national targets, particular visa issuance targets are given to visa transforming focuses in every geographic locale. Generally speaking, these focuses are looked for to issue a more fantastic number of colonization records. In the Africa/Middle East area, vast builds are anticipated the Federal Skilled Laborer project. Particular expands in parent/grandparent visas issued from the Damascus office are in addition anticipated to happen. In the Asia/Pacific locale, for the most part colonization objectives are made arrangements for all but one visa office, with parent/grandparent visas above and beyond copying. Europe and the Americas will see comparable updates. Absolutely hefty expands are arranged in all cases for the Mexico City and Havana business settings. Colonization targets are situated by the federal legislature on account of numerous objects. These objects are completed under the on the whole schema of the 2002 Colonization and Evacuee Insurance Act (IRPA). The IRPA is answerable for illustrating destinations, but it tries not to prioritize the proposed destinations or illustrate how they might as well be fulfilled and apportioned broadly and universally. Such choices fall to the present Canadian administration. The Leader, Stephen Harper, has long ago declared that the midway driving compel behind his government's migration approach should be investment in nature, and expands to such monetarily-determined systems as Federal Skilled Specialist and Commonplace Candidate systems seem to reflect this communicated object. Advance to this, both Federal and Quebec Business class colonization can be streamlined to precisely target fancied business settlers. Notwithstanding gathering monetary objectives, the Administration of Canada has communicated different settlement necessities for the present year. Of vital vitality is shortening the on the whole handling times and decreasing the build-up of provisions at present found in some colonization classes. Steps have been additionally been made to oblige a development in family class requisitions and upgrade the Canadian framework of refuge and evacuee resettlement.

Immigration priorities are determined through a lengthy process of research and dialogue with key economic and social stakeholders. Provinces and Territories are heavily consulted throughout the year for the setting up and running of both provincial and federal immigration programs. Also integral to the decision making process is research on economic conditions and labor market needs. While bringing in immigrants to fill immediate labour shortages, it is also important to seek to address long term issues such as the geographic distribution of labour and the aging Canadian population. Finally, Canada’s capacity to welcome newcomers must be in line with immigration goals so that arrivals may be successfully integrated to their new home. Last year, $600 million was allocated for these efforts outside Quebec, and $250 specifically located to the Province of Quebec.

CIC’s immigration targets for 2012 can be viewed in detail below: