Month: September 2021

India-Canada Direct Flights Resume Today

Date Posted: 2021/09/27

Have you been one of the many people affected by the ban that came into place in April this year?

Today the ban has finally been lifted and not a moment too soon as thousands of Visitor Visa, Study Permit and Work Permit holders had started to lose hope.

Since direct routes were restricted, such as from India, many had to stop over in other countries and along with that follow their quarantine and testing guidelines before they could even land in Canada and then another set of quarantine and testing requirements once they landed in Canada. This incurred a lot of travel costs.

It has been an impossible situation with many people wondering if they would ever get the chance to commence their studies, visit or work in Canada but finally, it seems, things may be returning to some sort of normality.

This is a huge boost to students in particular who, up until now, have had to study online if their designated learning institution authorized it. If they didn’t then it has caused huge issues with regards to any future applications like post graduate work permits.

Applicants who have had their visitor visas approved have been unable to join family in Canada up until now so things are moving in the right direction.

There are strict requirements that must be met of course. All travelers must have proof of a negative COVID-19 test from the approved Genestrings laboratory at the Delhi airport, taken within 18 hours of the scheduled departure of their direct flight to Canada.

They will also have to comply with all other requirements.

This is in addition to the ArriveCAN mobile app that must have all their information uploaded into it. Failure to do so will result in a refusal to board.

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Tags: covid-19, Study, visitor visa, Work Permit

Parents & Grandparents Sponsorship Application Invites being sent out now – says IRCC

Date Posted: 2021/09/23

The IRCC has announced it is now sending out invites in response to interests in sponsoring parents and grandparents they received in 2020.

The IRCC has confirmed that it will be accepting up to 30,000 applications under the Parents & Grandparents (PGP) program this year, based on the applications of interest submitted in 2020. This will be the highest number of intakes under this program for any period so far.

How do I know if my application has been accepted?

If you’re one of those who submitted their interest to sponsor your parent or grandparent in 2020, you might want to regularly check your emails for an update. You will also need to have your application confirmation handy when submitting your applications.

I don’t have my confirmation number, what do I do?

If you’ve lost your confirmation number, or are you using a different email address than when you sent in your interest, you can retrieve your confirmation number and invitation status using the Lost My Confirmation Number tool. You should receive a response from the IRCC within 10 business days.

The tool will be active once all invitations have been sent out to prospective applicants.

Is there a deadline to apply?

Yes, you have 60 days from the date you receive the invitation to submit the application. You must apply online using the new Permanent Residence Portal. If due to an accessibility reasons or disability you are unable to apply online, you can request a paper based application package by sending an email to IRCC.2021PGPPaperApplication-2021PGPDemandesenversionpapier.IRCC@cic.gc.ca before October 21, 2021.

Do I have to show a minimum earning to sponsor?

Yes, you will need to show that you can support your parents or grandparents when they’re with you in Canada. However, for the tax year 2020, the IRCC requires that you should have meet the minimum necessary income (MNI) requirement, instead of the MNI+30%. It will also allow recipients of COVID-19 related benefits to be included in the MNI towards sponsorship. This is to ensure that applicants who have been affected by the pandemic are not penalized if they’re unable to meet the MNI requirement.

It is important to note though that for prior years, the requirement will continue to be MNI+30%. Read more about minimum necessary incomes here.

I haven’t received an invitation; do I have any other option to sponsor?

As a matter of fact, you still have the option to apply for a super visa for your parents or grandparents. The super visa allows your loved ones to visit and stay with you for up to 2 years at a time, instead of just 6 months if they were on a visit visa. They can also enter Canada multiple times, for up to 10 years. We however advise that all travellers follow the health guidelines related to the pandemic and their physicians to ensure they always travel safely and in good health.

I want to know more about this program

Speak with us today to know more about the PGP program and other immigration and temporary residence programs.

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Tags: grandparents, parents, pgp, sponsorship

I Submitted My Proof of Canadian Citizenship Application Months Ago – What Can I Do?

Date Posted: 2021/09/21

Why haven’t I heard anything about my Proof of Citizenship application?

Early March 2020 seems like a lifetime ago but it is when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The impact caused many problems for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Notably, Case Processing Centers, Visa Application Centers, and Visa Offices closed and staff had no choice but to work from home leading to reduced work capacity.

The impact of covid-19 is unprecedented, resulting in extremely negative impacts on Canadian citizenship and immigration processing times. Citizenship certificate applications have been among the hardest hit as these applications were de-prioritized in order to allow IRCC staff to focus on other types of applications that the government deemed more urgent.

Pre-COVID, processing time for Canadian Citizenship certificate replacement was approximately 6 months and was approximately 6 months to 1 year for a first-time application for proof of Canadian citizenship. When an application is submitted, you receive the Acknowledgement of Receipt (AOR) email from IRCC confirming receipt of your application.

In June 2021, IRCC announced processing time for applications had increased to 15 months (due to a growing backlog of applications during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020). In truth, the processing time had already gone up, and IRCC only announced this officially in June.

They also specify that there will be long delays before the acknowledgment of receipt is issued. Our office can confirm this is accurate as we have had many clients who have still not received their AOR email for applications submitted in 2020. IRCC also confirms that first proof of citizenship or renewal applicants from outside of Canada will have to wait even longer than 15 months.

When can I expect to get my acknowledgement of receipt email?

The Acknowledgement of Receipt, which will include your file number (10-digit file number beginning with PR), was generally taking between (3) to (4) months to be received before the pandemic. Now, it would be realistic to expect to receive the email approximately 14 months after you submitted your application in 2020 if you submitted later than the first week of February.

Can I call IRCC to check on my application?

Yes, you can call IRCC on the regular phone number of 1-888-242-2100. However, if you have not received the Acknowledgement of Receipt email with your 10-digit file number, then IRCC will not be able to check on your application at all as it has not yet been entered into the system. Until you receive the AOR email with the file number, there is no way to track the application. Your only means of confirming that it has been received by IRCC is the delivery confirmation from the courier company you used.

How can I speed up the processing of my citizenship certificate application?

To apply for urgent processing, you must be eligible to apply for citizenship and have reasonable grounds for the request, such as the need to;

access benefits like:
- accepting an offer of admission to a Canadian university or college
- accepting a job offer from a Canadian employer
- joining the Canadian Forces
- apply for your pension
- access health care (renew your health card)
- obtain your Social Insurance Number
- obtain your Canadian passport to travel urgently (such as because of death or serious illness in your family)

This list is NOT comprehensive – there are lots of other reasons why a request for urgency may be approved for a citizenship certificate application. If you have already submitted an application and your personal circumstances have changed whereby you need urgent processing, a new application can be submitted which will process urgently.

Expedited Processing Times – Proof of Citizenship

For a citizenship card or certificate replacement, urgent processing will have your Acknowledgement of Receipt issued in approximately 1 – 2 weeks and will have your citizenship certificate issued in approximately 8 weeks.

For a first citizenship certificate, urgent processing times are approximately 2 – 4 weeks for the AOR and 6 – 8 weeks for the citizenship certificate.

My citizenship certificate application has been returned by IRCC – What should I do?

If you submitted an application to replace your Canadian citizenship card/certificate and the application was returned to you, or you received a letter requesting additional documents or information, this means that your application was not complete. IRCC will not continue to process your application for a new proof of Canadian citizenship until you provide exactly what they have requested.

If your entire application was returned, then your application has not gone into process. You will need to submit the entire application again and include whatever documentation or information was missing.

If your application went into processing, but additional info or documents were requested, you must provide what IRCC has requested. If you don’t respond within 180 days (6 months) of their letter to you, your application will be deemed abandoned and you will not receive a replacement of your Canadian citizenship card or a refund of your IRCC processing fee.

If you’re not sure why your application was returned, Contact us for more information.

Tags: Citizenship certificate

International Students And PGWP In COVID Times

Date Posted: 2021/09/16

If you’re one of the students affected by COVID-19 and studying remotely, and not sure if you’d be eligible for the PGWP, you’re not alone.

Thousands of students have been studying remotely from their home countries, while studying with their respective programs in Canadian colleges and universities. Many have enrolled in a post-graduate work permit (PGWP) eligible program and have been asking if their study period outside Canada, due to travel restrictions, would still count toward their PGWP.

Objectives of the Temporary Public Policy

This temporary public policy aims to:

allow eligible PGWP holders and former PGWP holders, including those who changed their status to visitor or fell out of status, to apply from inside Canada for an open work permit for a period of up to 18 months or until the expiry of the applicant’s passport, whichever is shorter; and
exempt eligible foreign nationals from the requirement that a work permit not be issued if they have not complied with certain temporary resident conditions or work permit criteria.

General Requirements for PGWP

As a rule, students will only be able to qualify for PGWP if:

have a valid study permit,
have been approved for a study permit by virtue of being accepted into a program with a DLI, and
submit a study permit application prior to beginning their program and eventually be approved.

It is important to note that the time spent studying while being outside of Canada can only be counted towards PGWP duration after the IRCC receives the study permit application. The PGWP is issued for a minimum period of 8 months, based on the duration of the program a student has enrolled in, which again should be of a minimum 8-month duration.

The general eligibility requirements of PGWP remain the same as before.

Studying while outside Canada

Under normal circumstances, distance learning courses are not eligible for PGWP. For all other courses, at least 50% of the course must be completed in person while being in Canada. However due to the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions the IRCC has made temporary policy changes exempting students from this rule.

Exemptions for International Students during COVID

To be eligible for this exemption, students should either:

be enrolled in a PGWP-eligible programs in progress in March 2020, or
have begun or will begin PGWP-eligible programs between spring 2020 and fall 2021.

Thus, students who meet the above exemptions will not be required to meet the 50% distance learning rule; instead, up to 100% of their programs can be completed from outside Canada. But there’s a catch. Any time spent studying from outside Canada may be counted towards the overall length of the post-graduation work permit until December 31, 2021. If the student continues to study from outside Canada beyond this date, will be deducted from the length of the post-graduation work permit.

Students enrolled in multiple programs

Students enrolled in multiple programs that are eligible for PGWP may be able to:

complete 100% of their programs from outside of Canada (if both programs were either in progress in March 2020 or began between spring 2020 and fall 2021), and
combine the length of their programs of study when applying for a PGWP in the future.

Again, each course must be longer than 8 months in duration to be eligible for the PGWP.

Part-time or course cancellations due to COVID

Several numbers of students enrolled in a PGWP eligible course prior to the pandemic have been affected by the restrictions to classroom limits or course cancellations. As such they would have become part-time students due to no fault of their own. This policy maintains that if they were enrolled in the winter, spring, and summer 2020 semesters at a DLI, their eligibility towards a PGWP will not be impacted. They will be able to maintain their status as full-time students as it was the case when they enrolled in the program, for PGWP eligibility purposes.

What you need to apply for PGWP

As most schools are either closed or have restricted access, international students may face difficulties in obtaining a letter of completion or final transcripts from the DLI.

To address this situation, this temporary policy facilities PGWP applicants who fall under the abovementioned criteria to submit their application without a letter of competition or final transcript. The IRCC officer will require this information later when the application is being processed. Students will have sufficient time to apply for and receive these documents.

Students applying to restore their status can also apply without a letter of completion or final transcript.

Want to learn more about PGWP and how to apply? Speak with us today.

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Tags: PGWP, study permit

Visitor Visa Applicants Waiting For Decision Should Resubmit, says IRCC

Date Posted: 2021/09/10

The Canadian government regularly issues travel advisory for people traveling to and from Canada, especially during the times of pandemic. Yesterday the government made a special announcement for Visit Visa applicants who have submitted their applications before September 7, 2021, and have been waiting for a decision.

The advisory provides recommendations and next steps for these applicants.

If you are waiting a decision because you need to travel soon to Canada

In this case, the government has recommended that applicants file a new visit visa application. This can be through your representative or by yourself. Your application may be considered as urgent or requiring a quicker decision if you are applying:

to unite with an immediate family member who is a Canadian citizen, person registered under Canada’s Indian Act or permanent resident of Canada
to unite with an immediate family member who is in Canada temporarily
to unite with an extended family member who is a Canadian citizen, person registered under Canada’s Indian Act or permanent resident of Canada.
to visit on business (meeting, special event, training)
to attend an end-of-life ceremony or funeral
to be present during the final moments of life of a loved one
to provide care to a critically ill person
to join a vessel as a marine crew member
to assume a posting as a diplomat or to travel as an accompanying immediate family member of a diplomat arriving on posting who will also be accredited in Canada
to handle the affairs of a victim of Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752

Immediate and extended family members

The IRCC defines immediate and extended family members as follows:

Immediate family member includes a

spouse or common-law partner
dependent child (yours, your spouse’s or your common-law partner’s)
dependent child of a dependent child
parent or step-parent (yours, your spouse’s or your common-law partner’s)
guardian or tutor

You will not require an authorization to travel and exemption that you need to travel.

Extended family member includes a

non-dependent child (adult child)
grandchild (dependent child of a non-dependent adult child)
sibling, half-sibling or step-sibling
grandparent

If you have a relationship with a Canadian citizen, person registered under Canada’s Indian Act or permanent resident of Canada, you may be considered as an extended family member provided you can prove that you are in an exclusive relationship for more than a year and have spent time together at some point in the relationship, and that you are both above the age of 18 years.

Resubmitting the application

When resubmitting your application, it is important to submit up to date information and documents, as it is a fresh application. Please note once this application is received, your previous application will be withdrawn, though if the application is already in process, there is no guarantee of a refund for the previous application, and you will not receive a notice of withdrawal for your previous application.

If you do not intend to travel immediately

In this case, you may not take any action. Your application will remain in queue for processing with the IRCC.

If you no longer intend to visit Canada

In this situation it is advised that you withdraw your application by placing a withdrawal request through the IRCC web form. However, please note that if processing has started, there is no guarantee of refund.

Are you looking to apply for a Visitor Visa to Canada? Speak with us today.

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Reference:

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/coronavirus-covid19/visitors/visa.html

Tags: covid-19, visitor visa

Update for IEC Candidates in the Working Holiday Pool

Date Posted: 2021/09/07

In an updated issued today (September 7), the IRCC has stated that IEC candidates who are already listed in the Working Holiday pool and are fully vaccinated will no longer be required to provide a valid job offer to receive their Invitation to Apply (ITA).

This news comes when today the Canadian government has started easing travel restrictions for fully vaccinated travelers. IEC candidates who wish to travel to Canada to join their place of work will now only be required to provide a proof of vaccination of both doses of the approved vaccines, when they enter the country. Job offers already submitted will not be required to be submitted again.

IEC candidates who have not received any or both doses of the approved vaccines will still have to provide proof of a valid job offers when they arrive at Canadian borders and will be required to follow testing and quarantine guidelines, as would be applicable at their time of arrival.

Starting September 13, IEC will begin random draws to issue ITAs to candidates. Candidates are requested that if they do not intend to travel any time soon, they should decline the ITA. Declining the invitation will not affect their chances of receiving an ITA in the future and the candidates will continue to main in the pool for future rounds.

However, if IEC candidates accept the invitation, they are responsible to ensure that all requirements are met at the time of entering Canada.

We also recommend following the latest travel, testing, quarantine, and border restrictions information regularly updated on Canada’s travel webpage.

Tags: IEC, travel, Work Permit

IEC Working Holiday Extensions – Policy Update September 2, 2021

Date Posted: 2021/09/03

IEC Working Holiday permit extension - policy update

Before making plans to travel to Canada, always check the government of Canada website for current information as policies related to travel restrictions, exemptions, etc. can change at any time and without prior notice.

International Experience Canada (IEC) provides candidates the opportunity to travel and work in Canada. Candidates from countries who have an agreement with Canada can apply for an IEC working holiday work permit. Some countries may allow candidates to apply once, twice, in the same or different pools, for one year at a time. It’s important that candidates confirm with their country’s Working Holiday agreements with Canada prior to applying.

Click here to read more about the IEC.

COVID-19 related policy

Last year the IRCC announced that work permit holders were allowed to request restoration of their status beyond the usual 90 days to apply for restoration. This came because of how the pandemic continues to have a negative impact on temporary residents within the country. Read more about it here.

Under the new policy announced on September 2, 2021, the IRCC has announced that IEC candidates who have received their Letters of Introduction (LOI), but are about to expire at the end of 2021, can request to have them extended for 12 months.

Who is eligible for this extension?

The IRCC announced that those who have not been able to come to Canada to work under the IEC working holiday program since the start of the pandemic, may be eligible to request one final 12-month extension on their LOI. They would need to meet the following eligibility requirements:

their initial LOI was issued between January 1, 2019, and April 30, 2020 – even if an extension was previously granted due to the pandemic;
their present LOI has expired or will expire before December 31, 2021;
they were approved for the WHP (special program code WHP – Working Holiday Programme);
they still cannot secure employment to overcome travel restrictions to come to Canada; and
the request for extension is received before December 31, 2021, using the IRCC’s Web form.

Is a medical exam required again?

If the candidate has already undergone an immigration medical exam, then they will not be required to go through it again. The candidate will not be required to undergo biometrics unless it has been more than 10 years since they first submitted their biometrics.

Will all extension requests be approved?

All requests will be reviewed by immigration officers on a case-by-case basis. If they application to extend the LOI is granted, the 12-month extension will be either from the date of processing of the expired LOI, or from the expiry date of the current valid LOI.

As per the new policy, all IEC candidates must have a valid job offer and must carry their extension letters with them when traveling to Canada.

As mentioned above, always check the government of Canada website before you make plans to travel to Canada as policies related to travel restrictions, exemptions, etc. can change at any time and without prior notice.

Reference: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/service-delivery/coronavirus/temporary-residence/covid-iec.html

Tags: covid-19, IEC, iec working holiday, Work Permit

Have you been one of the many people affected by the ban that came into place in April this year?

How do I know if my application has been accepted?

I don’t have my confirmation number, what do I do?

Is there a deadline to apply?

Do I have to show a minimum earning to sponsor?

I haven’t received an invitation; do I have any other option to sponsor?

I want to know more about this program

When can I expect to get my acknowledgement of receipt email?

Can I call IRCC to check on my application?

How can I speed up the processing of my citizenship certificate application?

Expedited Processing Times – Proof of Citizenship

My citizenship certificate application has been returned by IRCC – What should I do?

Objectives of the Temporary Public Policy

General Requirements for PGWP

Studying while outside Canada

Exemptions for International Students during COVID

Students enrolled in multiple programs

Part-time or course cancellations due to COVID

What you need to apply for PGWP

If you are waiting a decision because you need to travel soon to Canada

Immediate and extended family members

Resubmitting the application

If you do not intend to travel immediately

If you no longer intend to visit Canada

Before making plans to travel to Canada, always check the government of Canada website for current information as policies related to travel restrictions, exemptions, etc. can change at any time and without prior notice.

COVID-19 related policy

Who is eligible for this extension?

Is a medical exam required again?

Will all extension requests be approved?

As mentioned above, always check the government of Canada website before you make plans to travel to Canada as policies related to travel restrictions, exemptions, etc. can change at any time and without prior notice.

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