hellohowru

to immigrate to Canada? I heard that there is a terrible long backlog and most people have to wait years and years and years.

iaink

You heard correctly. 3, 4 years for skilled worker now through London CHC. Longer throufh some other visa stations? Do you have any canadian relations who can sponsor you

Tableland

80% of cases in the latest period were processed in 52 months, which is 4 years and 4 months.

The healthiest way to look at it is that Canada, like the USA, doesn't have a points-based system, but instead makes you go the "private enterprise" route and get a job through PNP.

PNP is the only realistic option for people hoping to improve theirlives the Canadian way before 2011. If the wait gets much longer Canada won't even exist by the time they get there and will have been entirely incorporated into the US economic and security periphery.

PNP. Really.

dbd33

Another healthy way to look at it is that you can apply now and then become skilled at whatever you think they may want before they get to considering you.

iaink

Its not widely commented on here, but the number of PNP places is strictly limited, and at the end of the day, PNP is just a way round the CIC education requirements. Once you have your PNP certificate, you still have to apply through the federal system anyway to finaly become a PR.

I guess its a sort of compromise between a temporary work permit and regular skilled worker PR, and only good for some specific trades, and you would need to have relevant experience too.

Tableland

Sad but true. Something's wrong when it's easier and quicker to get into the US (even as a Brit with no family there) than it is to Canada. Anyone would think Canada had a population of 300 million and wasn't too fussed about growth. For the life of me, I cannot understand what the CIC thinks it's doing by pushing so many skilled workers into the US, Australia and NZ. They must have lost hundreds of thousands so far, and still see no reason to improve their service.

I read the other day that Alberta is petitioning the Federal Government to allow unskilled workers in because there are more jobs than workers there and they can't keep up. The CIC waiting list is causing real problems for their economy - and all they have to do to change things is hire more people to view the applications and alter the quotas to allow them in.

There is a theory that they would rather have them in the queues.

iaink

AB already allows unskilled immigration...that how all the newfies get there

Its a political knife edge. AB needs more skilled workers, but the Feds have to look long term and at Canada as a whole. What happens in 5 years when the boom is dead, and there are 100k extra immigrants to feed and provide welfare for. Someone will carry the political can.

I agree, the current situation is nuts, but opening the floodgates is not the answer and will create a lot of anti immigrant sentiment. It is high time that the system was overhauled. the curent focus is too much on degree education and formal apprenticeship to meet the skilled worker criterea, but what Canada needs is more blue collar tradespeople, who dont meet those requirements.

If it were up to me I would scrap the whole thing, refund those who withdraw their applicaions and go to the provinces to asses what workforce is really required. I cant believe ontario really needs any more degree educated ESL taxi drivers though.

kt0157

What they need is a system where the best candidates are scooped first, by whatever criteria that are important. The NZ system now does this: people with high points are scooped and processed first. People with low points, on the other hand, may never get scooped and processed. It's tough but better for the country concerned.

I can't see how Canada can go on like this: a surgeon has to wait 5 years in line behind burger-flippers (who get rejected eventually anyway). In reality, the surgeon goes to another country or else comes on a work permit (which is highly unsatisfactory - who wants to commit to a new life based on a sequence of temporary visas?).

The widely held perception in Canada is that "immigration is easy" and citizens are unable to understand the difference between family class, refugee class, skilled worker, and so on. We are all "dirty immigrants" in their eyes, which makes it politically difficult to reform.

K.

Almost Canadian

Are these groups mutually exclusive ? It seems to me that you prefer experience over qualifications - what's wrong with experienced, qualified people ?

I used to be a carpenter (fully apprenticed) and what really got up my nose was having to "snag" the work that had been done by fly by night "chippies" that had worked on site as a labourer for a few months, decided that they could do the job of a skilled tradesman, and then market themselves as a carpenter. I'm sure I don't need to explain to you that there is more to being skilled than being able to do the bog standard jobs well. I am very happy that Canada only wants those that are able to document their abilities with reference to qualifications and experience (most would not qualify without at least 4 years experience) although I accept that some "qualified" workers are crap and some unqualified are good.

It seems to me that they have the process correct, maybe they have too many occupations listed on the NOC list (should limit them to those really required) or increase the quotas

iaink

The reality though is that not too many jobs require high flyers with high points counts, and those that do can be easily filled through the work permit system. Its the more mundain jobs that need filling quickly, and that simply doesnt happen.

And your surgeon...the odds on him making it through the licensing requirements in canada, finding the necessary internship etc etc, are so long that the reality is he is more likely to be the one flipping burgers in the long run. And all that is outside the governments hands as they have no influence over the provincial licensing bodies. They would love to fill the shortfall in GPs or whatever with imported doctors, but the medical bodies wont license them. its a crazy situation.

iaink

Mutually exclusive?, no, of course not, and there is nothing wrong with experienced qualified people except perhaps the shortage of them, and they are covered by the current points system.

On the other hand whats wrong with experienced tradespeople without a formal apprenticeship. Even with an apprenticeship you still need to meet provincial licensing (Red Seal) and I dont see how having the formal apprenticeship is any different if you still have to do the Red Seal thing. Either way if you dont cut it, you dont cut it.

There are already plenty of shoddy fly by night contractors in Canada (perhaps in part due to the shortgae of good ones?), so thats not really an immigration problem. Getting people here in good time is though, and thats where the current way if failing dismally.

hellohowru

Wow I didnt know it was as bad as all that. I think that what it means for me is living in Canada permanently right now is a dream. I have relatives in the USA who can get me a greencard in less than a year (my mum lives in Houston). Do you think I should just move to America? Ive never been there but I heard its a lot like Canada. Does Canada give US permanent residents a break in terms of living and working there with the NAFTA rules or whatever?

dbd33

Yes.

Yes.


Yes.

iaink

NAFTA applies to citizens only. PR in a country is irrelevent, so dbds wrong on that one.

Canada and the US are similar on the surface, but I think very different socially and politically, for example in terms of the sink or swim way the US works, and the social safety net that exist in Canada for say health care. The US is nice to visit, but I'm glad I live in Canada.

dbd33

Hair splitting, once he's in the US he'll forget all about Canada.

I don't see the countries as being very different but I know that's not a very popular view among Canadians (!)