Canada Immigration News

Quebec has announced that it will reopen its Immigrant Investor Program (QIIP) later this year despite the decision of the Canadian federal government to close its investor program. Quebec's immigration ministry, Immigration et Communautés Culturelles Quebec (ICCQ) has announced that the program will reopen on September 8th 2014.

Canadian immigration minister Chris Alexander has announced that Canada will introduce its new 'active recruitment' immigration system in January 2015. It will be known as 'Express Entry' and will be similar to Australia's SkillSelect skilled immigration system.

On Tuesday 18th March 2014, Canada's immigration minister Chris Alexander met in Ottawa with the immigration ministers of Canada's provinces and territories to discuss Canada's future immigration policies.

According to a joint statement they have 'reiterated their commitment to actively recruit economic immigrants that have the skills the Canadian economy needs most'.

A group of Chinese citizens who had applied for Canadian visas are considering suing the Canadian government after it terminated the Immigrant Investor Program (IIP). Canada scrapped the IIP in February. All applications were terminated and the Government fees returned. It is estimated that some 65,000 people were waiting for visas.

Irish citizens rushed to apply for Canadian working holiday visas after Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) began accepting applications at 8pm on 13th March 2014. 3,850 visas were available. CIC received that number of applications within 11 minutes and stopped accepting further applications leaving many applicants disappointed.

Canada's immigration minister, Chris Alexander, has introduced legislation in the Canadian parliament that would increase the required residency period before immigrants could apply for citizenship to four years from the current three years.

Mr Alexander announced the bill at a press conference at Fort York in Toronto, the site of a historic battle between Canada and the United States in 1812. He said that the bill would 'increase, reinforce the value of Canadian citizenship which we all sense but which needs to be renewed in every generation'.