This is an interesting article from the Globe and Mail, but the protagonists ignore basic facts: there is no "right to immigration"; Parliament can pass any legislation it wishes in the interest of public policy; the use of hyperbole words as "dreams" and "shattered" may be highly emotional and attempts to arouse sympathy, but the bottom line is that immigrants need jobs and the current policy is to emphasize immigration for those who are already working in Canada or have prearranged jobs. Most of the applicants in the Skilled Worker program that are in the "backlog" do not have prearranged jobs, nor the skills or ability to find one in the current economic climate in Canada. Applicants have known for the last three years that the Minister issued instructions in 2011 directing that the Skilled Worker category will comprise only applicants with jobs or in 29 occupational categories in demand, and placed the "backlog" in a virtual freeze. No one should be surprised that the backlog has been eliminated, given the warning signals and the tough economy.
Applicants furious at change in Canada's immigration law - The Globe and Mail
Showing posts with label Canada immigration China Hong Kong. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Canada immigration China Hong Kong. Show all posts
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
CHINESE CRIMINALS TARGET FOREIGN STUDENTS
Foreign students in Canada should always be cautious, as there are many people
from their own community that are ready, willing and able to target them for
fraud. Beware of those who seem too solicitous and helpful and ask for personal
information! See story:
U-Pass fraudsters deported to China - British Columbia - CBC News
from their own community that are ready, willing and able to target them for
fraud. Beware of those who seem too solicitous and helpful and ask for personal
information! See story:
U-Pass fraudsters deported to China - British Columbia - CBC News
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
CHINESE APPLICANTS AND RESIDENCY FRAUD IN THE SPOTLIGHT
The problem of document fraud in China, India, Russia and other countries has been going on for years. However, little is ever done about it. See article in the Vancouver Sun below:
OTTAWA — New federal immigration rules passed in 2008 to make the system more streamlined and "responsive" to Canadian economic needs were exploited by Chinese fraudsters, according to newly released internal documents.
The Conservative government quickly confirmed that the documents, obtained by immigration lawyer Richard Kurland, reflect an ongoing problem that needs to be tackled.
An official acknowledged concerns with bogus applications, particularly those relating to the arranged offer of employment (AEO) program.
"We are aware of this issue and are concerned," said Candice Malcolm, spokeswoman for Immigration Minister Jason Kenney.
"That is why we are currently reviewing options to strengthen the AEO process to prevent this fraud from taking place in the future."
She added that the Harper government has "done more than any government in Canadian history to crack down on all types of immigration fraud and strengthen the integrity of Canadian citizenship."
The documents underline a problem that is of particular concern to B.C., since close to a third of permanent residents allowed into Canada are from China.
Kurland said the documents show that understaffed Canadian missions in certain countries aren't able to contain the pressure from applicants who misrepresent themselves.
"It's China, it's Pakistan, it's Africa, and it's because some countries of the world do not have western democratic institutions issuing reliable paperwork. It's that simple," said Kurland, who obtained the documents through the Access to Information Act.
Canadian officials have "opened their eyes and they see the problem. The question is, what are they going to do about it, if anything?"
Kurland said the ongoing fraud problem could be handled by putting greater emphasis on recruiting skilled foreigners already in Canada under the Temporary Foreign Workers program.
Bill C-50, passed in 2008 under former minister Diane Finley, was intended to let the government set priorities in its selection of economic immigrants to ensure emphasis on the skilled workers needed by Canadian businesses.
But one study of skilled worker applicants from Hong Kong during the 2008-10 period, involving applicants claiming those skills who allegedly had AEOs, found that only 22 per cent had genuine jobs in Canada and many had "very low" English-speaking skills.
"There are serious problems with the validity of job offers" in the AEO category, wrote the authors of the analysis.
The Canadian government's anti-fraud unit in Beijing, meanwhile, did an analysis that found that, of applications between late 2008 and early 2010, more than one in five (22 per cent) of applicants misrepresented their own employment records.
The greatest abusers were supposed "financial auditors and accountants," as 42 per cent of them were lying about their credentials and were in many cases merely cashiers or bookkeepers.
Another above-average category was financial managers, with 27 per cent of applications being fraudulent.
"Employment fraud is an issue on certain profiles of C-50 applications," stated a summary of the report that considered applications for workers headed primarily to Ontario.
"A more thorough verification process is required."
Another 2010 study of applicants from Taiwan found that of 31 AEO applicants, the vast majority headed for B.C., only five — or 16 per cent of the total — actually took jobs with the employers that made the offers.
Kurland's documents pinpointed another fraud concern unrelated to C-50, involving the 275 or so applications for dependent children each year under the family class category.
The analysis noted that it is "common practice" for Chinese couples who have emigrated to Canada to return to China to have children, then go back to Canada when their kids reach school age.
The authors noted that there are persistent reports in China about child trafficking, raising the possibility that Canada's system could be exploited by traffickers.
The study found that five per cent of the cases studied involved confirmed or suspected fraud, though the report doesn't indicate whether the children involved were trafficked.
"The exercise indicated that there is a significant risk of abuse" of the child application program, the report stated.
"In response the family class unit has raised evidentiary requirements for this caseload."
B.C., long a magnet for Chinese immigration, attracted 9,317 of the 30,197 permanent residents from that country in 2010, according to government statistics.
Of the 17,934 Chinese students entering Canada in 2010, 6,061 went to B.C.
New federal immigration rules exploited by fraudsters: documents
Federal anti-fraud unit finds 22 per cent of Chinese applicants misrepresented credentials
Canadian flags are handed out to new Canadians at a recent citizenship ceremony in Ottawa.
Photograph by: Chris Mikukla, The Ottawa Citizen
The Conservative government quickly confirmed that the documents, obtained by immigration lawyer Richard Kurland, reflect an ongoing problem that needs to be tackled.
An official acknowledged concerns with bogus applications, particularly those relating to the arranged offer of employment (AEO) program.
"We are aware of this issue and are concerned," said Candice Malcolm, spokeswoman for Immigration Minister Jason Kenney.
"That is why we are currently reviewing options to strengthen the AEO process to prevent this fraud from taking place in the future."
She added that the Harper government has "done more than any government in Canadian history to crack down on all types of immigration fraud and strengthen the integrity of Canadian citizenship."
The documents underline a problem that is of particular concern to B.C., since close to a third of permanent residents allowed into Canada are from China.
Kurland said the documents show that understaffed Canadian missions in certain countries aren't able to contain the pressure from applicants who misrepresent themselves.
"It's China, it's Pakistan, it's Africa, and it's because some countries of the world do not have western democratic institutions issuing reliable paperwork. It's that simple," said Kurland, who obtained the documents through the Access to Information Act.
Canadian officials have "opened their eyes and they see the problem. The question is, what are they going to do about it, if anything?"
Kurland said the ongoing fraud problem could be handled by putting greater emphasis on recruiting skilled foreigners already in Canada under the Temporary Foreign Workers program.
Bill C-50, passed in 2008 under former minister Diane Finley, was intended to let the government set priorities in its selection of economic immigrants to ensure emphasis on the skilled workers needed by Canadian businesses.
But one study of skilled worker applicants from Hong Kong during the 2008-10 period, involving applicants claiming those skills who allegedly had AEOs, found that only 22 per cent had genuine jobs in Canada and many had "very low" English-speaking skills.
"There are serious problems with the validity of job offers" in the AEO category, wrote the authors of the analysis.
The Canadian government's anti-fraud unit in Beijing, meanwhile, did an analysis that found that, of applications between late 2008 and early 2010, more than one in five (22 per cent) of applicants misrepresented their own employment records.
The greatest abusers were supposed "financial auditors and accountants," as 42 per cent of them were lying about their credentials and were in many cases merely cashiers or bookkeepers.
Another above-average category was financial managers, with 27 per cent of applications being fraudulent.
"Employment fraud is an issue on certain profiles of C-50 applications," stated a summary of the report that considered applications for workers headed primarily to Ontario.
"A more thorough verification process is required."
Another 2010 study of applicants from Taiwan found that of 31 AEO applicants, the vast majority headed for B.C., only five — or 16 per cent of the total — actually took jobs with the employers that made the offers.
Kurland's documents pinpointed another fraud concern unrelated to C-50, involving the 275 or so applications for dependent children each year under the family class category.
The analysis noted that it is "common practice" for Chinese couples who have emigrated to Canada to return to China to have children, then go back to Canada when their kids reach school age.
The authors noted that there are persistent reports in China about child trafficking, raising the possibility that Canada's system could be exploited by traffickers.
The study found that five per cent of the cases studied involved confirmed or suspected fraud, though the report doesn't indicate whether the children involved were trafficked.
"The exercise indicated that there is a significant risk of abuse" of the child application program, the report stated.
"In response the family class unit has raised evidentiary requirements for this caseload."
B.C., long a magnet for Chinese immigration, attracted 9,317 of the 30,197 permanent residents from that country in 2010, according to government statistics.
Of the 17,934 Chinese students entering Canada in 2010, 6,061 went to B.C.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
MAINLAND CHINA PRODUCES MOST IMMIGRANTS
This is from Hong Kong's "The Standard".
Mainlanders swell Canada immigration backlog - The Standard
Mainlanders swell Canada immigration backlog
Stephanie Chan
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Hongkongers seeking to emigrate to Canada are among a backlog of 28,000 - the majority believed to be mainlanders - who applied here and have been waiting for at least four years.
The situation will worsen following new caps on applications by skilled workers worldwide after Canada halved the maximum limit to 10,000 a year from July 1.
Hong Kong skilled workers applying before 2008 saw their processing times lengthened as mainlanders filed applications in Hong Kong in the mistaken belief that this would speed up the immigration process.
Canada capped applications received worldwide in 2008, with 38 occupations given priority. Such occupations were reduced to 29 last year.
Nine protesters gathered outside the Canadian consulate-general in Exchange Square yesterday, all claiming to have waited over five years for a reply on their immigration status.
The protesters, mostly from Shenzhen, said the consulate should follow a first come, first served policy.
"Before 2008, it was OK," said Wendy, a Shenzhen hotel management employee.
"We chose Canada because it was known as an immigrant country and accepted everyone. But after the new rules came in, everything just stopped."
George Fu, who works in the postal service in Beijing, said that originally the wait was only around two years, and therefore he planned accordingly.
"If you think that you will be leaving in two years, you're not going to think about moving houses or buying an apartment," he said.
Jacobus Versteegh, immigration program manager at the consulate, said Hong Kong receives more applications than Beijing, and therefore could not work through the backlog as quickly.
He denied that nothing was being done about the backlog. Of the 80,000 visas set to be issued worldwide this year, a quarter will be from backlogged cases before 2008, he said.
Though he empathized with the protesters, he said: "You can't lose what you didn't have. Just because an application has been received, it doesn't mean there's a guarantee."
For the past decade, Canada has received more immigrants from China than any other country. It currently accepts around 250,000 immigrants worldwide per year.
Mainlanders swell Canada immigration backlog - The Standard
Mainlanders swell Canada immigration backlog
Stephanie Chan
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Hongkongers seeking to emigrate to Canada are among a backlog of 28,000 - the majority believed to be mainlanders - who applied here and have been waiting for at least four years.
The situation will worsen following new caps on applications by skilled workers worldwide after Canada halved the maximum limit to 10,000 a year from July 1.
Hong Kong skilled workers applying before 2008 saw their processing times lengthened as mainlanders filed applications in Hong Kong in the mistaken belief that this would speed up the immigration process.
Canada capped applications received worldwide in 2008, with 38 occupations given priority. Such occupations were reduced to 29 last year.
Nine protesters gathered outside the Canadian consulate-general in Exchange Square yesterday, all claiming to have waited over five years for a reply on their immigration status.
The protesters, mostly from Shenzhen, said the consulate should follow a first come, first served policy.
"Before 2008, it was OK," said Wendy, a Shenzhen hotel management employee.
"We chose Canada because it was known as an immigrant country and accepted everyone. But after the new rules came in, everything just stopped."
George Fu, who works in the postal service in Beijing, said that originally the wait was only around two years, and therefore he planned accordingly.
"If you think that you will be leaving in two years, you're not going to think about moving houses or buying an apartment," he said.
Jacobus Versteegh, immigration program manager at the consulate, said Hong Kong receives more applications than Beijing, and therefore could not work through the backlog as quickly.
He denied that nothing was being done about the backlog. Of the 80,000 visas set to be issued worldwide this year, a quarter will be from backlogged cases before 2008, he said.
Though he empathized with the protesters, he said: "You can't lose what you didn't have. Just because an application has been received, it doesn't mean there's a guarantee."
For the past decade, Canada has received more immigrants from China than any other country. It currently accepts around 250,000 immigrants worldwide per year.
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