French language evaluation test did the trick!

Ms. Romina Santos with her parents

Ms. Romina Santos is a Registered Social Worker, single, without Master's Degree and with only one year related work experience. Even if she has a relative in Canada and gets a perfect score in IELTS, she wouldn't have met the 67 points pass mark if not for the additional points from French Language.

I first met her parents when they attended the visa party last year. Her parents' occupation were not included in the 38 prioroty occupations under the Ministerial Instruction 1. Her mom also submitted her resume for assessment but at that time, Social Workers were not included in the list as well. They were quite sad, as they really wanted to live and work in Canada.

When the Ministerial Instruction 2 was issued, I immediately inform them about the opportunity for the Social Workers. But there's a problem. She wouldn't meet the pass mark unless she got additional points from French Language.

I told them that if they really wanted to live and work in Canada, she has to take the French language evaluattion test (TEF) to get additional points.

It wasn't a problem for her at all because she's currently working as a French Call Center Agent.

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Ms. Maria Angeles Escasa - Training Officer

Ms. Maria Angeles Escasa's application was filed under Ministerial Instruction 1 (MI-1) as Training Officer. She is now working as Care Manager for a nursing home.

See more of Ms. Irene Delara's clients with visa.

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Ms. Charina Lukban | Registered Nurse

Ms. Charina Lukban went to our office yesterday to get her long awaited visa. She filed her application under Ministerial Instruction 1 (MI-1) so there's a slight delay. Ms. Charina learned about our office through her friend, Ms. Ruby Calasag. They both applied as Registered Nurses. She will soon be joining Ms. Ruby in Canada!

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Dependent Child of a Depenent Child or Spouse | Qualified Dependent

QUESTION: My wife has a son from her previous marriage. Can I include her son as my dependent for our permanent residence visa application?

ANSWER: You may include all your family members in your application. Family members include a spouse, a common-law partner, dependent children, and the dependent child of a dependent child.

Dependent child of a dependent child refers to children of dependent children of the principal applicant or those of his or her spouse or common-law partner.

Yes, you may include your wife's son as a dependent or family member.

Reference: Guide 7000

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MI-3 Update | Total Number of Applications Received as of October 18, 2011

As of October 18, 2011, the Centralized Intake Office (CIO) already receive a total number of 2,983 applications to be processed under the Ministerial Instruction 3 (MI-3). These are from applicants with at least one year experience in any of the 29 in-demand occupations.

Applications received per eligible occupation:

Eligible Occupation	Number of Complete Applications Received
0631 Restaurant and Food Service Managers	288
0811 Primary Production Managers (except Agriculture)	24
1122 Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management	(Cap reached)
1233 Insurance Adjusters and Claims Examiners	49
2121 Biologists and Related Scientists	178
2151 Architects	89
3111 Specialist Physicians	143
3112 General Practitioners and Family Physicians	149
3113 Dentists	185
3131 Pharmacists	320
3142 Physiotherapists	40
3152 Registered Nurses	(Cap reached)
3215 Medical Radiation Technologists	16
3222 Dental Hygienists and Dental Therapists	12
3233 Licensed Practical Nurses	69
4151 Psychologists	19
4152 Social Workers	102
6241 Chefs	23
6242 Cooks	56
7215 Contractors and Supervisors, Carpentry Trades	30
7216 Contractors and Supervisors, Mechanic Trades	55
7241 Electricians (except Industrial and Power System)	32
7242 Industrial Electricians	24
7251 Plumbers	5
7265 Welders and Related Machine Operators	13
7312 Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics	11
7371 Crane Operators	2
7372 Drillers and Blasters – Surface Mining, Quarrying and Construction	2
8222 Supervisors, Oil and Gas Drilling and Service	30

Between July 1, 2011, and June 30, 2012, a maximum of 10,000 complete Federal Skilled Worker applications will be considered for processing. Within the 10,000 cap, a maximum of 500 Federal Skilled Worker applications per eligible occupation will be considered for processing within this same time frame.

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New Language Test for Canadian Citizenship Applicants

Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney is proposing changes to to improve citizenship program. If approved, it would change the way that citizenship applicants aged 18-54 prove their language ability.

The proposed changes aim to expedite the process. Under the current system, the language ability of the applicants is assessed by a CIC Staff and it appears an applicants do not meet language requirements, they are invited for an interview with a citizenship judge. There can be a significant time delay between the submission of the application and the subsequent hearing for language.

Under the proposed new system, applicants would have to provide objective evidence that they meet the language requirement when they file their application. Applicants would be able to demonstrate language ability by submitting a variety of evidence, including:

the results of a third party test;

evidence of completion of secondary or post-secondary education in English or French; or

evidence of achieving Canadian Language Benchmarks(CLB)/NCLC 4 in certain government funded language training programs.

Read full story here. And here's how to become a Canadian Citizen.

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October 2011 Visa Bulletin is Now Out!

Federal Skilled Workers program is not the only immigration program for you to live and work in Canada legally. There is quite a number of alternatives. If your occupation is not included in the priority occupations, you may still go to Canada if you have an arranged employer or through Provincial Nominee Program.

October 2011 Visa Bulletin - Alternatives

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40 Positive Assessments from CIO for MI-3 Applicants

Yesterday, our office received assessment notices from Centralized Intake Office for 40 MI-3 applicants. Of the 40 cases that received the positive assessment notice, only one of them is a Pharmacist and the rest are all Registered Nurses. These are case we've sent to CIO from July 2-9, 2011.

If you filed your application within the said period but haven't received the CIO notice yet, check your email spam folder. If it's not there, you may contact Centralized Intake Office. Read this to know how: How to Check Status of FSW Applications Sent to CIO.

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