The Government of Canada introduced changes to economic immigration programs

On June 24, 2011 Immigration Minister Jason Kenney announced today that Canada is adjusting its intake of applications from economic immigrants to further reduce the backlog and improve wait times.

“Canada continues to welcome historically high numbers of new immigrants each year, but the Government continues to receive applications that far exceed this number,” said Minister Kenney. “If we don't keep putting reasonable limits on new applications, backlogs and wait times will grow.”

Effective July 1, 2011, the changes will affect new applicants to the federal Skilled Worker, federal Immigrant Investor and federal Entrepreneur programs.

Now, for applicants who do not have an offer of employment in Canada, the government will limit the number of new federal skilled worker applications that are considered for processing to 10,000 a year, beginning July 1, 2011. Within the 10,000 limit, a maximum of 500 new applications in each of the following 29 priority occupations will be considered:

0631 Restaurant and Food Service Managers
0811 Primary Production Managers (Except Agriculture)
1122 Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management
1233 Insurance Adjusters and Claims Examiners
2121 Biologists and Related Scientists
2151 Architects
3111 Specialist Physicians
3112 General Practitioners and Family Physicians
3113 Dentists
3131 Pharmacists
3142 Physiotherapists
3152 Registered Nurses
3215 Medical Radiation Technologists
3222 Dental Hygienists & Dental Therapists
3233 Licensed Practical Nurses
4151 Psychologists
4152 Social Workers
6241 Chefs
6242 Cooks
7215 Contractors and Supervisors, Carpentry Trades
7216 Contractors and Supervisors, Mechanic Trades
7241 Electricians (Except Industrial & Power System)
7242 Industrial Electricians
7251 Plumbers
7265 Welders & Related Machine Operators
7312 Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics
7371 Crane Operators
7372 Drillers & Blasters - Surface Mining, Quarrying & Construction
8222 Supervisors, Oil and Gas Drilling and Service

In addition, the Minister is introducing a cap of 700 on new federal investor applications.

Further, the Minister is also introducing a temporary moratorium on new federal entrepreneur applications. The federal Entrepreneur Program will undergo a review in the coming months to ensure that Canada is better able to attract and retain innovative entrepreneurs.

For more information, please visit CIC website.