Dr. Ashish Marwaha, a British doctor whose degree comes from Oxford University, told CBC News that he’s ditching Canada because of delays and immigration red tape preventing him from working in British Columbia as a doctor.

Marwaha missed his chance to apply for residence (all doctors who graduate must complete residency) because his immigration paperwork took too long to arrive in the mail. The paperwork in question was his proof of Canadian Permanent Residence, which was required to apply for a job.

The timeline for Dr. Marwaha’s application went like this: he lived in Canada for a year and then applied for permanent resident status as required to operate as a foreign-trained doctor in Canada. However, the approval took six months, but the letter itself came much after it was dated, and too late for his post-graduate residency application.

Six to twelve months is the average time it takes to process such applications, but now Dr. Marwaha is heading to the United States.

The Canadian postal service is not an exact science, and neither are Immigration Visa processing times. So the lesson here is that apply early and complete the application correctly.   Unfortunately for Dr. Marwaha, he was applying in British Columbia where the process for much-needed foreign doctors is not as streamlined as in Ontario.

In Ontario, international medical graduates must either be Canadian citizens, permanent residents or intending to immigrate to Canada, where a copy of your application for permanent residence status or a signed letter stating intent to apply to immigrate to Canada is valid in order to get started according to the Ontario Centre for the Evaluation of Health Professionals Educated Abroad.

A survey commissioned by the Historica-Dominion Institute along with the Aurea Foundation and Munk School of Global Affairs has found the more than half of the adults in the 24 top international economies would pack up and move to Canada if they could.

This breakdown shows what percentage of the population in each country would move to Canada if they could.

Canada is known worldwide as a country that is positive and tolerant of newcomers. Of those surveyed, 53 per cent said they would immigrate to Canada.

“Largely, it’s because we welcome immigrants,” said the president of the Historica-Dominion Institute, “We do not have anti-immigration parties in Canada. Almost every European country has one, (but) we do not have a skinhead movement in Canada. So that speaks well of Canada and may point to our greatest success of the last 25 years, which is the manner in which we have continued to welcome immigrants.

How does the international community view Canada? The survey found that 79 per cent of respondents thought Canadians have one of the best qualities of life in the world, 79 per cent said Canada is accepting of people with different backgrounds, 86 per cent said that Canada is a country that respects rights and freedoms 72 per cent believed that Canada is a country that is welcoming to immigrants.

Interestingly, 10 other countries like Russia, France and China say that Canadians are tolerant of various racial and cultural backgrounds than Canadians themselves. But 94 per cent of Canadians also feel that Canada is welcoming to immigrants.

Canadians' perceptions of ourselves almost match that of the rest of the world.

As immigration lawyers, we have always known about the desirability of Canada as an immigration destination. On a daily basis, we fight hard to help people achieve their dreams of making Canada their new home.  Unfortunately immigration regulations have trended toward enforcement over the last number of years making it more and more difficult to qualify for Canadian immigration.

On Saturday, June 26th, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced in a news conference that the number of jobs considered for fast-tracking for skilled worker applications would be narrowed down to a list of 29 occupations and that a cap would be placed on the number of applications processed. The number of applications processed per year as of June 26th, 2010 is 20,000.

This means that after June 26th, only 20,000 applications will be considered for processing within the next 12 months and 1,000 of those applications under the 20,000 cap are designated for Federal Skilled Worker applications.

The jobs that made the list place a greater emphasis on economic recovery and include restaurant and food service managers, architects, biologists, pharmacists, dentists, chefs, cooks, specialist physicians and plumbers.

In order for an application to be considered for processing, the results of an official language proficiency test must be included as well as a valid offer of employment or one full year full-time or equivalent part-time paid and continuous work experience in one of the 29 professions within the past 10 years.

It’s safe to say everyone will be scrambling to get these applications underway and sent off as soon as possible in order to qualify to immigrate to Canada as a skilled worker. This also makes it especially important to have an immigration lawyer help you ensure that your paperwork is filled out properly and that no omissions or errors are made because it would be a shame to miss out on the opportunity because of a simple paperwork error or omitted requirement.

I frankly am surprised that these changes were made given our aging demographics, increased global competition and recent economic recession. Canada more than ever needs more and more skilled workers to meet its labor needs. Imposing an annual cap services would serve the opposite effect, limiting potential immigrant candidates for needed jobs.

We will have to see how this all plays out but it seems that the Conservative government likes to use “blunt instruments” when it comes to immigration policies to solve systemic problems. My prediction is that more damage than good will come out of these changes but only time will tell.

The processing time of skilled worker visa applications has been almost cut in half according to a new report by a British Columbia immigration lawyer Richard Kurland.

In 2005, it took approximately 50 months to process a Skilled Worker application whereas in 2009 is took only 26 months on average.

In 2008, the Government of Canada began fast-tracking skilled worker visa applications for a series of select occupations, including chefs and nurses, which are placed ahead of workers who don’t have those skills. Today, the approvals usually come within seven months. However, a larger issue lies under the surface of these speedy visa approvals.

The skilled worker’s family members are still waiting years to be reunited with their relatives in Canada. “We continue to process applications from family members, particularly from spouses and dependent children, but attracting immigrants who are most likely to help grow our economy remains our focus,” a spokesperson for Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenny said to the Montreal Gazette in an e-mail.

According to Toronto-area MP Olivia Chow some immigrants wait up to five years to have their parents allowed into Canada and just last week a neurosurgeon in Toronto headed for the US because he had been waiting three years to have his wife accepted into Canada. Last year, 14,917 visas were given to fast-tracked foreign workers and their families.

Changes to the Skilled Worker Priority List may be coming….Again

Those who are eligible to apply for permanent residence under the Skilled Worker Program could be risking their eligibility if they wait too long, because the Action Plan for Faster Immigration that was announced on March 16th by Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney means the Government of Canada is hiring consultants to determine what professions would best benefit from being added to or removed from the Priority Occupation List.

The Government of Canada announced the Priority Occupation List in 2008 in order to fast-track the skilled worker applications so that those who worked in high-demand occupations would be able to come to Canada and begin working faster.

The Skilled Worker Program allows those with an occupation listed on the Priority Occupation List to come to Canada without a preexisting job offer from a Canadian employer in their field. However, in some cases obtaining “Arranged Employment” in advance in Canada  would be necessary to qualify.

Kenney mentioned in his announcement that the Priority Occupation List has been extremely successful, but as Canada’s economic situation changes and so must the skills that are considered in demand.

“The Action Plan for Faster Immigration is designed to make immigration more responsive to Canada’s economic conditions,” said Kenney, “when these conditions change, the instructions are meant to change too. The first set of instructions has had a significant impact, but our research shows it is time to revise them to make sure they continue to meet their goals.”

Remember, the program is meant to benefit Canada’s economy as much as the immigrants themselves. While it provides ample opportunity for skilled workers to come to Canada, the program will be ever changing to best suit the needs of the economy.

Apply Now if you Qualify for the Skilled Worker Program

What this all means for prospective Skilled Worker Applicants is that if you are considering applying for permanent residence through the Skilled Worker Program, it is imperative that you consider doing so sooner rather than later, as you occupation could be removed and replaced on the prioirty list. If this happens you may no longer qualify for immigration to Canada under this category.

Last November we reported changes to the Skilled Worker Program here. And once again, the winds of change are blowing again.

As I have said many times. Immigration Law is constantly changing; it is a moving target. And to score a “bulls eye”  you need to know what is happening behind the scene before it happens.