March 8, 2016 – Ottawa, ON – The Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, John McCallum, today announced that Canada will welcome a greater number of immigrants in 2016—with a special emphasis on family reunification.

The Government of Canada has an ambitious plan to bring in between 280,000 and 305,000 new permanent residents in 2016. As we continue to show our global leadership, Canada will reunite families, offer a place of refuge to those fleeing persecution, and support Canada’s long-term economic prosperity.

Through the Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration—which includes the 2016 immigration levels plan—the government outlined how it will increase levels of family class immigration, which will address the application backlog and reunite families more quickly.

The government will meet its commitments to welcome more refugees to Canada, and in the process, it will help diversify the Canadian economy and create sustainable growth.

Canada is competing with other nations for international talent, and must do even more to attract and retain newcomers, says Minister of Immigration Ahmed Hussen.

Hussen made the remarks during a wide-ranging opening address on the opening day of the Conference Board of Canada’s Canadian Immigration Summit 2017: Innovating at 150 and Beyond. The summit is being held in Ottawa, just steps from the very Parliament where Canadian immigration policies are put into practice. [Read more…]

Since this article was first published, the Nova Scotia Nominee Program (NSNP) is not currently receiving applications to the Demand: Express Entry Stream. To learn more, see this story.

Candidates in the Express Entry pool have another potential option to secure a provincial nomination certificate, with both categories of the Nova Scotia Demand: Express Entry stream having opened for new applications as of May 8, 2017. Nova Scotia has proven to be an increasingly popular Canadian immigration destination over recent years.

Soon after opening, however, intake under Category B of the stream (for eligible applicants without a job offer) was paused. Speaking to CICNews, a staff member at the Nova Scotia Office of Immigration said that this was because the online application system was experiencing technical difficulties. Once these issues have been overcome, it is expected that applicants will be able to submit their application. [Read more…]

A total of 3,796 candidates in the Express Entry pool for immigration to Canada were issued an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residence in a draw that took place on May 4, 2017. Each invited candidate this time around had a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 423 or higher.

This CRS cut-off threshold is broadly in line with other draws that have taken over recent weeks and months, which have seen thresholds move from the mid-400s down to the low-400s. The lowest ever threshold, 415, was in the April 19 draw, while the draw preceding that one (April 12) also saw a threshold of 423.

Today’s draw brings the total number of ITAs issued so far in 2017 to 39,769, and the total since Express Entry was first launched in 2015 to 104,614.

The South Australian Government is highly supportive of skilled migration to their state. With skilled migration getting more competitive, this can be a good option for many applicants.

This article discusses the criteria for state nomination by South Australia for General Skilled Migration visa subclasses - including the Skilled Nominated Subclass 190 visa and Skilled Regional Provisional Subclass 489 visa.

Visa Options Available

Immigration South Australia is active in sponsoring for both the Skilled Nominated Subclass 190 visa and the Skilled Regional Sponsored Subclass 489 visa.

Skilled Nominated Subclass 190 visa

This is a permanent visa and allows you to live anywhere in South Australia. You are expected to stay in South Australia for your first 2 years of residence in Australia and answer surveys during this time. You can potentially nominate any occupation on the STSOL when applying for the 190 visa. 5 points are available for state nomination for a 190 visa.

Skilled Regional Provisional Subclass 489 visa

There are two eligibility pathways for the 489 visa:

1. State Nominated: this option requires state nomination and you can nominate any occupation on the STSOL.
2. Family Sponsored: if you have an Australian Citizen or Permanent Resident family member who lives in a designated area, they can sponsor you for a 489 visa. The whole of South Australia is a designated area for the purposes of the 489 visa, and you must nominate an occupation on the shorter MLTSSL.

Is my visa application affected?

In effect, there are two new lists for practical purposes:

• Medium and Long-term Strategic skills List (MLTSSL);
• Combined list including the Short-term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL).

Please refer to the following summary table for visa subclass specific information concerning:

• affected visa subclasses;
• the corresponding occupations which have been removed from the relevant occupation list for that subclass; and
• the new list which applies to the relevant visa subclass.

Please also note it is likely that the lists will be further amended in the coming months. We recommend seeking advice if you are amongst the affected visa subclasses.

Australian Visa Subclasses and Relevant Changes

The 457 Visa - Changes to the current skilled visa regime

Published: 19 April 2017

The facts - 457 visas and skilled visas in Australia

On 18 April 2017, the Government announced that it will be abolishing the current 457 visa scheme by March 2018 and replacing it with a new Temporary Skill Shortage visa scheme.

With almost immediate effect after the announcement on 18 April 2017, the occupation lists which are used to determine which occupations are eligible for certain skilled visa subclasses (including 457 visas) have been significantly condensed.  These changes took effect on 19 April 2017.

The Skilled Migrant Category Expression of Interest selection took place at approximately 1.00pm NZ time on Wednesday 10 May, 2017.

The following EOIs were selected:

The next selection will take place in a fortnight.

Fortnightly selection statisticsPDF 334KB

Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa