Posts Tagged ‘Canada immigration’

Beware of Canadian citizenship and immigration fraud!!

January 16, 2011

On 6th Jan 2011, RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) arrested 3 people (Ahmad EL-AKHAL, age 62 of L’ile-Bizard, Quebec, Tahani Mohamad Hassan EL-AKHAL, age 53, and Hussam Hassan Ali SAIF, age 44 of Mississauga, Ontario) while investigating citizenship and tax fraud case referred by CIC (Citizenship and Immigration Canada). They are now in custody and waiting for bail hearings. This is just the beginning, CIC will now dig into all the people who got false residency and citizenship through them and take away their resident or citizen status.

Police believes that this scheme of submitting false documents allowing people living outside of Canada to obtain permanent residency and citizenship began 10 years ago. This was allegedly done by Ahmed Al Akhal. Saif, was forging the leases, taking mail, cheques.

Police (RCMP) found that hundreds of foreign nationals are using fraudulent methods for obtaining Canadian citizenship and these people are also false filing income tax refunds and they got approx. $500,000 of improper benefits and tax refunds from CRA (Canada Revenue Agency).

Ahmad EL-AKHAL faces a total of 58 charges, Hussam Hassan Ali SAIF faces 3 charges, Tahani Mohamad Hassan EL-AKHAL is charged jointly with Ahmad EL-AKHAL. These charges are aiding or abetting the making of false representation, fraud, concealing material circumstances, counselling misrepresentation, as well as forgery, possession of proceeds obtained by crime.

In a nutshell, we as immigration consultants, lawyers, prospective immigrants and permanent resident card holders (who have got permanent residency of Canada) should be aware and take responsibility for associating, partaking in any illegal activity to further immigration or citizenship for anyone. Whether it be falsifying a document or forging or showing that someone has been living at a certain address in Canada while the person is in reality not even in the country.

We, as prospective clients for immigration and citizenship need to be aware of the authenticity of the person who we are dealing with and take ownership of our own documents and filled forms etc., So that when these illegal activities are discovered and investigated then we are not losing our residency or citizenship.

Always use authorized lawyers, members of notary and Canadian certified Immigration Consultants and if it is wrong it is wrong doesn’t matter who is doing it, it will be done in your name.

Contact Immigration Zone Canada for more information on immigration, residency, citizenship. And, contact RCMP or CIC if you know someone who is carrying out any illegal activity.

2011 Canada Immigration Quota..plans to keep its doors open for new immigrants

December 24, 2010

Government of Canada has finalised their new immigration quotas for 2011. In the wake of the continuing economic downturn countries are looking to reduce their immigration quotas for 2011. Canada on the other hand has been fortunate not to be in a severe economic downturn is looking at immigration to continue to sustain its economic recovery and boost it’s workforce.

Canada’s 2011 immigration quota is 240,000 to 265,000 and 60% of these immigrants are expected to come from the economic stream (federal skilled worker program and provincial immigration programs).  In 2011, government of Canada wants to balance the number of immigrants between Federal and provincial programs to fulfill the work force needs of both national and regional markets.

“Canada’s post-recession economy demands a high level of legal immigration to keep our work force strong,” said Jason Kenney, minister of  Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism “At the same time, we are maintaining our commitment to family reunification and refugees.”

Like many other European countries with aging population, the size of the workforce is shrinking in Canada too because of low birth rates and aging population. Within the next 5 years all of Canada’s work force growth will come from immigration.

One of the highlights of the Immigration plan for 2011 is to include a higher range of admissions for spouses and children in the family category to help unify more immigrant families.

If you are looking to immigrate to Canada this is a wonderful opportunity to think about and then act on. If you need any help, guidance please feel free to contact us or visit our website www.immigrationzonecanada.com for more information about Canada and the immigration programs. Fill up a free assessment form to find out your eligibility now.

Government of Canada releases Federal Skilled worker application status as on 29th Oct 2010..opportunity to apply for Canada Immigration in 2010

November 3, 2010

Government of Canada had introduced the new eligible occupations effective 26th  June 2010 and had capped the applications to 1000 per occupation from 26th June 2010 to 25th June 2011. Immigration ministry of Canada, CIC has released the latest statistics and they have received only 2998 complete applications out of the allowed 20,000 as of October 29th  2010.

The way we see it, this is the right opportunity for all of us who have been thinking about immigrating to Canada and have not yet made up their mind. Here is the list of the eligible occupations and the number of applications received by CIC.

Eligible Occupation for Federal Skilled Worker class effective 26th June 2010 No of Complete Applications Received*
Restaurant and Food Service Managers 116
Primary Production Managers (except Agriculture) 29
Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management 900
Insurance Adjusters and Claims Examiners 40
Biologists and Related Scientists 141
Architects 165
Specialist Physicians 126
General Practitioners and Family Physicians 157
Dentists 197
Pharmacists 260
Physiotherapists 55
Registered Nurses 405
Medical Radiation Technologists 8
Dental Hygienists and Dental Therapists 4
Licensed Practical Nurses 18
Psychologists 37
Social Workers 81
Chefs 17
Cooks 44
Contractors and Supervisors, Carpentry Trades 19
Contractors and Supervisors, Mechanic Trades 53
Electricians (except Industrial and Power System) 32
Industrial Electricians 36
Plumbers 8
Welders and Related Machine Operators 7
Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics 14
Crane Operators 0
Drillers and Blasters – Surface Mining, Quarrying and Construction 2
Supervisors, Oil and Gas Drilling and Service 17
* Based on complete applications received by CIC as on 29th October 2010.

Also please click on the link to see a graph of the eligible occupations and the applications received. Chart_FSW applications 29th Oct10

As you can see some occupations have a wide open playing field for example: Medical Radiation Technologists and Dental Hygienist and Dental Therapists, Welders and Related Machine Operators, Heavy-duty equipment mechanics..

We will be posting about each of the eligible professions in the coming weeks and if you would like to learn more or find out your eligibility for Federal Skilled worker immigration to Canada, please contact us or fill in the free assessment form.

Why should you immigrate to Canada? A first hand experience…

September 14, 2010

Below is what truly transpired on a June day in year 2010 of my life. And, I have decided to share it with everyone as I keep on getting lots of questions on which is the best country to immigrate to? Why should we decide to move to Canada? etc., etc.,

In June 2010, I was called to take the oath ceremony in Toronto, Ontario. Oath ceremony is the official ceremony when you become a Canadian citizen. So, here I was, all ready and prepared for the oath ceremony. We were all seated in a big room with lots of pictures and a life-size red and white Canadian flag surrounding us. Everyone had their camera’s ready, as if we were all born photographers.

Then the process was explained to us and we were all asked to stand when the presiding judge comes in. We all followed suit, the Judge was a soft-spoken, well-educated proud Canadian citizen who shares a bit about himself.  Canada is a bilingual country so the judge speaks both in French and English. He tells us about how proud we should be to become Canadian citizens and talks to us about our rights and obligations.

He then goes on to tells us that there are 87  fellow permanent residents becoming Canadian citizens that day in the room and these 87 people are coming from 27 different countries. He went on to list the countries, while he was reading the names of the countries, my gaze was going around the room and I saw people from all parts of the world, all colours, all origins, all shapes and sizes around me. Standing there, right in the middle of the room among my fellow Canadians I felt as if I have truly come home. I knew that I have made the right choice!!

Where else would I be so warmly welcomed and made to feel at home every step of the way. This was the feeling which i had felt the first time when I had landed in Canada and was treated with understanding, dignity and respect while my paperwork was checked on the airport, was asked questions and was given information on what to do and of course, lovingly welcomed to Canada.

And, Canada is a land of all cultures and traditions living together in peace and harmony, all religions co-exist. That day I knew there was no going back and I have chosen the right country to call HOME…

Now I am going to leave it up to you to decide whether you would like to be a part of this wonder and call Canada Home…

India and China urged to crackdown on crooked consultants by Canadian Immigration Minister

September 7, 2010

Canadian Immigration Minister, Jason Kenney will be traveling to India, China and Philippines, the 3 largest sources of immigrants to Canada. Jason Kenney will be asking India to enact a similar law to the Canadian bill, Crackdown on Crooked Consultants Act so that the fake and corrupt, agents/ consultants who are duping innocent would be immigrants, charging them sums of money, forging documents on their behalf etc., will become illegal under the law and be prosecuted by the government of India.

This act will empower the legal consultants (belonging to CSIC, Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants), the immigration lawyers and the members of the notary in Quebec to legally represent and charge money for advice and/ or immigration services provided. Canada has introduced this bill in the parliament already and wants India to follow suit to make it easy for the crooks to be caught and prosecuted.  Majority of the “exploitation” of the vulnerable applicants occurs outside of Canada and Canada needs help from India, China and Philippines to tackle the illegal immigration consultants.

Since Jason Kenney has visited India (Chandigarh) early last year, there have been lots of arrests and convictions and Canada’s acceptance rate for the people from Chandigarh for visit visa has gone up by 16% from 32% 5 years ago to 48% now. If you are in Chandigarh you can always check out “WALL of SHAME”. It has information on some of the fraudulent documents – fake marriage, birth certificates, bank statements, travel itineraries etc., that have been used by unscrupulous agents / consultants.

Always remember, knowledge is power. And, here are some more links to ensure that you are always dealing with the authorised representatives and lawyers:

Immigration Consultants- CSIC and to check if the consultant you are dealing with is authorized by the government of Canada, click  https://www.csic-scci.ca/en/find/ and search.

LawyersLSUC and if you know the name of the lawyer click http://www1.lsuc.on.ca/LawyerParalegalDirectory/loadSearchPage.do;jsessionid=20BFCC2932391023910165BC47C93C4D

Notary in Quebec- Chambre des notaries du Quebec

Also, remember Immigration Zone Canada has authorized Canadian Certified Immigration Consultant to provide guidance or advice on immigration matters and queries. Contact us if you have any questions about immigration or fill up the free assessment form.

Are you a Social worker, wondering if you can immigrate to Canada?

August 28, 2010

If you answer YES to the below description than you are eligible for immigration to Canada.

Social workers  help individuals, couples, families, communities, organisations etc., to develop the skills and resources required to enhance social functioning including counselling, therapy etc.,. You are employed with hospitals, schools, child welfare organisations, community agencies etc., or work in a private practice.

Some examples of designations are:

  • Addiction social worker
  • Case management consultant – social work
  • Case management social worker
  • Case work consultant – social work
  • Casework supervisor – social work
  • Caseworker – social work
  • Certified social worker
  • Child welfare social worker
  • Children’s aid investigator
  • Co-ordinator of social work
  • Family social worker
  • Geriatric social worker
  • Group social worker
  • Medical social worker
  • Psychiatric social worker
  • Registered social worker
  • School social worker
  • Social casework consultant
  • Social work co-ordinator
  • Social work officer
  • Social work officer – military
  • Social work supervisor
  • Social worker
  • Social worker, groups
  • Social workers supervisor

On 23rd June 2010, government of Canada changed the list of occupations eligible for immigration to Canada in order to meet and fulfill the current occupational demands of the Canadian society. Overall the no of eligible occupations went down and lots of occupations were removed from the list.

However, certain occupations were added to the list as well. If you have 1 year of Social worker experience than you are eligible to apply for immigration to Canada.

There is a catch, Canada is only accepting 1000 applications each year from each occupation. That means that the moment Immigration department of Canada reaches 1000 mark for Social Workers than no more applications will be processed in 2010.

So if you are a Social Worker and meet the above description with at least 1 year of experience under your belt than waste no more time. Contact us or fill up a free assessment form to find out if you qualify so that your application is one of the 1000 that are processed in 2010.

Canada’s job market rebounds from recesssion resulting in US population eyeing Canada for jobs!!

July 24, 2010

Canada has seen near record high hiring in June since the recession. Canada like many other countries had lost thousands of jobs during the recession. The growth in June is largely coming from Central Canada (Ontario and Quebec). which has led to unemployment rates falling to 7.9% for the first time since early 2009, as per Statistics Canada.

The main gains came from the private sector in retail, health care, trade and building services in particular. Private sector is picking up the job loss and taking the stress away from the public sector which had spent $62 billion on the stimulus package during the recession to keep the Canadian economy going.

Canada’s job gains are much brighter than U.S.,still at 9.5% jobless rate and a sluggish housing and labour market.

Recently, Huffingtonpost.com had an article about Canada mentioning Canada’s job growth and well-regulated banking system with strong consumer protection. The article header was “NEED A JOB? TRY CANADA, WHERE HIRING IS BOOMING AND HOME PRICES ARE RISING“. With 62% of US citizens and/or residents ready to move to Canada, for a job as per the poll on the post.

Looking to immigrate to Canada, we can help. To learn more visit www.immigrationzonecanada.com or CONTACT US. If you are not sure whether you are eligible for immigration to Canada, then fill out the free assessment form.

New list of Federal Skilled Worker-Canadian immigration released!!

June 27, 2010

We have been talking about this and the government of Canada has gone ahead and updated their list of in-demand occupations to fill in the work force shortage and help the Canadian economy. The catch is the limited number of applications that will be accepted under these 29 occupations per year.

Ok, so are we eligible now? Here is the list of new occupations:

Restaurant and Food Service Managers,  Primary Production Managers (Except Agriculture), Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management, Insurance Adjusters and Claims Examiners, Biologists and Related Scientists, Architects, Specialist Physicians, General Practitioners and Family Physicians, Dentists, Pharmacists, Physiotherapists, Registered Nurses, Medical Radiation Technologists, Dental Hygienists & Dental Therapists, Licensed Practical Nurses, Psychologists, Social Workers, Chefs, Cooks, Contractors and Supervisors, Carpentry Trades, Contractors and Supervisors, Mechanic Trades, Electricians (Except Industrial & Power System), Industrial Electricians, Plumbers, Welders & Related Machine Operators, Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics, Crane Operators, Drillers & Blasters – Surface Mining, Quarrying & Construction, Supervisors, Oil and Gas Drilling and Service

Now the important part is if you have been thinking about immigrating to Canada, and you have one year of experience in any one of the 29 in demand occupations above then start the process asap. Canada is capping the applications per year per occupation to 1,000. So make sure you are one of the 1,000 this year!!

Contact Immigration Zone Canada or fill up the free assessment form asap so that you know if you are eligible to apply for immigration to Canada and you are one of the 1,000 whose application will be accepted by the Canadian immigration authorities.

Canadian Federal Skilled Worker Immigration program changes effective 26th June 2010

June 27, 2010

Today, Minister Jason Kenney announced the long-awaited updated list of occupations for the Federal Skilled Worker program of Canadian Immigration.

Canada’s 2010 quota for immigration is about  265,000 immigrants. The focus is on economic immigration to help the ease shortage of work force and boost the economy. And, Canadian immigration wants to reduce the backlog of older, already filed in process applications of Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) so they have gone ahead and reduced the number of eligible occupations so that they can finalise the pending applications and reduce the backlog.

This is indeed good news for all those people who have been in the pipeline for some years now. Soon they will have some update on their pending applications. But what about the rest of us, who were thinking of immigrating to Canada. Currently there are about 380,000 pending FSW applications down from 640,000 in Nov 2008.

Now what? There are 29 eligible occupations effective today, 26th June 2010 that are eligible to apply for FSW or have a job offer. The main purpose is to reduce the number of new applications. To achieve that goal they will only be taking a fixed amount of applications per eligible occupation for the year. So it will become a first come first serve FSW program. This will bring Canadian economic immigration program (federal skilled worker program) in line with the rest of the world, namely UK, Australia and New Zealand.

Wait for our next post with the list of the new in-demand occupations or eligible occupations and what is the new cutoff number of applications per year introduced today by the Canadian authorities.

Contact Immigration Zone Canada or fill up the free assessment form asap so that you know if you are eligible to apply for immigration to Canada.


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