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The overall cap for the Federal Skilled Worker program will be 25,000. Fifty occupations will be individually subject to a sub-cap of 1,000. Only 500 applications will be accepted under the Ph.D. degree eligibility stream.
The overall cap for the Federal Skilled Trades program will be 8,000. Ninety skilled trades will qualify for the program during the year, with each individually subject to a sub-cap of 100.
Only 8,000 applications will be accepted under the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) program. CIC will accept only 200 applications for each National Occupational Classification (NOC) B occupation (largely technical jobs and skilled trades). There are no sub-caps on new applications for foreign nationals in NOC levels 0 (managerial) or A (professional) occupations. The following five occupations will not be eligible for the CEC program: accounting technicians and bookkeepers, administrative assistants, cooks, food service supervisors, and retail sales supervisors.
A new set of Ministerial instructions will be posted in the Canada Gazette on April 26, 2014. This will also re-confirm the existing suspension of the federal investor and entrepreneur programs.
What This Means for Employers
Permanent residence applications under these three programs should be submitted early to ensure that they are accepted before the caps are met. Demand for permanent residence may be higher this year if large numbers of foreign nationals submit applications to avoid next year’s changes in eligibility criteria under the Express Entry processing model.
How Fragomen Can Assist
Fragomen can assist with assessment of eligibility for permanent residence programs and with preparation and submission of applications across Canada.
This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to [email protected].
© 2009 - 2015 © Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, LLP, Fragomen Global LLP and affiliates. All Rights Reserved.
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