Immigration policies are tightening again! Canada will cancel employer sponsorship bonus points and crack down on fraud
People who attempt to increase their chances of applying for permanent residency by obtaining employer sponsorship may soon lose this advantage as Ottawa plans to crack down on false job offers used for immigration purposes.
Immigration Minister Mark Miller recently revealed to The Star that he is considering canceling the additional points earned by permanent residency applicants through employer submitted labor market impact assessments (LMIA).
According to the current system, applicants can earn points based on attributes such as educational achievements and work experience, while job invitations obtained through labor market assessments approved by the employment and social development department can bring an additional 50 points to applicants, which are very important in the increasingly fierce competition for candidates.
With Ottawa recently lowering its immigration levels, an increasing number of employers and recruiters are exploiting the anxiety of international students and foreign workers whose visas are about to expire to profit from selling fake job offers.
Miller said on Wednesday, 'LMIA does have its value, but it shouldn't be worth $70000 on the black market.'. We will not prejudice those who hold genuine LMIA, but this requires a balance. I think it can be said clearly that I am seriously considering this point
In addition to combating fraud, the Canadian immigration system also faces uncertainty and challenges, including a new border landscape under the new Trump administration, a massive historical backlog of asylum applications, and increasing divisions among Canadians regarding immigration issues.
Image source: Inès Lombardo – Francopresse
Canada's relatively good immigration management system, once known as a model for the world, has fallen into chaos in the past year. The surge in study and work permit holders has been criticized as the driving force behind the housing and cost of living crisis. This prompted Miller to reduce the number of permanent residents by 20% and limit the number of temporary residents to slow down the country's rapid population growth.
As the United States elects a new president, Miller said he expects Canada to experience another surge in irregular immigration since Trump's first presidential election in 2016. At that time, there was a large influx of immigrants at the southern border. Trump has threatened to carry out mass deportations of immigrants during his second term in office.
Miller stated that Ottawa needs to continue working with the US to ensure that North America's border defenses are not breached and remain proactive on these issues, regardless of which government is in power.
He said, "We are already taking measures to ensure that Canada can immediately respond to possible situations. This is a bilateral relationship that will continue to develop over the next four years
At the same time, I also don't want to underestimate people's concerns about the influx of immigrants... We cannot let the situation on Roxham Road repeat itself, "he said, referring to rural roads in Quebec that became one of the main illegal routes for many undocumented immigrants to enter Canada during the former Trump administration.
Miller remains undecided whether Ottawa will withdraw from the Canada US Safe Third Country Agreement if Trump's new immigration policy is found to violate human rights and international conventions. This bilateral agreement requires refugees to apply for asylum in the country where they first arrive.
He only reiterated that Canada needs to respect its international obligations and continuously evaluate its relationship with the United States.
Regarding the backlog of 250000 asylum applications in Canada, Miller stated that this year's efforts by the Liberal minority government to streamline the system have faced opposition from other political parties. I will implement many other measures to tighten and restrict the abuse of Canada's asylum system
He believes that if someone applies for asylum after failing to renew their Canadian visa, their asylum application may not seem reasonable. He suggested that perhaps these cases could be directed to other procedures in the system, allowing the Refugee Committee to focus on dealing with the backlog of 'real cases'.
A recent poll by Environics shows that for the first time in a quarter century, a significant majority of Canadians believe that Canada has accepted too many immigrants. The respondents believe that inflation, cost of living, and oil prices are the most important issues facing Canada.
Miller stated that this viewpoint is also reflected in immigrant communities of different ethnicities, and Canada's ability to absorb a large number of new immigrants in a short period of time is indeed problematic. He said, "When Canadians say we need to better manage immigration issues, I don't equate them with an anti immigrant stance. Overall, this is a very inclusive country
Miller admitted that job invitation fraud is rampant, but law enforcement agencies have limited ability to combat it due to other priorities. He said, "We need to do more, but we must also reduce the value of LMIA fraud
Source link:
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/canadas-immigration-minister-weighs-crackdown-on-fake-job-offers-in-permanent-residence-applications/article_ff071902-a772-11ef-91b0-13d2ea479c3e.html