Canada Immigration News

Parent born in Canada? You’re Canadian!

Was your mother or father born or naturalized in Canada? Under recent amendments to Canada's Citizenship Act, nearly all persons whose parent was born or naturalized in Canada are now Canadian citizens. This is true even if your parent left Canada as a child; married an American citizen (or other non-Canadian); or became a U.S. citizen (or citizen of another country). There is no age limit on claiming your Canadian citizenship. If your parent was naturalized in Canada, the naturalization must have occurred before you were born. These new laws apply to the first generation born abroad. So if your mother...

Canada announces new program for U.S. H-1Bs

On June 27, 2023 Canadian Immigration Minister Sean Fraser announced a new program to attract U.S. workers with H-1B visas to Canada. The new program will allow up to 10,000 U.S. workers to apply for open work permits in Canada. No sponsor or pre-arranged employment is required. The work permits will be valid for up to three years. Spouses of H-1B workers will also be eligible for the open work permits. Children can obtain study permits to attend school in Canada. Canada will start accepting applications for this program July 16, 2023. Several groups of U.S. H-1Bs may benefit from this...

Canada announces new program for “Digital Nomads”

On June 27, 2023 Canadian Immigration Minister Sean Fraser announced a new initiative to attract so-called "digital nomads." This program allows persons who work remotely for U.S. or other foreign employers to live in Canada for up to six months while continuing to work remotely. These workers would have visitor status in Canada. Canadian immigration authorities have not previously stated that full time remote work for a foreign employer is consistent with visitor status.While the announcement mentioned a six month time period, visitors in Canada can apply for extensions. So it is possible that nomads will not be limited to...

Express Entry cutoffs slowly decline towards reachable levels

Most economic and employment based permanent immigration to Canada is funneled through the Express Entry system. This includes the Federal Skilled Worker class, the Canada Experience Class, the Federal Skilled Trades class, and a part of the Provincial Nominee class. Express Entry is a competitive points-based system in which points are awarded for factors including language ability in English and French; education; skilled work experience; age; and the availability of a job offer in Canada. About every two weeks, the top ranking candidates in the Express Entry "pool" are invited to submit applications for permanent residence. Due to COVID related...