In 2014 we had a program which allowed professionals (Federal Skilled Worker Program) who were listed in the demanded occupations’ list to apply to immigrate to Canada. Of course, only a limited number of professions were demanded by the Canadian market with a cap of 1000 per occupation. We still have some occupations under which candidates may apply and the deadline is December 31, 2014. Some of the occupations for eligible professionals who may still apply are:
Senior managers in finance and business;
Geoscientists and oceanographers
Accountants;
Civil, mechanical and electrical engineers;
Database analysts;
Computer network technicians;
Early childhood educators.
In January, 2015 the government will introduce a new system for selecting potential immigrants in Canada. There will not be an opportunity anymore just to apply for a program based on your occupation.
In short, the new system will consist of two parts:
- Those who want to immigrate to Canada will be required to submit electronically (by themselves or through their counsels) their information such as name, occupation, place of immigration (province of Canada) and electronic address. Later, when they receive a response from Immigration Canada, there would be a requirement to fill out a professional profile (education, experience, language ability, age, etc.) Also, candidates for immigration to Canada will be required to register with a job bank in order to become exposed to potential Canadian employers.
- As a result, only the highest-ranked candidates and those who were chosen by Canadian employers and provinces will be invited to apply for a permanent residence in Canada under the Federal Skilled Worker, the Federal Skilled Trades and Canadian Experience Class programs.
Immigration Canada will give 60 days for those chosen to apply electronically. Those who did not receive an invitation to apply may re-submit their profiles into the system.