Ministerial Instructions and Federal Skilled Worker Class Applications
Purpose/Issue
On June 18, 2008, the Immigration
and Refugee Protection Act was
amended to give the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration authority to issue
instructions that would ensure the processing of applications and requests be
conducted in a manner that, in the opinion of the Minister, will best support
the attainment of immigration goals set by the Government of Canada.
The first set of Ministerial Instructions (MI)
was issued on November 28, 2008. The second set of MIs,
issued on June 26, 2010, introduced a number of changes, including a revised
list of eligible occupations, annual limits to the number of applications to
be processed in the Federal Skilled Worker (FSW)
class, as well as revised eligibility criteria with respect to evidence of
official language proficiency and work experience. The second set of MIs
also includes instructions for the federal Immigrant Investor Program and the
Canadian Experience Class that will be addressed in separate operational
bulletins (OB).
The full text of the Instructions can be found at: http://canadagazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2010/2010-06-26/html/notice-avis-eng.html.
Overview of MIs
– June 26, 2010
The second set of MIs
applies only to applications received by the Centralized Intake Office (CIO)
on or after June 26, 2010. It does not apply to any application received
before June 26, 2010. All complete FSW applications
received by the CIO on
a date prior to the Canada
Gazette publication date shall
continue to be considered for processing having regard to the first set of MIs.
FSW applications received
by the CIO on
or after June 26, 2010, accompanied by the results of the principal
applicant’s English or French language proficiency assessment [ Note 1 ],
not exceeding the identified caps and that
meet either of
the following criteria shall be placed into processing:
-
Applications from skilled workers with evidence of experience in the last
ten years under one or more [ Note 2 ]
of the National Occupation Classification (NOC)
codes specified in the MIs
up to a maximum of 20,000 new, complete applications per year with no more
than 1,000 applications of this maximum in any one NOC category;
or
Note: As of June 26, 2010, the stream for temporary foreign workers and
international students living in Canada for one year no longer exists.
Students and temporary foreign workers applying in the FSW class
on or after June 26, 2010, must meet the criteria of the second set of MIs in
order to be eligible for processing.
Limit on the number of applications to be processed per year
A maximum of 20,000 FSW applications,
without an AEO,
will be considered for processing each year.
Within the 20,000 cap, a maximum of 1,000 FSW applications
per NOC code will be considered for processing each year.
In calculating the caps, applications will be considered in order of the date
they are received. Applications received on the same date will be considered
for processing having regard to routine office procedures.
For the unique purpose of calculating the caps, the first year will begin on
June 26, 2010, and end on June 30, 2011. Subsequent years will be calculated
from July 1st to June 30th,
unless otherwise indicated in a future MI.
Guidelines for new and existing applications
All FSW applications
will be considered in order of the date they are received.
FSW applications received
at the CIO before
June 26, 2010
The second set of MIs
does not apply to complete applications received prior to June 26, 2010. All FSW applications
received by the CIO on
a date prior to the Canada Gazette publication
date shall continue to be considered for processing having regard to the first
set of MIs.
FSW applications received
at the CIO on
or after June 26, 2010
The second set of MIs
applies to cases received at the CIO on
or after June 26, 2010. The CIO will
assess complete applications received on or after June 26, 2010, against the
MIs to determine whether applicants are eligible for processing. Those
determined to be eligible will be placed into processing. Applications that
receive a negative determination of eligibility will not be processed and will
receive a full refund.
Submitting the application
All FSW applications
will continue to be sent to the CIO.
Applicants are required to submit their complete application, together with
all supporting documents, to the CIO.
This includes all documents listed both on the CIO and
visa-office-specific document checklists. Official language test results from
a designated language testing agency must be submitted with the application.
The CIO will
review applications for completeness pursuant to section
10 of the IRPR.
If the application received is incomplete, the entire application package will
be returned to the applicant.
Final eligibility determination at the CIO
The CIO will
assess the applicant’s submission as-is and make a final determination of
eligibility. To be eligible for processing, the applicant must meet all the
criteria described in the MIs. If the application is eligible for processing,
the applicant will be informed and the entire application will be forwarded to
the visa office requested. Once processing has begun at a visa office, the
cost recovery fee is no longer refundable.
If the applicant’s submission is determined to be ineligible for processing,
the applicant will be informed and will receive a refund.
Updates to the OP 6 manual are forthcoming.
1 Only test results from
a third party language testing agency designated by the Minister of
Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism will be accepted (see section
11.5 of OP 6).
2 Applicants will have
one year of continuous full-time or equivalent paid work experience in at
least one of the listed NOCs and not combined partial year experience in
multiple NOCs.
