Abrams & Krochak would like to remind its clients that Monday, August 1, 2016 is a Civic Holiday in the Province of Ontario and offices, including our own, are closed. Our office will reopen for business, as usual, on Tuesday, August 2, 2016. If you have sent an e-mail to info@akcanada.com, regarding your file at Abrams & Krochak, you will receive a response to your e-mail according to the order in which it was received by our firm. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Each year, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) publishes a list of the top cities in the world in which to live.

This year’s list was just published and 3/5 of the top cities were in Canada: #3-Vancouver, #4-Toronto, #5-Calgary.

According to the EIU, these cities have “relatively few challenges to living standards,” and enjoy a good infrastructure, healthcare system and a low murder rate.

We are writing for three (3) reasons: firstly, to wish you and your loved ones a very Happy New Year; (ii) secondly, to thank you for your patronage in the past; and (iii) lastly, and most importantly, to provide you with valuable information, regarding Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s new Express Entry system, which could prove beneficial to you.

I. YOUR APPLICATION UNDER THE OLD SYSTEM

As you are aware, Abrams & Krochak filed your Federal Skilled Worker Application for Permanent Residence with Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) officials BEFORE January 1, 2015. For so long as you have been/are issued a file number by CIC for that Application, your Application will be processed under the OLD system.

II. A POSSIBLE NEW APPLICATION UNDER EXPRESS ENTRY

Even though you have already applied for Permanent Residence in Canada under the OLD system, CIC gives you the option of availing yourself of the new Express Entry system, too, and creating an Express Entry Online Profile, not only for yourself, but also for your spouse/partner (if applicable), if he/she is qualified to be a Federal Skilled Worker principal applicant. In doing so, you are increasing your chances of success, so to speak, because even though you already have an Application in process under the OLD system, CIC might select you OR your spouse/partner from the pool of Express Entry candidates and invite you/him/her to submit another Application for Permanent Residence in Canada. If you/he/she are/is invited to apply, CIC promises processing times of SIX (6) MONTHS OR LESS.

III. COSTS INVOLVED

Legal Fees

If you would like Abrams & Krochak to assist you to create an Express Entry Online Profile, we would charge you an additional payment of 495 CAD per profile (i.e. if you only want an Express Entry Online Profile for yourself, we would charge you 495 CAD; if you want an Express Entry Online Profile for both you AND your spouse/partner, we would charge you 990 CAD (495 CAD x 2). There would be no additional legal fees, other than whatever legal fees are outstanding as per your signed Agreement with Abrams & Krochak. That is to say, if you have already made two (2) payments of legal fees to Abrams & Krochak under your Agreement and you or your spouse/partner are/is invited to apply for Permanent Residence in Canada under Express Entry, you would proceed to make your third payment of legal fees and so on. Likewise, if you have already made three (3) payments of legal fees to Abrams & Krochak under your Agreement and you or your spouse/partner are/is invited to apply for Permanent Residence in Canada under Express Entry, you would proceed to make your final payment of legal fees.

Government Fees

CIC does not charge you to create an Express Entry Online Profile. If you decide to create an Express Entry Online Profile and you are invited by CIC to apply for Permanent Residence in Canada, however, new Government of Canada processing fees and Right of Permanent Residence fees would apply (in addition to those already remitted with your previous Application under the OLD system).

IV. HOW DOES EXPRESS ENTRY WORK

The Express Entry system involves two (2) steps:

Step 1 – Completion of Online Express Entry Profile

Abrams & Krochak will complete an Online Express Entry profile on behalf of interested clients. This is a secure form that gathers information about their:

• skills,
• work experience,
• language ability,
• education, and
• other details that will help CIC assess their eligibility.

Those who meet CIC’s criteria will be accepted into a pool of candidates.

Anyone who does not already have a job offer supported by a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) (if needed) or a nomination from a province or territory, must register with Employment and Social Development Canada’s (ESDC) Job Bank. Job Bank will eventually help connect Express Entry candidates with eligible employers in Canada.

Candidates are also encouraged to promote themselves to employers in other ways, such as using job boards, recruiters etc.

In most cases when there is a job being offered to a candidate, employers will need an LMIA from ESDC. The LMIA process ensures employers have made an effort to hire Canadians for available jobs. There will be no LMIA government fee for Permanent Resident Applications.

Step 2 – Highest Ranking Candidates in the Pool Will Be Invited to Apply for Permanent Residence

Candidates will be ranked against others in the pool using a point-based system called the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). The CRS will assess the profile information candidates submit, including:

• skills,
• work experience,
• language ability,
• education and other factors.

A candidate can get additional points for:

• a job offer supported by an LMIA, or
• a nomination by a province or territory

CIC will choose candidates from the pool through regular “draws”, choosing a pre-determined number of candidates with the highest scores from the pool and inviting them to apply for Permanent Residence in Canada.

Draws will be made from the Express Entry pool on a regular basis. Every draw will have a set of instructions the electronic system will use to draw candidates from the pool. These instructions will be posted on the CIC website before each draw.

These instructions will include:

• the date of the next draw,
• the number of candidates that will get an Invitation To Apply, and
• if it applies, which specific Immigration program(s) will be included in the draw.

If the instructions do not specify which Immigration program the candidates must be eligible for, the draw will be based on the CRS score.

If someone is invited to apply, they will have sixty (60) days to submit an online Application for Permanent Residence.

CIC will process the majority of complete Applications (meaning those with all the necessary supporting documents) in six (6) months or less.

Candidates can stay in the pool for up to twelve (12) months. If they do not get an Invitation to Apply for Permanent Residence within twelve (12) months of submitting an Express Entry profile, they may submit a new profile. If they still meet the criteria, they can re-enter the pool. This will prevent backlogs and ensure quick processing times.

V. HOW TO PROCEED

If you are interested in creating an Express Entry Online Profile with Abrams & Krochak assistance or, if you have any question regarding this e-mail or Express Entry, in general, please send an e-mail to info@akcanada.com and we will respond to you with further instructions/information.