July 1 is Canada Day, the national day of Canada. It is a federal statutory holiday celebrating the anniversary of the July 1, 1867 enactment of the British North America Act, 1867 (today called the Constitution Act, 1867), which united three colonies into a single country called Canada within the British Empire. Originally called Dominion Day, the holiday was renamed in 1982, the year the Canada Act was passed. Canada Day observances take place throughout Canada as well as among Canadians internationally.

Because Canada Day is a federal statutory holiday, our offices will be closed on Tuesday, July 1, 2014 but will reopen on Wednesday, July 2, 2014 at 9:00 a.m., Eastern Daylight Time.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish all our clients a Happy Canada Day and to wish all of our Muslim clients Ramadan Mubarak!

Please be advised that as of August 1, 2014, the definition of a
“dependent child” will change to be a person who is LESS THAN 19
years of age and is not a spouse or common-law partner; or a person
who is 19 years of age or older who has depended substantially on the
financial support of the parent since before the age of 19 and is
unable to be financially self-supporting due to a physical or mental condition.

Anyone seeking to include a dependent child under the age of 22, or
over the age of 22 who has been enrolled in a full-time program of
study since before turning 22 years of age who remains financially
dependent on the parent MUST have his/her Application for Permanent
Residence received by Citizenship and Immigration Canada prior to August 1, 2014.

On Monday, April 28, 2014, the Nova Scotia Office of Immigration announced that the Regional Labour Market Demand Stream is now closed and will not be accepting any Applications that are not received in the office and/or post-marked by end-of-day April 28, 2014.

The Nova Scotia Office of Immigration is processing Applications to reach the 150 nominations. Applications are being dealt with on a first-come, first-served basis.

Once the 150 nominees are identified, any Applications that are not processed will be returned to applicants.

The Stream will open again on January 1st, 2015. Anyone whose Application was returned is encouraged to re-apply at that time.

If you are an existing client of Abrams & Krochak and have already had your Application filed with the Nova Scotia Office of Immigration on or before April 28, 2014, you can disregard this message as you wait to see whether you have been nominated by Nova Scotia.

If you are an existing client of Abrams & Krochak and have not yet had your Application filed with the Nova Scotia Office of Immigration on or before April 28, 2014, you have two (2) options:

(i) You can send an e-mail to our office at info@akcanada.com and ask to have your eligibility to immigrate to Canada reassessed in the Federal Skilled Worker Class;

and/or

(ii) You can wait until the new Stream is announced around January 1, 2015 to see whether you still qualify and, if so, apply then.

Any correspondence on this issue from EXISTING, paid clients should be sent to info@akcanada.com, only.

On Wednesday, April 23, 2014, Citizenship and Immigration Canada announced new eligibility criteria for the Federal Skilled Worker Class. A maximum of twenty-five thousand (25,000) Federal Skilled Worker Applications will be considered for processing from May 1, 2014 until April 30, 2015. Within the twenty-five thousand (25,000) cap, a maximum of one thousand (1,000) Federal Skilled Worker Applications per eligible occupation (any one (1) of the fifty (50) occupations that appears on Canada’s General Occupations (Demand) List) will be considered for processing from May 1, 2014 until April 30, 2015.

In addition to meeting or surpassing a sixty-seven (67) point pass mark, in order for an individual to be eligible to apply for Permanent Residence in Canada in the Federal Skilled Worker Class, he/she must either:

• have an offer of Arranged Employment in Canada in:

(a) a management occupation; or

(b) a professional occupation; or

(c) a technical, skilled trade or paraprofessional occupation, OR

• be a skilled worker who has at least one (1) year of paid full-time experience or two (2) years of continuous paid half-time experience in one (1) or more of the following fifty (50) occupations, whose quota has not yet been filled, within the past ten (10) years.

Senior managers – financial, communications and other business services (0013)

Senior managers – trade, broadcasting and other services, n.e.c. (0015)

Financial managers (0111)

Human resources managers (0112)

Purchasing managers (0113)

Insurance, real estate and financial brokerage managers (0121)

Managers in health care (0311)

Construction managers (0711)

Home building and renovation managers (0712)

Managers in natural resources production and fishing (0811)

Manufacturing managers (0911)

Financial auditors and accountants (1111)

Financial and investment analysts (1112)

Securities agents, investment dealers and brokers (1113)

Other financial officers (1114)

Professional occupations in advertising, marketing and public relations (1123)

Supervisors, finance and insurance office workers (1212)

Property administrators (1224)

Geoscientists and oceanographers (2113)

Civil engineers (2131)

Mechanical engineers (2132)

Electrical and electronics engineers (2133)

Petroleum engineers (2145)

Information systems analysts and consultants (2171)

Database analysts and data administrators (2172)

Software engineers and designers (2173)

Computer programmers and interactive media developers (2174)

Mechanical engineering technologists and technicians (2232)

Construction estimators (2234)

Electrical and electronics engineering technologists and technicians (2241)

Industrial instrument technicians and mechanics (2243)

Inspectors in public and environmental health and occupational health and safety (2263)

Computer network technicians (2281)

Nursing co-ordinators and supervisors (3011)

Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses (3012)

Specialist physicians (3111)

General practitioners and family physicians (3112)

Dietitians and nutritionists (3132)

Audiologists and speech-language pathologists (3141)

Physiotherapists (3142)

Occupational therapists (3143)

Respiratory therapists, clinical perfusionists and cardiopulmonary technologists (3214)

Medical radiation technologists (3215)

Medical sonographers (3216)

Licensed practical nurses (3233)

Paramedical occupations (3234)

University professors and lecturers (4011)

Psychologists (4151)

Early childhood educators and assistants (4214)

Translators, terminologists and interpreters (5125)

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

a. Existing Clients of Abrams & Krochak

(i) Application already filed

If you are already a client of Abrams & Krochak and your Application for Permanent Residence in Canada was filed with and accepted for processing by Citizenship and Immigration Canada BEFORE May 1, 2014, the new quotas do NOT apply to you.

(ii) Application not yet filed

If you are already a client of Abrams & Krochak and your Application for Permanent Residence in Canada has not yet been filed with Citizenship and Immigration Canada, we will be sending you an e-mail shortly to advise you as to your eligibility based on the information that we have on file for you. Please ensure to check your Junk Mail folder as well as your Inbox for our e-mail over the coming days.

b. Non-Clients of Abrams & Krochak

(i) Eligibility already assessed

If you had your eligibility to immigrate to Canada in the Federal Skilled Worker Class already favourably assessed by Abrams & Krochak prior to April 23, 2014 and wish to have your eligibility reassessed, please send an e-mail to askus@akcanada.com with your request. You will receive your reassessment within one (1) business day.

If you had your eligibility to immigrate to Canada in the Federal Skilled Worker Class already favourably reassessed by Abrams & Krochak OR you are certain that you meet the eligibility requirements and you wish to apply for Permanent Residence in Canada as a Skilled Worker with our assistance, it is IMPERATIVE that you retain/engage our services AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE so that we can file your Application for Permanent Residence before the quota for your particular occupation is reached OR the quota for ALL Federal Skilled Worker Applications is reached. Otherwise, you may have to wait until a new “Express Entry” Immigration system is implemented in January 2015, whereby individuals will only be able to apply for Permanent Residence in Canada if they express an interest in immigrating to Canada and are chosen by either the Federal Government or a Provincial/Territorial Government or by a prospective Canadian employer. If you no longer have instructions on how to retain/engage Abrams & Krochak’s services, please visit http://www.akcanada.com/resources/ind.cfm

(ii) Eligibility not yet assessed

If you are interested in immigrating to Canada as a skilled worker but you have not yet had your eligibility to do so assessed by Abrams & Krochak, we invite you to complete our Free Online Assessment Questionnaire at http://www.akcanada.com/assessment1.cfm You will receive your assessment within one (1) business day.