Saskatchewan updated its application processing times

Saskatchewan updated its application processing times

Saskatchewan updated its application processing times
On September 12, 2019, Saskatchewan updated processing time of various streams of the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP). In the International Skilled Worker category, the processing time in the Employment Offer stream is 4 weeks, in the Occupation In-Demand stream – 31 weeks, and in the Express Entry stream – 37 weeks. In the Saskatchewan Experience category, the processing time in the Existing Work Permit stream is 3 weeks, in the Health Professionals, Hospitality Workers, and Truck Drivers the processing time is 1 week, and in the International Students streams – 2 weeks. In the Entrepreneur and Farm category, the processing time for the Entrepreneur Applications is 41 weeks, and for Entrepreneurs Nominations, it takes 13 weeks to process. The Job Approval Process, the authorization for an employer to hire a foreign worker through the SINP, takes 8 weeks. The processing times show the average time for 80% of applications to be processed. These processing times are an average based on the past quarter (Apr. 1 to Jun. 30, 2019).

#Saskatchewan, #SINP, #processing_times

Manitoba issued 300 provincial nominations in August 2019
On September 17, 2019, Manitoba released its immigration statistics for August 2019. In this month, the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP) nominated 299 Skilled Workers and 1 Business Investor and 5 business concepts have been approved. 142 profiles of Skilled Workers and 3 entrepreneur profiles were refused from MPNP in this month. The province received 360 new Expressions of Interest (EOI) from Skilled Workers and 9 EOIs from Business Investors. In total, in 2019 MPNP issued 2,937 nominations certificates: 2,920 for Skilled Workers and 17 for business-immigrants.

#Manitoba, #MPNP, #Skilled_workers, Business_investors, #PNP, #nomination_certificates

Percentage of immigrants earning minimum wage on the rise
According to a report released on September 11, 2019, by Statistics Canada, the overall share of payroll employees in Canada who earn minimum wage has doubled in the last twenty years. The proportion of immigrants earning minimum hourly rate across the country has increased over time. In 2018, 33% of such workers had post-secondary education. In 1998, it was only 25%. Statistics Canada released the report following the high-profile campaigns to raise the minimum pay rate to $15 per hour and a debate over the impact this change might have. The report points out that several provinces, including Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia have made notable increases to the minimum wage in recent years. The full report is available online.

#minimum_wage, #employment

Unbelievable fees to apply for immigration
CBC undercover investigation reveals a Chinese immigration firm charges $170-180K to apply for immigration to Canada. Such a big fee is requested because the would-be immigrant would be purchasing the job and paying their own salary. During the investigation, a journalist asked why this method was so quick and convenient, a manager with the company replied on WeChat that Canadian employer participation is key – why wouldn’t these companies want to participate when they can make easy money? Xin Liu from WonHonTa Consulting Ltd. said: “The massive size of Canada makes it impossible to pull resources for site visits just to find out if you are actually working at this company.” According to a spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Shannon Ker, the vast majority of applications received by IRCC are genuine.

#IRCC, #immigration_fraud