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Canada Immigration News

Items tagged with "Canada Immigration News":

Starting on 1 December 2010, Citizenship and Immigration Canada will again start accepting applications under the federal Immigration Investor Program.

Applicants under the Immigration Investor Program will need to have a personal net worth of $1.6 million CAD, which doubles the previous net worth requirement of $800,000. Moreover, applicants will be required to make an investment of $800,000. Under the previous rules, only a $400,000 investment was needed.

The government of Canada plans to maintain high immigration levels to help sustain the economic recovery.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) estimates that they will welcome between 240,000 and 265,000 new permanent residents in 2011. 60 percent of these are expected to be immigrants who arrive in Canada on skilled immigration visas.

"Canada's post-recession economy demands a high level of legal immigration to keep our work force strong," said Immigration Minister Jason Kenney.

Gordon Nixon, president of the Royal Bank of Canada, said that immigrants are one of Canada's greatest "competitive advantages" at a conference on innovation in Toronto.

"This is a country that to a large degree has been built by newcomers willing to take risks," Nixon said.

Immigrants in Canada are waiting from 15 to 19 months to have their Canadian citizenship applications approved due to a large backlog of applications.

In 2009, changes to the Immigration Act meant that more people were eligible for citizenship, leading to an increase in citizenship applications.

"Really it's just a question of enough resources to process all the applications we receive," said Citizenship and Immigration Canada operations manager Paul Snow in an interview with CBS News.

According to a new study by the Conference Board of Canada (CBC), immigrants can help boost innovation in Canada, which is currently lagging behind other developed nations.

"Immigrants tend to be motivated individuals willing to take risks in search of greater opportunities, which should predispose them to be innovative," said Diana MacKay, Director, Education and Health. "At every level we examined—individual, organizational, national and global—immigrants were associated with increased innovation in Canada."

A new website in 11 different languages makes it easier for Canadian immigrants to find community service information.

The 'In my language', developed by the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI), which represents more than 200 settlement agencies in Ontario provides an electronic library of translated content which will assist newcomers in adapting to life in Canada.