With an expanded list of preferred skills for immigrant visas in Canada including vocational training, a Cebu-based consultancy firm said it is “almost impossible” for Filipinos wanting to go to Canada not to get a visa.
In a press conference last Monday Bernie Uy, PinoyCare Visa Center, Inc. asst. vice president for marketing, said the Canadian government recently released 2,000 new job listings.
He said these listings are under Canada’s Federal Skilled Work Program (FSWP) and Federal Skilled Trades Progam (FSTP) categories for immigrant visa applications.
“Another good news is that the Canadian government now also has the Express Entry Program with processing time of only six months or less. They need more skilled professionals in Canada to fill their labor needs,” Uy said.
The only additional requirement now is the ITA or Invitation To Apply which will be issued by Canadian companies to those Filipino applicants they wish to hire.
Asset
“What they do now is put your application in a Job Bank where Canadian companies can look for possible candidates to fill their manpower needs. They will then issue an ITA for you which will then be attached to your application,” Uy said.
PinoyCare president and chief executive officer Niña Mabatid said the ITA is a new process and Filipino applicants can still get an ITA from the Canadian government especially if they consider the applicant as an asset.
“In my many years of helping Filipinos get a visa to Canada, we saw how Filipinos are considered as among the best immigrants. This is because they know Filipinos are very hardworking and speak English well,” Mabatid said.
She said the Canadian government also didn’t put a limit or quota in the number of approved visa applications.
“In the past year they had a limit of 1,000 applicants per category and last year we were able to process and got approval for 700 visas, mostly nurses and engineers. Now they did not put any cap in the number of immigrants in a year,” she said.
Nominee
The new 2,000 jobs list is under FSWP anD FSTP which use to have only 50 top jobs and 90, respectively. Under the FSWP, the applicant must have a bachelors degree and at least one year work experience while the FSTP does not require one to have a bachelors degree.
“Under the FSTP, applicants can be graduates of vocational courses with at least one year work experience,” Uy said.
Other ways to apply for an immigrant visa to Canada includes the Provincial Nominee Program which includes five provinces in Canada – Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and British Columbia.
“The provinces have their own specific requirements and can nominate you if they have a need for your skills set,” Uy said.
Increase
Another means is the Canadian Experience Class which is for those who are already in Canada on working visa and wanted to be a permanent resident in Canada.
In a previous interview, Canadian Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Julian Payne said the number of Filipino immigrants in Canada continue to grow with more companies preferring to hire Filipinos for their operations.
He said there are at least 500,000 Filipinos now living in Canada as of January last year.