Canada Publishes New Selection Grid

[NOTE - since this article was written, the pass mark has been reduced to 67. Also, the new grid will not be applied to cases filed before January 1, 2002.]

On June 14, 2002, Canada published final regulations to implement the new "Immigration and Refugee Protection Act" (IRPA). These regulations went into effect on June 28, 2002. These include new selection criteria (known as the Selection Grid) for independent immigrants. The new selection criteria are generally retroactive and will apply to existing cases filed before January 1, 2002 that have not yet had interviews or been finalized by April 1, 2003, and to all new cases filed after January 1, 2002. The pass mark for the new regulations will be 75. However, for existing cases filed before January 1, 2002 that have not had interviews by April 1, 2003, the pass mark will be 70. It will be difficult or impossible for many people to score 75 points.

We offer a preliminary assessment of your chances at no charge. Please download the attached form, fill it out completely, and email it back to us to info@allhod.com .

The good news is that the new selection criteria have done away with the old occupations list. Now any skilled occupation will qualify. No occupation is worth more points than any other. This is a big change. For instance, physicians should now be able to apply for immigration to Canada.

There are 6 categories in which you can get points. They are: education, language, experience, arranged employment, age, and adaptability. Adaptability is now defined and will not be based on an interview.

Here is a brief summary of the point system:

• Education: 25 points for an advanced degree, 20 for a bachelor's degree requiring at least two years of study, or a two year apprenticeship in a skilled trade.
• Language: Up to 16 points for fluency in one official language (English or French), and up to 8 additional points for fluency in the other official language. You can get fewer points for limited language ability. There must be written proof of your language ability, such as a test result.
• Experience: 21 points for 4 years experience in a skilled occupation, 19 for 3, 17 for 2, and 15 for 1. You must have at least 1 year of experience or you are out.
• Age: 10 points for 21-49, 2 points off for each year outside this range.
• Arranged employment: 10 points. Arranged employment means a job or job offer that has been approved by Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC), or an existing work permit valid for at least one year under NAFTA, GATS, or a pre-validated occupation. (An intra-company transferee, for instance, would qualify.) An informal job offer is not arranged employment.
• Adaptability: total of 10 points maximum, which can be gotten in any of the following ways: spouse with an advanced degree, 5 points, with a bachelor's, 4; 1 year of previous authorized work in Canada, 5 points; two years of previous authorized study in Canada, 5 points; arranged employment, 5 points (in addition to the 10 you already get!).

So, for example, if you have a bachelor's degree, speak English, and have four years experience in a skilled occupation, and you are between 21-45, you will get only 67 points. This is not enough! You will need 8 more. If you have a spouse with a bachelor's degree, that will get you 4 more, but you will still be short. The best solution for many people will be to get a job or approved job offer in Canada. Again, a simple informal job offer is not enough.