Canada’s Minister for Employment Jason Kenney has laid clear that Canada is looking to profit from the US’s current immigration stalemate by making it easier for talented foreign graduates to find work and gain residency.
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Canada courts foreign talent with pathways to residency
Canada's Federal Employment Minister Jason Kenney A new Express Entry visa system set to launch in January 2015, a Start-up Visa scheme that offers residency to foreign entrepreneurs after connecting with Canadian investors and funding to improve foreign credential recognition are among the ways Canada is aiming to lure foreign talent across the border.
“We’re seeking very deliberately to benefit from the dysfunctional American immigration system. I make no bones about it,” Kenney told reporters last week after announcing CAN$3.3 million in funding for British Columbia to improve foreign credential recognition for internationally trained professionals.
“We’re seeking very deliberately to benefit from the dysfunctional American immigration system”
Just north of Silicon Valley, British Columbia is set for huge growth in the coming years creating approximately one million job openings over the next decade specifically in the energy and resource industry.
The funding announced last week in Vancouver will go to support 30 projects to help skilled foreign workers find jobs in their fields faster including enhanced online job search portals, consultation with employers and stakeholders, and streamlining credential recognition processes.
The support for British Columbia follows announcements to changes in the national Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) and the induction of the first two applicants to the country’s Start-up Visa Program launched last year.
Changes to the TFWP will see the creation of International Mobility Programs (IMPs) for foreign workers who are not subject to Labour Market Impact Assessment requiring employers to gain government approval before hiring the worker.
The new IMPs will include international students and graduates, young people entering Canada through the International Experience Canada initiative and streams of foreign nationals “whose primary objective is to advance Canada’s broad economic and cultural national interest, rather than filling particular jobs,” the government said.
Foreign nationals who are eligible for open work permits, which includes international students, will now be required to pay a CAN$100 privilege fee effective “as soon as possible” the government has said.
Kenney noted that the American tech sector brings in tens of thousands of talented young prospects from around the world who go to top US schools, graduate and are employed on short-term visas by major IT companies.
“Very frequently, after a year or two, these super-smart young foreign nationals, because of their intelligence and entrepreneurial drive, have startup concepts that they want to launch,” he said. “The problem they face is they can’t get green cards or permanent residency in the United States.”
“If you’ve got a degree in something like computer science from Stanford or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Americans won’t give you a green card, you’re welcome to Canada,” he continued.
Alluding to the Express Entry programme launched last month Kenney said: “We have a functioning immigration system that will become even faster-moving under express entry in January of next year.”
Through Express Entry, foreign nationals who meet the criteria for one of the federal immigration programs (the Federal Skilled Worker Program, Federal Skilled Trades Program, Canadian Experience Class, and a portion of the Provincial Nominee Program) will be placed into a pool, from which employers will be able to consider candidates who meet their needs when they cannot find a Canadian or permanent resident for the job.
Since passing an immigration bill in June 2013, the leader of the republican controlled House of Representatives has said that there would not be a vote on the policy this year.
The Start-up Visa Program that aims to bring together Canadian venture capital funds, angel investors and business incubators with entrepreneurs from abroad
In response to stalling in the House of Representatives, President Obama has said he will take administrative action to reform the immigration system and expects recommendations from before the end of these summer.
The proposed policy passed in the Senate would establish a clear path to green cards for PhD and Master STEM graduates and raise the cap on H-1B visas used to employ highly skilled workers to 110,000 from 65,000 making it easier for post study work.
“If the United States doesn’t want to open the door for permanent residency for them, that door will be opened in Canada,” said Kenney.
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