Making major changes to its immigration and permanent residency requirements, the IRCC has announced a change in the permanent residency rules in Canada for doctors and physicians.
As per current trends, physicians often find it difficult to qualify for Express Entry in Canada as a result of them using a “fee-for-service” payment model. This categorises them as self-employed individuals on paper.
According to current rules, self-employed foreign nationals working in Canada as temporary residents will not qualify for the different economic immigration pathways such as the Express Entry programme.
In its report, Livemint highlighted that being self-employed does not disqualify any candidate. However, to become eligible for an Express Entry pathway, candidates must have at least one year of work experience abroad or work under an employer in Canada.
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Announcing the change as an act to signal physicians to let them know that they are welcome to stay in Canada, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser stated that foreign national physicians have been helping families stay healthy and taking care of the country’s ageing population. Fraser calls helping foreign-born physicians settle down across the country a “win-win” situation.
While Canada has been introducing a number of changes to its immigration and permanent residency programmes, more changes are likely to be introduced in the Express Entry programme in the upcoming year.
Previously in June, Bill C-19 had received Royal Assent in Parliament. Once passed, the bill will allow the IRCC to target Express Entry candidates with specific work experience, education and/or language abilities. Currently, the invitations to apply for permanent residency are sent out to a wide range of applicants on the basis of their CRS scores.
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In an interview, Fraser revealed that with the new authorisations, Canada will be able to invite specific candidates who are “primed for success in the labour market”, thus, helping contribute to the Canadian economy and avoiding overloading an already robust sector in the labour market.
Thus, only those directly contributing to the upliftment of the Canadian economy will be selected for the permanent residency programme, if the bill gets passed.
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Source: Livemint