Canada has added 10 more jobs to the skills trades list in a bid to attract more qualified expats to live in the country. The new jobs will have visa and residence applications fast-tracked by the immigration authorities.
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The list now includes:
- Electricians
- Carpenters
- Welders
- Heavy duty equipment technicians
- Heavy duty equipment operators
- Geo-scientist
- Audiologists
- Speech language pathologists
- Psychologists
- Lawyers
- Midwives
The government explained that job vacancies for people with these skills are available across Canada. A new visa administration process aims to find employers looking for these extra skills quickly.
Spouse visa delays
Citizenship and Immigration minister Chris Alexander and Employment and Social Development minister Jason Kenney explained expats looking to move to the country with job skills on the priority list will have immigration documents processed within 12 months. Another benefit for employers is they will not have to rely on temporary foreign workers.
Meanwhile, although the government is working to make immigration easier for skilled expats, applications to bring their spouses and families with them are backing up.
Canadian immigration rules allow expats to sponsor a spouse as long a temporary visa has been granted and the couple would be legal residents.
So many expats are flocking to Canada; the processing time has doubled from around six months to almost a year for married couples already in the country, while those waiting to move from another country face at least a 24-month wait.
Kuwait revises expat overstay rules
Expats working with expired visas in Kuwait may not face automatic deportation under new immigration rules. The measure is instead of a proposed amnesty for foreign workers in the country illegally. The new rules allow the expat to pay a fine and to sort out their visa documentation rather than leave the country.
The penalty for overstaying a visa is £1,255 under the new rules. “These new rules are more lenient for expats,” said an Interior Ministry spokesman. “The fine has been reduced and offenders have the option to choose to stay in the country if they pay the fine and sort out their paperwork.”
The move signals a change of attitude towards expats by the Kuwaiti government. Last year, a plan to reduce the number of expats in the country by at least 1 million was announced, while the government has frozen issuing new working visas until 2015.
By then, a new Public Authority for Manpower is expected to take over issuing working visas and managing expats.
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