ARCHIVED – Operational Bulletins 093 – December 29, 2008

This section contains policy, procedures and guidance used by IRCC staff. It is posted on the department’s website as a courtesy to stakeholders.

Ministerial Instructions — Frequently Asked Questions

This Operational Bulletin has expired.

Further to Operational Bulletin 089 (Ministerial Instructions) which was sent to missions on December 2, 2008, RIM and OMC have been receiving numerous questions regarding C-50 and specific processing situations.

Thank you to everyone who has submitted C-50 enquiries. We have discussed the questions with various branches at NHQ in order to ensure the answers are as comprehensive as possible and have responded to the individual missions.

In order to ensure all missions have the same guidance, RIM and OMC have prepared the following list of Frequently Asked Questions to clarify the issues you may have.

Please continue to submit your questions as we continue to refine the C-50 guidelines and instructions in the manual. Other branches at NHQ will be consulted in order to ensure that the responses provided are comprehensive. Subsequent messages responding to FAQs will follow in the coming weeks.

FAQs from Missions

1) Have the Ministerial Instructions changed the way cases are processed under IRPA?

It is important to emphasize that the Ministerial Instructions did not change the way cases are processed under the IRPA regulations. The Ministerial Instructions are to determine which cases are eligible for processing. Once the eligibility for processing filter has been met, visa officers must continue to award selection points, in all cases, the same way they did before the Ministerial Instructions were issued.

2) In order to receive work experience points, does the occupation need to be on the Ministerial Instructions NOC list?

Once an applicant is deemed eligible to be processed based on one of the filters in the Ministerial Instructions (NOC, International Student or Temporary Foreign Worker, Arranged Employment Offer), they are then assessed as per R80. Under R80 points are given for work at NOC level 0, A or B, even in a profession not designated by the Minister.

The Ministerial Instructions have not changed the way visa officers award points pursuant to the IRPR.

3) When can I start processing C-50 cases?

As the Delegations of Authority have been signed, you may in principle process eligible C-50 cases towards completion immediately. However, it is only with the next release of CAIPS, due mid-January, that your mission will be able to open cases transferred from the Centralized Intake Office (CIO) in Sydney to your mission. Specific instructions including tools will be sent in the first week of January for cases that do not appear to be eligible.

4) Are Missions to identify the three different streams in CAIPS in any way, such as through a special program code, or are they all coded as SW1?

Missions are not required to identify cases by the Ministerial Instructions stream. They are all coded SW1. The type of case can be identified in the CAIPS notes.

5) The portion of the CIC website entitled “Immigrating as a worker: Am I eligible?” states that a candidate: “must have had at least one year of continuous full-time experience in this job within the last 10 years”. Does the one year of work experience need to be for the same employer?

No. Applicants must have one year of continuous full-time employment experience in one occupation. They may change employers as long as the period of employment is continuous and in the same occupation. Applicants cannot make up the one year of continuous full-time employment experience in a series of continuous periods of employment in different occupations that total one year.

6) What is meant by the abbr “AEO” in OB 089 and OP 6?

The Ministerial Instructions state that applications received on or after February 27, 2008, with an offer of Arranged Employment … shall be placed into processing immediately. The term arranged employment in the applicant guide [IMM EG7000 (11-2008)] is a link to the section of the guide that explains section 82 of the IRPR. Arranged Employment Offer (AEO) in all sections of OP 6 means an offer would result in points being awarded pursuant to section 82 of the IRPR. An arranged employment opinion from Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC) is not necessarily a requirement to be awarded points pursuant to this section. An arranged employment opinion from HRSDC is also not a requirement pursuant to the Ministerial Instructions.

The difference between Arranged Employment Offer and Arranged Employment Opinion is clearer in French as two different abbrs are used.

The Application Guide is being amended to make it clearer what applicants must submit. The amended wording will be as follows:

  • If you are currently working in Canada under a work permit, provide a photocopy of the permit and a letter from your employer confirming how much longer you will be employed (if applicable).
  • If you have a permanent job offer confirmed by HRSDC, attach a photocopy of the HRSDC/Service Canada confirmation letter (Arranged Employment Opinion) which was sent to your employer.

The letter mentioned in the first bullet is the arranged employment offer. In the situation described in the second bullet, it is the arranged employment opinion that is in essence the arranged employment offer.

If applicants do not submit either the work permit and offer from the employer to continue employing the applicant on an indeterminate basis, or the HRSDC arranged employment opinion, the application cannot be placed into processing. Staff should exercise care to not place applications into processing unless there is sufficient evidence of an arranged employment offer.

Applications from work permit holders, i.e. persons working in Canada, may be placed into processing with an arranged employment offer (AEO). Applications from persons who are not work permit holders, i.e. persons not working Canada, may be placed into processing with an HRSDC issued arranged employment opinion.

Note that for the AEO category, the requirement to have resided legally in Canada for at least one year that Temporary Foreign Workers and International Students must meet, does not apply. Temporary Foreign Workers do not need to demonstrate an arranged employment offer to be eligible.

7) What is the definition of legally residing in Canada? Is it anyone with a work permit, including asylum claimants? Are there any limits on when that one year of residence took place (at any time in the past, or must be in legal status at the time of application)? Must it be continuous?

There is no definition in the Ministerial Instructions for legally residing in Canada. Several branches at CIC NHQ have looked at this issue and the following paragraph has been added in section 8.3 of OP 6.

Addition to Section 8.3: Eligibility as a temporary foreign worker or student is not limited to holders of work or study permits. Applicants can meet the above eligibility requirement simply with evidence their authorized period of stay has been at least one year, that throughout this period they have been temporary foreign workers or international students, and that they are still in Canada. Evidence of their authorized stay may include an entry stamp in their passport, a temporary resident record, a work permit, or a study permit. Evidence of being a temporary foreign worker or international student may include letters from employers or schools, records of pay, attendance, report cards, transcripts, etc. Evidence of being in Canada may include a residential address and correspondence sent to that address. The foregoing examples of evidence are not exhaustive or exclusive.

Persons in Canada who have been studying or working here throughout a one year period, during which they were also subject to an unenforced removal order, are not legally residing in Canada. Their applications are not eligible for placement into processing under Ministerial Instructions.

Please note that foreign nationals must be residing legally in Canada now as a temporary foreign worker or international student. As indicated in the note added to section 8.3, as well as legally residing in Canada now, foreign nationals must have already been legally residing here for at least one year throughout which they have been working or studying Please note that once this requirement has been met and the application has been placed into processing, temporary foreign workers and international students are not required to continue to legally reside in Canada, as well as work or study here. Once the application is placed into processing, provided there is no evidence that this was due to misrepresentation or error, applicants do not have to continue to meet the requirements of the Ministerial Instructions.

Feedback from missions would be useful as you begin to process these types of applications in order to determine if further guidance or examples in OP 6 are required.

8) Why is Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP) listed as an approved testing organization in OP 6?

CELPIP has been accredited again as of October 10, 2008.

Further instructions on this topic and on the Canadian Language Benchmarks will be sent out shortly. Please note that CELPIP results are only valid for FSW applications, not for the Canada Experience Class (CEC).

9) CAIPS: Missions are being asked to change the coding at T-11 on C-50 cases to be used only for recommendations on eligibility for processing under instructions. Should missions now stop using the T-11 stage to refuse pre-C-50 cases as well? Does this mean we should push all pre-C-50 cases to SelDec before refusing?

Yes. There should be no refusal at paper-screening stage since the CIO at CPC-Sydney will use this field to indicate either code 2 (not eligible) or code 4 (sent to mission).

10) H&C: How should H&C cases be lodged and in what category may they be opened, since SW1 is now no longer an option?

This was identified by International Region as an issue to be resolved. Discussions continue on this topic. We will let missions know as soon as there is more information on this.

11) What should our office do about outdated information on mission websites?

RIX would ask that missions identify for removal any outdated information regarding the old application procedure from your websites. The RIX brief survey of mission websites indicates that some will just need to make minor changes, if any, while others will have to modify FAQs and numerous pages. Should any of your pages require substantial revision, please go through RIX to approve changes in content; minor deletions and link changes can be submitted as per the usual procedure.

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