ARCHIVED – Operational Bulletin 319 - June 27, 2011

Updated Ministerial Instructions: Temporary Moratorium on Federal Entrepreneur Class Applications

This Operational Bulletin has expired.

Summary

Effective July 1, 2011, a temporary moratorium on new applications has been placed on this program. Instructions are given to the field on what to do with applications received before and after this date.

Issue

The third set of Ministerial Instructions (MI-3), which come into force on July 1, 2011, introduces a temporary moratorium on accepting new applications under the federal Entrepreneur Program.

Background

On June 18, 2008, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act was amended to give the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration the authority to issue instructions that would ensure the processing of applications and requests be conducted in a manner that, in the opinion of the Minister, would best support the attainment of immigration goals set by the Government of Canada. The first set of Ministerial Instructions (MI-1) was issued on November 29, 2008 and the second set of Ministerial Instructions (MI-2) was issued on June 26, 2010.

The third set of Ministerial Instructions (MI-3) comes into force on July 1, 2011 and applies only to applications received by the designated Citizenship and Immigration Canada office on or after this date. MI-3 includes changes to the following programs:

• Federal Immigrant Investor Program (IIP): A cap of 700 new IIP applications will be considered for processing each year. In addition, as of July 1, 2011, all new federal Immigrant Investor applications must be submitted to the Centralized Intake Office (CIO) in Sydney, Nova Scotia (see Operational Bulletin (OB) 320 for more information).
• Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSW): A cap of 10,000 new FSW applications, without an offer of arranged employment, will be considered for processing each year. Within the 10,000 cap, a maximum of 500 new applications per occupation will be considered each year (see OB 318 for more information).
• Federal Entrepreneur Program: A temporary moratorium on new applications will be placed on this program.

The full text of these instructions can be found at http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2011/2011-06-25/html/notice-avis-eng.html#d119

Processing Instructions

On July 1, 2011, a temporary moratorium on accepting new applications in the federal Entrepreneur program comes into force. This temporary moratorium will remain in place until otherwise indicated in future MIs.

Federal Entrepreneur applications received by visa offices prior to July 1, 2011 should be accepted for processing. Federal Entrepreneur applications received by visa offices on or after July 1, 2011 will be returned to the applicant with a letter advising them of the temporary moratorium. Federal Entrepreneur applications which are postmarked before July 1, 2011, but arrive at the visa office on or after July 1 will also be returned to the applicant.

The temporary moratorium pertains only to new applications under the federal Entrepreneur Class. Receipt and processing of applications for permanent residence for entrepreneurs selected by Quebec under its business immigration program is not affected.

Questions

For further information regarding the changes outlined in this OB, please contact Operational Management and Coordination Branch.