Catherine A. Sas, KC has been listed as one of the Top 3 Immigration lawyers of B.C. for 2024.   The post Catherine A. Sas, KC has been listed as one of the Top 3 Immigration lawyers of B.C. for 2024. appeared first on Immigration Lawyer Vancouver, Canada | Sas & Ing Immigration Law Centre ..read more

Last week on March 19, 2024, the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) announced significant upcoming changes to its International Post-Graduate (IPG) stream that will make it more difficult for many international students who have graduated in BC with master’s degrees in natural, applied and health sciences to obtain a coveted provincial nomination to qualify for Canadian permanent residence. Post-graduate students already enrolled in these programs bristled at the news as they gathered in downtown Vancouver this past weekend to protest the proposed changes to the IPG stream th ..read more

On Thursday, February 29, 2024 at 11:30 PM Eastern Standard Time, Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the Honourable Marc Miller, re-imposed a visa requirement on all Mexican nationals seeking to come to Canada temporarily as visitors, students and workers. For many Mexicans currently in Canada, their Electronic Travel Authorizations (eTAs) were immediately canceled. For those seeking to enter Canada, it put an immediate hold on travel plans while the new rules are sorted out and visas obtained.  The post The immigration game has changed for Mexico ap ..read more

On January 22, 2024, Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, the Honourable Marc Miller made the seismic announcement that Canada will set caps to limit the number of new international students coming to Canada, with a goal to reduce overall levels by a whopping 35% over two years.  Minister Miller did not mince words during his January press conference when describing the institutional wrongs he intends to right, citing the existence of “diploma mills” whose sole purpose is to turn a profit from international students, rather than ensuring they receive a quality educa ..read more

In response to public concerns raised about the impact of foreign students to the overall economy and housing, this past Monday, January 22, 2024, Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (IRCC), the Honourable Mark Miller, introduced sweeping changes to Canada’s international student program decreasing the overall number of applications to be accepted, introducing provincial and territorial caps and modifying the post-graduation work permit (PGWP) program. While the changes are set to take effect September 1, 2024, certain aspects of the program will be affected as of Monday ..read more

It was an extremely busy year in the Federal Court when it came to immigration lawsuits. Under Canadian immigration law, the Federal Court has the final jurisdiction to review and overturn immigration decisions upon “judicial review”. In 2023, the Court saw a 20% uptick in new judicial review applications being filed, which begs the question: “What happened”? In this blog, I will briefly review the judicial review process and discuss the reasons for this incredible and unsustainable growth in litigation. The post 2023: A Record Year for Canada’s Federal Court Immigration Litigation appeared fi ..read more

On December 7, 2023, the Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship announced that, starting January 1, 2024, international students will be required to have more funds to be granted a student visa to ensure they can afford the costs of living in Canada. Speaking to reporters, the Minister acknowledged that there may be unintended consequences arising from the increase in financial requirements, which are more than doubling from $10,000 to $20,635 to cover the first year of living expenses in Canada, but he felt it was necessary so that students will not feel for ..read more

On November 16, 2023, the Province of British Columbia (the Province) announced the prioritization of 25 construction occupations through the BC Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP). The BC PNP is an economic selection program that provides an opportunity for employers to nominate workers who seek to immigrate to British Columbia (BC). Let’s see how employers and construction workers can benefit from this new BC PNP priority program. The post Good News for BC Construction Employers (and Workers)! appeared first on Immigration Lawyer Vancouver, Canada | Sas & Ing Immigration Law Centre ..read more

Catherine Sas, K.C., will be in India Nov. 21 – 25, 2023. The post Catherine Sas, K.C., will be in India Nov. 21 – 25, 2023 appeared first on Immigration Lawyer Vancouver, Canada | Sas & Ing Immigration Law Centre ..read more

At our immigration law office we frequently consult with clients about spousal sponsorships, which involves an application by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident to sponsor their spouse or common-law partner for permanent residence in Canada. These applications are quite commonplace and represent a large proportion of approvals each year. To illustrate, in 2021 over 69,000 foreign nationals were admitted to Canada as permanent residents under a spousal sponsorship and this represented about 17% of the total admissions approved for the entire year. The post Updates to family reunification ..read more