RELO NEWS
The provincial governments of Alberta and British Colombia have re-opened the nomination streams and categories under the Alberta Immigrant Nominee (AINP) and British Columbia Nominee Programs (BC PNP), respectively, after the programs’ quotas were reached for 2015.
The programs offer foreign nationals and their spouses or common law partners and dependent children permanent residence.
A new criminal and civil penalty regime that was anticipated to come into effect by May 30, 2016 has been introduced earlier than expected and now makes it illegal for a sponsor to be paid by visa applicants for certain immigration events. The laws have also led to changes in nomination and visa criteria to facilitate the practical effect of the new system.
Effective December 14, 2015, visa nominators and applicants must certify whether or not they have engaged in any of the prescribed illegal conduct in relation to each visa application.
