The immigration investor program is the most popular program in Canada. With less than three weeks before the program opens to new investors, the government is not sure about the future of this program. It has been said that the government might also consider suspending the program. The cash for visa scheme is said to be so attractive that last year’s application window went not beyond half an hour.
photo: http://immigrationcanada.pro
Some wealthy investors also even charted private jets to submit their applications to the central intake office in Sydney. Last year the program opened on July 1st after the immigration department capped the intake at 700. In April, Immigration and citizenship minister Jason Kenney announced that the government would take adequate measures to modernize the outdated program. Critics claim that this program offers little benefits to the nation.
Nonetheless, this year’s process continues to remain a mystery. According the official citizenship and immigration website, the cap will reset on 1st July, 2012. Richard Kurland, a Vancouver based immigration lawyer said he hopes the Canadian government will wait until the fall to reopen the program considering the conditions of the global market. Besides this, the government is also facing problem of managing the massive backlog of immigrant applications. According to official figures, there are nearly 25000 applications involving 86000 prospective immigrants.
Richard Kurland also said the government should be in no hurry to accept new applications and focus on clearing the pending applications. The immigration department is already struggling to process the applications on hand. More applications would only increase the pressure on the Canadian government. He also said the government should also wait to see if the United States of America renews its investor program. The government can also hike the prices if the United States opts to do away with the program.
Regardless of what the American government does, the government of Canada will definitely hike the prices as it seeks to renovate the program. This program provides permanent residency to millionaires and their families in exchange for cash. Immigration and citizenship minister Jason Kenney said the $800000 minimum requirement and a net worth requirement of $1.6 million is too low to provide permanent residency in the country. Canada needs to consider this as an investment to national economy rather than just a loan.
As it stands, this amount is used as an investment is projects pertaining to the overall economic development of Canada. The federal government also complained that few provinces have not spent enough on development projects. Kurland suggested that the government could also consider setting the threshold as $2 million. In case the American government decided to drop the investor program, the Canadian government could further increase the required minimum investment amount.
It has been reported that the immigration minister held consultations with stakeholders and other government officials earlier this year. Discussions regarding the creation of a new program were also held. Under the new program, the minister will also be able to select a new, short term program to satisfy the labor requirements in Canada.
