Prospective applicants for permanent residence to Canada will note the availability of Self-Assessment kits through the many visa offices abroad and through the Department of Citizenship and Immigration Canada Web site.
It may be noted that one of the fundamental features of the May 1, 1997 legislative modification introducing the National Occupational Classification system in the assessment process, is the concurrent reference to the Career Handbook as a component publication to the NOC binder. The NOC comprehensively evaluates skill groupings and occupations.The Career Handbook measures an applicant’s education and training on the basis skills required to perform the duties of an occupation in Canada. The Career Handbook also outlines the requirements for licensing and post-secondary training, which may be required for occupations in Canada.
Indeed it is fair to say that since the introduction of the NOC in 1997 as an integral part of the selection process, visa officers are now required to maintain an ongoing and thorough knowledge of a compendium of literature under NOC and component publications, reflecting the labour market in Canada for various occupations. However it does not appear that visa officers are meeting this obligation.
In the face of limited resources and the continued trend for the Government of Canada to engage non-Canadian locally engaged staff at Canadian missions abroad to undertake selection decisions, it is not surprising that members of the legal profession are concerned by the variances in visa office decision making and the increasing rate of refusals.
While self assessment kits serve a useful tool as a preliminary indicator of possible admission, the self assessment process does not adequately highlight to the end user the variances in a number of subjective areas such as the education systems in Canada and the acceptability by the evaluating officer of university education completed outside Canada under the education factor; the assessment of experience acquired before the completion of formal secondary studies; the distinction in the NOC system between “is required” and “usually required”, the licensing requirements in some of the occupations which may or may not be a factor to assess admissibility to Canada for immigration purposes and other subjective elements in the assessment process.
Prospective applicants who make use of self assessment kits should become acquainted with the occupational entry requirements, including the NOC, Career Handbook and related component publications in order to undertake a proper evaluation of an applicants’ education and training profile.Additionally, applicants should not overlook the subjective elements of evaluation which are left to the discretion of the visa officer and which in many instances, have been the subject of legal precedents and Operations Memorandums which attempt to provide guidance to decision makers.
