The Ministerial Instructions 13 (MI13) for the Processing of New and Existing Applications for Temporary Residence and Permanent Residence

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) issued the thirteenth set of Ministerial Instructions (MIs) i.e. MI13 on October 31, 2014. These Ministerial Instructions (MIs) enabled Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) to provide assistance in preventing the transmission and spread of the Ebola outbreak.

Under the provisions specified in these Ministerial Instructions (MIs), Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) would not process any new permanent resident or temporary resident applications if the applicant has recently been in an Ebola-affected country.

Similarly, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) would stop processing existing temporary resident applications for which the authorities have not made a final decision in case the applicants have recently visited or been in an Ebola-affected country.

In addition, the authorities would not issue visas for pending permanent resident applications as well. However, this would not be applicable in case the officers are satisfied that the applicant has not been in an Ebola-affected country within the three months prior to the finalisation of the application.

It is worth highlighting that these measures are temporary in nature. The authorities have promulgated these measures in an attempt to protect the health and the safety of Canadians. As such, the authorities would keep these measures in force, until further notice.

Readers would need to visit the website of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) for obtaining the full text of MI13. In addition, they would also be able to view the news release about the issuance of these Ministerial Instructions (MIs) on the website as well.

The Ministerial Instructions 15 (MI15) for Instructions to Manage Certain Permanent Resident Applications in the Economic Class

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) issued the fifteenth set of Ministerial Instructions (MIs) i.e. MI15 on January 01, 2015. These Ministerial Instructions (MIs) enabled Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) to repeal all processing eligibility criteria for new applications in the following categories:

• The Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) Class
• The Federal Skilled Trades (FST) Class and,
• The Canadian Experience Class (CEC)

The repealing of the processing eligibility criteria for these classes also applied to the application caps and the eligible occupation lists within these classes.

With effect from January 01, 2015, the criteria for the new Express Entry application management system would govern the application intake process. However, the repealing directives contained within these Ministerial Instructions (MIs) would not affect the actual processing of applications:

• That Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) received prior to January 01, 2015 and,
• That the authorities considered under MI12

Furthermore, these Ministerial Instructions (MIs) renewed the ongoing pauses on the following programs as well:

• The Immigrant Investor Program (IIP) and,
• The Federal Entrepreneur Program (FEP)

These pauses would continue to remain in effect until further notice.

Readers would need to visit the website of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) for obtaining the full text of MI15.

The Ministerial Instructions 17 (MI17) for Instructions Respecting the Immigrant Investor Venture Capital Class

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) issued the seventeenth set of Ministerial Instructions (MIs) i.e. MI17 on January 23, 2015. These Ministerial Instructions (MIs) enabled Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) to manage applications for permanent residence under the Immigrant Investor Venture Capital Class. The authorities brought these instructions into force with effect from January 28, 2015.

The provisions of these Ministerial Instructions (MIs) enable officers to accept permanent resident applications received under the Immigrant Investor Venture Capital Class:

• From January 28, 2015 to February 11, 2015 or,
• Until they reach the maximum cap of 500 applications

As such, the authorities would accept applications under this class until one of the two conditions above becomes true.

Readers would need to visit the website of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) for obtaining the full text of MI17.

The Ministerial Instructions 18 (MI18) for Instructions Respecting the Immigrant Investor Venture Capital Class

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) issued the eighteenth set of Ministerial Instructions (MIs) i.e. MI18 on February 13, 2015. These Ministerial Instructions (MIs) enabled Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) to manage applications for permanent residence under the Immigrant Investor Venture Capital Class.

The provisions of these Ministerial Instructions (MIs) enable officers to accept permanent resident applications received under the Immigrant Investor Venture Capital Class:

• From February 13, 2015 to April 15, 2015 or,
• Until they reach the maximum cap of 500 applications

As such, the authorities would accept applications under this class until one of the two conditions above becomes true. It is worth mentioning that Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) also accepted applications from January 28, 2015 to February 11, 2015. This was in accordance with the provisions specified in MI17.

Readers would need to visit the website of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) for obtaining the full text of MI18.

The Ministerial Instructions 19 (MI19) for Instructions Respecting the Immigrant Investor Venture Capital Class

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) issued the eighteenth set of Ministerial Instructions (MIs) i.e. MI18 on May 23, 2015. These Ministerial Instructions (MIs) enabled Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) to manage applications for permanent residence under the Immigrant Investor Venture Capital Class.

Under the provisions specified in these Ministerial Instructions (MIs), Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) would need to continue accepting permanent resident applications received under the Immigrant Investor Venture Capital Class from May 25, 2015 to December 30, 2015. The officers would need to process the first 60 complete applications they receive. Thereafter, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) would also accept up to 60 additional applications. Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) will place these 60 applications on a waiting list.

The authorities have the ability to close the program earlier than the stipulated date of December 30, 2015 if:

• They provide approvals to 60 immigrant investors for permanent residence or,
• They place 60 applications in processing with another 60 applications present on the waiting list

Readers would need to visit the website of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) for obtaining the full text of MI19.