January 1 - 15 , 2017 PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY A9

Family reunification is a key immigration commitment for the Government of Canada . Immigration , Refugees and Citizenship Canada is speeding up processing for spousal sponsorship applicants . On December 7 , 2016 , the CIC announced important changes to enable processing of most spousal sponsorship applications within a 12-month time frame . Cases that are more complex would need more time to process .

If you ’ re a new applicant , you may use the new application package to apply to sponsor your spouse ,

partner or child , whether they are in Canada or outside Canada .

The CIC will process the majority ( about 80 percent ) of applications within 12 months from the day we receive them .

If you ’ ve already started filling out an application using the old application package , you can still use it . We will continue to accept new applications using the old package if we receive them on or before January 31 , 2017 . After this date , we will accept only applications using the new package .

In using the new application package , be sure to include all the forms and documents listed on the appropriate checklist . If you don ’ t include all the required forms and documents , we won ’ t accept your application for processing , and it will be sent back to you .

If you ’ ve already applied , as announced on December 7 , 2016 , the CIC is working to finalize the majority ( about 80 percent ) of applications already received within 12 months , by the end of December 2017 .

If you ’ ve already been waiting to have your application finalized for some time , the new changes do not mean you ’ ll have to wait an additional 12 months . We will continue to process applications in the order they ’ re received .

To help us process your file faster , you do not need to contact us , but please make sure your information is up to date ; and link your application to your online account to receive communication and requests from us electronically .

The CIC also said to be sure to respond quickly to our requests for information . If they ask you to give us additional information , please answer promptly and follow the instructions they give you in their request .

The success of our efforts to reduce wait times for everyone relies on your cooperation .

All applications will continue to undergo the necessary screening to ensure that individuals do not pose a safety , security or health risk to Canadians and that the relationships are genuine .

Source : http :// www . cic . gc . ca / english / department / media / notices / 2016-12- 15 . asp

The United States remains the first choice for Filipinos to settle as permanent residents .

The U . S . is followed closely by Canada , according to Manila Times columnist and international visa counselor Crispin R . Aranda .

In his newspaper column , Aranda also wrote that the other top destinations for migration are Australia , Europe ( the UK and Ireland included ) and New Zealand .

For temporary ( work ) migration , the Middle East remains on top of the deployment totem pole , according to Aranda .

Last year , land-based Overseas Filipino Workers ( OFWs ) in the Middle East outnumbered the rest , posting a 3.21 percent increase , from 885,541 to 913,958 . All other destinations except the Trust Territories showed a reduction in numbers

The U . S . and Canada representing 74 percent of deployed OFWs showed

the biggest d e c l i n e at 37.59 percent .

Aranda explained the decline in Americas in the numbers of OFWs .

N o t b e c a u s e there are no jobs available or slow growth but because of the existing m i g r a n t s e l e c t i o n s y s t e m ( E x p r e s s Entry in Canada ) and the uncertainty of obtaining the temporary work visas in the U . S ., Aranda wrote .

Aranda noted that despite the rosy projections of the business process outsourcing sector , Presidentelect Donald Trump puts the call center jobs in tenterhooks .

Recently , Trump Toyota of high tariff rates if the Japanese company sets up a Toyota manufacturing plant in Mexico . Earlier , he had Carrier and Ford acquiesce by saving and giving jobs to Americans

WWW . PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY . COM instead of to foreign workers .

A r a n d a asked if Russia and China can fill in the blanks .

C h i n e s President Xi Jinping is sticking to his path of “ new n o r m a l ” – s i n g l e - d i g i t growth from a consumptionb a s e d economy than the double-digit growth fueled by investments and exports . This slow growth rate and reliance of the domestic populace to keep the growth steady does not augur well for the Philippines even as China has emerged as the Philippines ’ second major commercial partner with $ 17

billion in total trade .

However , with controls on capital outflow by the Chinese government , foreign direct investments from the Asian behemoth and conqueror of the South China Sea could stagnate , if not decrease – not sufficient to fill in the gap that the U . S . and Canada had been providing until the pivot made by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping of China .

Could the 6,229 OFWs deployed to China in 2014 double in the years ahead ? Before that , let ’ s move east to another communist geopolitical player , Russia .

During the November 2016 APEC leaders ’ meeting in Lima , Russia agreed to increase its imports of Philippine agricultural products – bananas and mangoes – from $ 46 million to $ 2.5 billion per year . In addition , the Duterte government is aggressively

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