CIC Notice – Termination of Backlog Applications in the Federal Immigrant Investor Program and Federal Entrepreneur Program

June 19, 2014 — The Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, (Bill C-31), received Royal Assent and became law today which resulted in the termination of applications in the backlog of the federal Immigrant Investor Program (IIP) and federal Entrepreneur Program (EN).

IIP and EN applications have been terminated if a selection decision was not made by an immigration officer before February 11, 2014. There are a small number of cases where a selection decision was made on or after February 11, 2014, and the application was processed to completion and a final decision was made before Bill C-31 became law. Those applications are not affected by the legislation.

If your application was terminated, CIC will contact you – directly or through your immigration representative – to provide information on how your fees will be returned. CIC has set up a central task force based in Ottawa to handle the fee return process.

Eliminating the longstanding backlog of applications in the IIP and EN will allow Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) to focus resources on immigration programs that will bring maximum benefit to Canada’s economy.

Large backlogs of applications, particularly in economic immigration programs, are the biggest challenge to Canada’s immigration system. The large backlog of IIP and EN applications acted as a drag on the immigration system as a whole. It was one of the last remaining impediments to the creation of the type of fast and flexible economic immigration system that best contributes to Canada’s economic success.

The next step in the transformation of Canada’s economic immigration system will be the launch of Express Entry in January 2015. Express Entry will help Canada recruit the best candidates who are most likely to succeed, rather than the first person in line.

If you are still interested in immigrating to Canada, there are several pathways to permanent residence designed for economic immigrants. Find out more about eligibility requirements and how to apply in each category.

Find more information:

• Termination of the Federal Investor and Entrepreneur Programs