Everything You Wanted To Know About The Super Visa

Ottawa: The first applications for the recently announced Parent and Grandparent Super Visa started in Dec.2011.

The Parent and Grandparent Super Visa is one element of Phase I of the Action Plan for Faster Family Reunification, announced in November by the Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney. The Super Visa will allow applicants to remain in Canada for up to 24 months at a time without the need for renewal of their status.

To be eligible, the applicant must:

Be a parent or grandparent of a Canadian citizen or permanent resident;

Provide a written commitment of financial support from their child or grandchild in Canada, including proof that the child or grandchild meets the minimum necessary income (Low-Income Cut-Off);

Complete the Immigration Medical Examination;

Submit proof that they have purchased comprehensive Canadian medical insurance, valid for at least one year; and

Satisfy the visa officer that they meet all other standard admissibility criteria.

Current processing times through the Family Class indicate that many parents and grandparents could wait for eight years or more to be accepted to Canada. With the Super Visa, they could be enjoying the company of their family in about eight weeks.

For more details on applying for the Parent and Grandparent Super Visa, please see the attached backgrounder.

Applying for a Parent and Grandparent Super Visa

Requirements
An application for a Parent and Grandparent Super Visa is made using the Application for a Temporary Resident Visa Made Outside of Canada[IMM 5257] form.

In addition to the information required for completing the IMM 5257, the applicant must also provide proof of the parent/grandparent relationship to the Canadian citizen or permanent resident and a signed letter pledging financial support to the parent/grandparent for the duration of their visit to Canada by their child/grandchild.

Evidence of the family’s ability to provide that financial support must be submitted with the application. The ability to support visiting parents/grandparents is based on a minimum necessary income (known as the low-income cut-off, or LICO). The chart below is also used to determine an individual’s ability to sponsor family members through the Family Class. The minimum necessary income is updated each year on January 1^st.

Size of Family Unit	Minimum necessary income
1 person (the sponsor)	$22,229
2 persons	$27,674
3 persons	$34,022
4 persons	$41,307
5 persons	$46,850
6 persons	$52,838
7 persons	$58,827
More than 7 persons, for each additional person, add $5,989.

The applicant must also submit proof that they have purchased Canadian medical insurance that:

.      is valid for a minimum period of one year from the date of entry to Canada;

.      provides a minimum of $100,000 in coverage; and

.      covers the applicant for health care, hospitalization and repatriation.

·The applicant must also meet all standard admissibility criteria. There are a number of reasons you can be found inadmissible, denied a visa and refused entry to Canada.

·In order for the visa officer to determine whether the applicant is medically admissible to Canada, the applicant will also be required to undergo an Immigration Medical Examination (IME) prior to being issued a Super Visa.

For parents and grandparents already visiting Canada

·Parents and grandparents who are currently in Canada may apply for an extension of their status for up to two years by submitting an Application to Change Conditions, Extend Stay or Remain in Canada (IMM 1249) to the Case Processing Centre in Vegreville, Alberta, as long as they meet all the criteria. These applications will be examined on a case by case basis.

For parents and grandparents from visa-exempt countries

·Parents and grandparents of Canadian citizens and permanent residents from a country whose citizens are not required to have a visa to enter Canada are also eligible to enjoy the Super Visa’s authorized stay of two years. They may apply at a Canadian visa office (no fee required) and demonstrate that they meet all of the requirements for the Super Visa.

·If the applicant has met all the criteria, they will be issued a letter by the visa office that the applicant will present to a Canada Border Services Agency officer at the port of entry upon their arrival in Canada. The officer may authorize a visit to Canada for up to two years.

What is NRI status?

 Many people confused about the NRI term and when a person is considered asNon-Resident Indian(NRI). This article gives you the policies related to NRI and how to decide whether a person is NRI for the specific financial year. Please post your feedback in the comments section. If you like this article please subscribe to our future articles here.

What makes you resident?

• If a person stays in India for more the 182 days for the current financial year
• If you stay in India for at least 60 days in India during the current FY and have stayed in India for at least a total of 365 days during the four previous FYs, then you are a resident.
• However, the criteria of 60 days are extended to the first criteria of 182 days for any one of the following instances:
  • 1. If you reside abroad for the purpose of employment.
  • 2. If you reside abroad as the member of the crew of an Indian ship.
  • 3. If you are an Indian citizen or a person of Indian origin who comes to India on a visit.
• If you are an NRI, only your income from India will be taxed. You don’t have to pay taxes on income earned abroad, even if you remit this income to India.
• An Indian citizen leaves India for the purpose of Employment, Education or Staty with parent, at the moment when he is leaving the India he becomes the NRI. In this case when the return period is un-certain then he will be considered as an NRI.

I hope this article helps to understand the NRI status. If you have any doubts regarding theNRI status, please post it in the comments section. I will answer your questions. Thank you for reading this article. If you like this article please subscribe to our future articles.

Australian tycoon 'is world's richest woman'

Australia's richest person Gina Rinehart has eclipsed Wal-Mart heiress Christy Walton to become the world's wealthiest woman, according to an annual index by Business Review Weekly.

A preview of the respected BRW Rich 200 list, published Wednesday, put the mining tycoon's personal fortune at Aus$29.17 billion (US$28.48 billion), a figure that sees her outstrip Walton for the first time.

In March, Forbes placed Walton and her family's net worth at US$25.3 billion, while Rinehart's fortune stood at US$18 billion.

BRW rich list editor Andrew Heathcote said mining magnate Rinehart had almost tripled her wealth in 12 months as commodity prices rose and she pulled off two deals in iron ore and coal.

"The Aus$18.87 billion increase in her wealth is unparalleled. It is a product of foreign investment in new projects, increased production and a recovery in the iron ore price over the past six months," said Heathcote.

Rinehart, 58, heiress to an iron ore prospecting empire built in Australia's resources-rich west, is a controversial figure who stridently campaigned against new mining taxes and recently bought up big in the media sector.

She is also locked in a series of lawsuits, including an acrimonious row with her own children over a family trust where she has been accused of threatening to financially ruin them.

Heathcote said Rinehart was on track to overtake Mexican telecommunications tycoon Carlos Slim -- worth US$69 billion -- as the world's richest person as demand ramps up for Australia's natural resources.

"A $100 billion fortune is not out of the question for Rinehart if the resources boom continues unabated," said Heathcote.

"There is a real possibility that Rinehart will become not just the richest woman in the world but the richest person in the world."

The full BRW list of Australia's richest people, the upper rungs of which are usually dominated by mining tycoons, will be unveiled on Thursday.

Alberta MLAs' salary to be fully taxed

Alberta MLA's returning to the legislature Wednesday will be paying income tax on their entire salary.

A report written by retired Supreme Court Justice John Major recommended the province retain the tax-free portion of their salary.

But the government is rejecting that.

People feel politicians should pay taxes like everyone else, said government house leader Dave Hancock.

"The public has seemed to be fairly unanimous in the view that they would just as soon we had a salary and pay tax on the whole salary," he said.

Major called the tax-free amount the most misunderstood and contentious of all his recommendations.

Without the allowance the province will make up the difference in salary from its own budget and then lose the $2 million in taxes to Revenue Canada.

Major insisted keeping the tax-free allowance shouldn't make MLA pay any less transparent.

But Hancock said paying more tax to the federal government is "a small price to pay for transparency."

MLAs will get a base salary of $134,000, with no additional money for sitting on committees.

Premier Alison Redford has already rejected Major's suggestion that the premier's salary jump from just over $200,000 a year to $335,000 within the next two years.

All other recommendations will go before a committee of the legislature for approval.

Canada ahead of other G7 nations on youth unemployment

Student protesters in Quebec, rejoice: things aren't nearly as bad as they seem.

According to a Statistics Canada study-- the first of its kind in the country -- 13.3 per cent, or 904,000, of the 6.8 million Canadians between the ages of 15 and 29 weren't in school nor at work last year.

While the unemployment figure may seem high, it's the second-lowest percentage out of all the  G-7 countries just behind Germany (11.6 per cent).

In terms of the labour force, Canada had 391,000 youth looking for work. Most of those not in the labour force said that they didn't want a job (82 per cent).

Another good news story for Canada is our long-term youth unemployment rate.  According to Kathrerine Marshall, an analyst with StatsCan, only 55,000 young people had been looking for work for more than six months.

"These long-term unemployed represented 1 per cent of all youth and 14 per cent of unemployed youth," told Marshall.

"This was the lowest proportion of long-term unemployed young people among the G7 nations."

Despite the relatively rosy numbers, however, critics charge that federal and provincial governments have ignored  youth unemployment trends and have instead focused on an all-ages approach.

"The government ... would say they're giving (more money) to laid off people. They would say that we're addressing the problem. But my argument is that youth unemployment is the worst, and what's the government doing to address that?" Nancy Schaefer, president of the Toronto-based Youth Employment Services (YES) told  last year.

"I don't think the youth of [Ontario] are being well-served under this model."

Other, like Ken Lewenza of the Canadian Autoworkers' union (CAW)  believe its time for a national jobs summit to develop a national strategy.

"Young people are not able to find jobs in this economy and the federal government must do more to ensure our youth secure decent full time jobs," Lewenza said in a statement earlier this month.

"The federal government must show a lot more leadership on the stubborn issue of youth unemployment in Canada."

Percentage of students who don't go to school or work in the G7 countries:

Germany: 11.6 per cent

Canada: 13.3 per cent

France: 15.6 per cent

United Kingdom: 15.6 per cent

United States: 16.9 per cent

Italy: 21.2 per cent

13 per cent of Canadians aged 15 to 29 out of school and unemployed: StatsCan

TORONTO - Canada's youth are more likely to be working or seeking an education than many of their counterparts in other G7 nations, the country's leading statistical agency suggested Wednesday.

A new study from Statistics Canada analyzed the working and educational paths of people aged 15 to 29 in a bid to assess youth engagement with the labour force.

The study found that 13 per cent of the 6.8 million Canadians in the age bracket were not in education, employment or training — a measurement known as NEET.

That score, which has remained almost flat for the past two decades, is the second lowest among G7 nations, according to the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development. Only Germany boasts a lower NEET rating of 11.6 per cent, while Italy registered the highest rating of 21.2 per cent.

Study author Katherine Marshall said the NEET indicator has been an effective way of measuring youth engagement in Europe since the 1990s, but is relatively new to North American analysts.

Large numbers of youth who are neither pursuing an education nor working can signal broader systemic issues that prevent youth from fully participating in society as they age, she said, adding Canada's score paints a fairly rosy picture.

"The Canadian NEET youth population is really quite diverse and is not entirely negative even though NEET in general has a negative connotation," Marshall said in a telephone interview.

Many of those who do not pursue educational or employment opportunities are addressing other priorities such as raising a family, Marshall said, adding 57 per cent of NEET youth said they were not actively trying to enter the labour force.

Of that group, between 65 and 70 per cent were females over 20, the study said.

People who fall into this category generally do not give analysts pause, Marshall said, adding long-term unemployment trends are the more telling indicators of youth labour engagement.

In that respect, Marshall said Canada is faring extremely well. Only 55,000 young people _ or one per cent of the country's entire youth population _ said they had been seeking work for more than six months, giving Canada the lowest rate of long-term unemployed youth in the G7.

Men in their 20s have the hardest time finding work, the survey said, adding they account for 200,000 of the 391,000 NEET youth who are seeking a job.

Odds of landing a position increased greatly for those with post-secondary education, Marshall said. The likelihood of finding work jumped by two-thirds for those with a university degree.

"The higher the level of education, the more likely you are to be employed," she said.

This finding was echoed in a new study from BMO Bank of Montreal, which found 70 per cent of businesses specifically look for a university background when hiring.

Education remains a fairly high priority for Canada's non-NEET youth, Marshall said, adding the remaining 87 per cent of the country's youth are equally divided between those who are working and those who are in school.

Kuly Ral of RDB passes away

Kuly Ral of RDB passes away
Kuly Ral from Brit-Asian bhangra group RDB (Rhythm Dhol Bass), passed away on Wednesday, May 23. The suspected reason of his death is told to be cancer.
Kuly played a large role in driving RDB to conquer both the UK and the Indian bhangra industry. The hip-hop bhangra band that collaborated with international artist Snoop Dogg and Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar, will sorely miss the charismatic singer who
was an inspiration to many British Asian musicians.
Kuly’s death is a huge blow to the Punjabi music industry and has affected celebrities and fans alike. Bollywood star Akshay Kumar tweeted: “Just heard about Kuly from RDB`s sudden demise. Still reeling from the shock of the news. RIP.” Svee Kaur Bains,
an RDB fan from Vancouver, said: “So sad and what a tragic end. I hope it draws attention to the illness. May God rest his soul and help his family. 2012 has lost too many music greats!”
Kuly’s death comes in the wake of recent plans by RDB to open a studio in India. The band had earlier expressed its desire to be more involved in making music for Bollywood. Band member Surj said: “Bollywood market has always opened its doors for different
kinds of music and our band’s sound was adored. I must say Bollywood is one of the biggest markets for our kind of music. Our music goes out to places where we would not expect it to reach.”
The Punjabi DJ production team that brought together brothers Kuly, Manj, and Surj, travelled extensively to bring their music to the world. The brothers were best known for blending western genres with traditional Punjabi beats and vocals and were behind
such popular chartbusters as Shera Di Kaum Punjabi from ‘Speedy Singhs’,
Yamla Pagla Deewana, and Aloo Chaat. Their latest
Bollywood song, Sadi Gali from the film ‘Tanu weds Manu’, was an instant hit amongst the
Indian youth and continues to be played in nightclubs around the country.