On June 15, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, the Honourable Sean Fraser, announced the expansion of the Francophone Mobility Program which was created to allow a Canadian employer to make a job offer to an eligible candidate with a moderate command of French for all National Occupation Classification (NOC) apart from jobs in primary agriculture. The expansion is currently set to last for a period of two years and is said to open doors to more French-speaking immigrants by offering them the opportunity to gain Canadian work experience and potentially qualify for permanent residence. The main updates to the program are as follows:
- The temporary foreign national must have a moderate language proficiency of French for oral comprehension and oral expression. This is equivalent to a level 5 of the language requirements.
- Applicants must now provide proof that they meet these language requirements. This documentary evidence may be but is not limited to: a French evaluation test or French competencies test, a diploma or degree from a French college or university, or a document confirming studies at a French-language institution.
It is hoped that these new language requirements will expand the pool of eligible French-speaking foreign nationals.
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