More Slovaks may move to Canada following loosened immigration rules

In January Canada loosened its immigration policy, which may cause a further brain drain in Slovakia, the SME daily reported on Tuesday. In addition to programmers, scientists and other professionals that had already settled in Canada, more workers from Slovakia may migrate there. The Canadian immigration office - Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) - came up with a new service called 'Express Entry' - an electronic system that enables foreigners to get permanent residence much quicker than before. "The process of relocation to Canada no longer takes years, but only a couple of months", said president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Slovakia Joseph Burza. The North American country is accepting the highest number immigrants in the world. This year alone, 280,000 people are able to find new home in Canada. Since Slovakia's accession to the EU in 2004, Slovak citizens have learnt to travel abroad in search of work. However, Canada is not a place for those who commute to work from Slovakia to nearby countries on a weekly basis. Also not everyone is eligible for the accelerated procedure. Canadian authorities are not interested in waiters, janitors and/or other auxiliary workers. "[People with] professional skills and a minimum of one year of practical experience are able to apply for the programme", said Burza. Rene Augustin from work agent company Hagiel says that among the most eligible applicants are engineers, builders, electricians and also doctors and nurses. Also people working in financial and marketing are suitable. According to the Slovak Statistics Office, Canada ranked 8th most popular foreign destination of Slovak migrants in 2014. Although only 57 people immigrated to Canada last year, many European countries ranked behind Canada. "Canada is one of the traditional targets of Slovak migrants", said Slovak Academy of Sciences analyst Vladimir Baláž. The average monthly salary in Canada is 4,500 Canadian dollars, which is approximately €3,400. The main reason for accelerating the immigration process is that CIC cancelled a list of eligible professions. Applicants had to wait up to a couple of years to get permanent residence. Canada is also interesting for speculators. Last year, 469 Slovak citizens sought asylum in Canada, with Slovakia ranking 1st in the EU in this regard. It's mainly underprivileged people who entered the six month long asylum process and went back after rejection.