Immigration and Checkpoint Authority How Canada handles immigration
An applicant for immigration into Canada has to go through an assessment at the website. This covers education qualitication and English language test.

If the applicant meets the required score, he is invited to submit an application for permanent residency. He has to submit certain documents. 

The authority carries out a investigation into the applicant, including security and background check. The applicant is also required to submit clearance letter from the home country and country of residence.

if approved, the applicant is asked to submit the passport to get a visa for permanent residency. This visa is for a certain period and is renewable, subject to residency. 

The migrant starts to look for a job after residing in Canada. 

As the process is quite simple, the applicant is able to handle the paper work without having to engage an employment agent and to pay a fee.

This approach is different from Singapore where a foreign worker has to get a job offer from an employer who is required to sponsor the worker to enter Singapore. 

The system adopted in Singapore has the following drawback:

a) The foreign worker has to use the services of an employment agent to find a job and has to pay a large commission, typically 6 to 12 months of salary for the services. It is rumored that the market practice is for the employment agent to share the fee with the employer.

b) The foreign worker and employer may submit false educational and other documents or overstate the remuneration of the foreign worker, in order to quality for a work pass.

c) The foreign worker is employed on terms of employment that are different from local workers. This has led to a preference by employers to employ foreign workers, rather than local workers.

The system adopted in Canada allows the government to carry out background check on the immigrant before granting a visa for permanent residency. The employers have to offer the same terms of employment to immigrants and to local workers. It is easier to manage one system of employment. 

Australia adopts a similar approach to Australia.

I suggest that Singapore should also change our current approach to follow Canada and Australia. 

Tan Kin Lian 

Vote - should Singapore adopt a similar approach to Canada and Australia in handling immigrants?

 

Many foreign worker has to pay a large fee to the employment agent to handle 

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