A computer modelling specialist from Mumbai working for his masters degree, Mukesh Thadani had dreams of making it big in Canada. A single phone call from his lawyer, however, shattered his carefully nurtured ambition: the introduction of a new point grid system made him ineligible for immigration to Canada.

It was no different for tools-and-dye maker Suresh Pant in Rai Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh. Equipped with a trade diploma and seven years of experience, he waited three long years and spent thousands of dollars confident that labourers have a great chance in Canada. Now he watches his five-year-old son Rahul play with a make-believe stethoscope and wonders if he will ever achieve his dream of making him a "foreign-educated doctor".

When leaders experiment, the likes of Thadani and Pant (names changed) will take a blow. While Canada's Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Dennis Coderre declares he wants to increase annual immigration from 250,000 to 300,000, he has altered the immigration laws to hit the chances of thousands of aspiring immigrants around the globe. The "passing mark" in the points-based system of assessment has changed: to qualify an immigrant has to now score 75 points out of 100 as opposed to the earlier 70 out of 110. Worse, the new law is retroactive. Meaning the applicants will now be assessed under a set of rules different from those they had initially applied under.

PORT OF ENTRY: South Asian immigrants arrive at Montreal airport

"I'm lucky I got through the old system. I don't know French." Prakash Nair, IT professional and fresh immigrant

For Indians, immigration now means waiting in queue for three years (and for the Chinese it is an eight-year wait). The processing fee of Rs 15,000 (Cd$500) will not be refunded. Top that with lawyers fees and miscellaneous payments-the wallet becomes that much lighter. Only the lucky few, who were not given a preliminary "paper screening" by immigration officials, are eligible for a refund.

That's not all. The rules can change all over again. Coderre has promised a "review" if the laws seem too stringent. Immigration lawyers are indignant, while economists and opposition parties are criticising the Liberal government for its "incoherence" on the issue of immigration.

David Rosenblatt, an immigration lawyer who heads the Federation for Better Immigration Policy, is harsh. "This is a callous attitude," he says. "It is an insult to the applicant. First you take the money and then change the rules."

Nair on arrival in Toronto

"The rules do not reflect the reality of the workplace." Pradeep Puri, hotelier

The rules are certainly stringent. They will affect more than 200,000 principal applicants and close to 500,000 families worldwide, say lawyers. Thousands of applicants, who had submitted their files by 31 December 2001 but whose applications are not processed by March 2003, will now be evaluated under the new point-grid system with just a small discount: they qualify if they get 70 rather than 75 out of 100.

That will be little help, argues Rosenblatt. "They will be evaluated according to six factors rather than the 11 factors earlier. And even though the six appear to have higher points it is an illusion, because there are fewer factors under these six categories where an applicant can obtain points to qualify," the lawyer says. Some of the earlier factors have been clubbed together, thus affecting the distribution of points. For example, the 10 points under the arranged employment factor, for which an applicant is required to possess a confirmed Canadian job offer at the time of the interview, validated by the HRDC (Human Resources Development of Canada). If he is able to do so, he also scores an additional five points from the other new adaptability factor taking his tally to 15 points.

Kelli Ralph-Campbell, director at Rosenblatt Associates, feels that this has tipped the scales against the applicant. "What it means for most applicants is that the number of points they have to obtain becomes 75 out of the now 85 points (instead of 100) since few applicants (less than one per cent) have that confirmed job offer in hand. Earlier only eight points were awarded for confirmed employment."

Among other major changes is the abolition of factors like personal suitability. It was a subjective assessment made by the immigration officer of the applicant's adaptability, motivation and resourcefulness and allowed great flexibility. The new adaptability factor instead prescribes specific things and awards points accordingly. One gets more points if one has at least a year's previous work experience or two years post-secondary study in Canada. Family connections abroad add points as does an educated spouse. Earlier, the qualification of the spouse didn't matter and the immigration was based only on the principal applicant's credentials.

Michael Niren, an immigration lawyer counselling several Indian applicants says that the new law will be particularly harsh on Indians. "Many single applicants from India with experience in the field of information technology will lose out now if they do not have a family or experience or have not studied in Canada."

The Government says the new grid is meant to create a human capital model of assessing immigrants with the multiple and "flexible skill sets" that the economy needs. An applicant will now not be given points according to a profession he/she is in. So out goes the Education and Training Factors (ETF), along with another link the National Occupations List-a ranking of occupations according to the level of training required and the demand for workers in Canada. Earlier, an applicant would receive a certain number of points if his occupation corresponded to those on this list. The occupation factor was in-turn tied to this list and an applicant then received a set number of points corresponding to their occupation's ranking. Both have been deleted.

Many single, highly-skilled applicants stand to lose out if they do not know French, for the current rules stress on this language. While a knowledge of English plus French scores a maximum of 24 points, English alone gives at the most 16. Most Indian applicants are not fluent in French and, more frustrating for immigrants, is the fact that other than in Quebec, the language is not a pre-requisite for doing business in Canada.

Satish Sharma, a truck owner who immigrated from Delhi four years ago, is surprised at this condition. "This is preposterous. French is required only in Quebec, which in any case has its own immigration system with a different selection criteria."

The Government quotes research that indicates that immigrants with transferable skills, work or study experience in Canada, family connections and firm job offers are more likely to settle successfully. But opposition MPs say these new rules eliminate thousands of skilled workers.

In fact, many lawyers have moved the Federal Court in Canada to seek a "writ of mandamus" instructing the consulates in countries to finish processing all the cases of applicants by March 2003. But the new set of rules make it difficult to appeal against a rejection. Earlier, one could appeal directly to the Federal Court. Now an applicant must first get a judge's leave to appeal to the Federal Court.

But Coderre still has to thrash out the biggest issue-that of not recognising degrees from other countries, especially in fields like medicine and engineering. Highly qualified people are forced to take up menial jobs after immigration.

Says Manoj Khatri, a former bank manager from Mumbai and an IIM and IIT graduate, who now works at a tele marketing call centres: "There is a very wide gap between the immigration policy and the labour industry here. I don't understand what they want especially as they keep talking of this drastic labour shortage. There is hardly any recognition of talent and all they talk about here is the Canadian experience."

Hotelier Pradeep Puri, who migrated from Delhi 25 years ago, says, "The Government has not been able to integrate the immigration policy with the reality of the workplace and decide what Canadian employers really want. That is the biggest problem. Toronto has the largest educated taxi force in the country, thanks to the fact that virtually no foreign degrees are recognised."

Adds Suchi Sethna, a qualified doctor who had to work as a waitress: "It is not uncommon to hear of dentists serving coffee and it engineers driving taxis or even of pilots delivering pizzas. Coderre, like many of the former immigration ministers, has not been able to resolve this complex problem."

Coderre, in his defense, stresses that there is a need for both blue collar as well as skilled workers. More points have now been awarded to applicants with a trade certificate or a second degree. Bilingual workers will be encouraged and older skilled workers will be more welcome as workers between 21 and 49 will score the maximum number of points (10).

But for businessmen, says Niren, it is going to be a tough sell. "Entrepreneur applicants now require a net worth of at least $300,000 whereas in the past there was no such requirement. This will cut many successful business aspirants out."

Luck smiled on Prakash Nair, a computer programmer from Surat recently arrived in Toronto. "I'm glad I scraped through the old system. Neither do I speak French nor have I ever set foot in Canada or have any relative here ... But my friends are not going to be as lucky." Now Nair will surely ask his friends back home to start taking French tuitions. "Maybe then they will hit the 75 mark," he remarks. Then adds: "By the way, computer programming is done in the English language, you know?" The successful immigrant hails a taxi and disappears into the warm Toronto summer.