Planning to study in or migrate to Canada? Know about the new immigration policies announced by the country

• Indians were the top immigrant group to take up residence in Canada this year (January to March).
• The country also plans to welcome over 4,32,000 new immigrants this year, as per an Economic Times report.
• The Canadian government announced on April 22 that Express Entry draws will soon resume and applications for candidates to apply for permanent residents will begin early July.

Canada is one of the most popular choices among Indians to either work or for higher education. According to the figures of the first quarter, which was released earlier in April by the Canadian government, Indians were the top immigrant group to take-up residence in Canada this year (January to March). In the first three months of this year itself, the country had welcomed 1,08,000 migrants including Indians. In 2021, nearly 100,000 Indians became permanent residents of Canada as the country admitted a record 405,000 new immigrants in its history so far.

The country also plans to welcome over 4,32,000 new immigrants this year, as per an Economic Times report.

To hit its target number, the country announced on April 22 that Express Entry draws will soon resume and applications for candidates to apply for permanent residents will begin early July.

Express Entry is a programme for permanent immigration for Canadian Experience Class (CEC), Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), and Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP).

Eligibility for CEC — Skilled workers with 3 years of Canadian work experience before applying for Express Entry.

Eligibility for FSWP — Skilled workers with foreign work experience must meet education and other criterias.

Eligibility for FSTP — Skilled workers who are qualified in a skilled trade and must have a valid job offer or a certificate of qualification.

Canada has rolled out new policies to address the labour shortage in the country.“ As Canada continues to recover from the pandemic, employers are actively looking to fill hundreds of thousands of vacant positions in all sectors across the country. Immigration is more important than ever to fuel Canada’s economy, as our strong economic growth is now outpacing our ability to find and keep workers,” said the press release rolled out by the government of Canada.

International immigrants whose stay visa is soon to expire can stay a little longer through this new temporary policy. Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship said in the release, “ A new temporary policy that will give recent international graduates with expiring temporary status an opportunity to stay in Canada longer, so that they can continue to gain work experience and have a better chance at qualifying for permanent residency.”

He further said, “Starting in summer 2022, former international students who are in Canada and have a post-graduation work permit expiring between January and December 2022 will qualify for an additional open work permit of up to 18 months. We are exploring a simplified, expeditious process for this, and details will be made available in the weeks ahead.”

The Federal High Skilled processing inventory has been cut in half, decreasing from 119,000 people in September 2021 to just 48,000 people in March 2022, said Fraser.

According to the ET report, over 95,000 post-graduation work permits (PGWPs) are going to expire in 2022 and around 50,000 of them could enjoy the benefits of this new open work permit.

Getting a permanent residence is easier now

In order to attract more foreign immigrants to fill up the job vacancies in Canada, the country has doubled the number of permanent residence decisions made in the first quarter of 2022, compared to the same time period in 2021. “ From January 1, 2022 to March 31, 2022, we have made over 156,000 final decisions on permanent residence applications and, through these efforts, Canada welcomed over 113,000 new permanent residents in the first quarter of 2022,” revealed the release.

Canada also rolled out a ‘limited-time pathway’ programme for temporary residents to apply for permanent residence in 2021. Currently, new applications are closed for now and the processing of the applications that came in 2021 is going-on for now.

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