Immigration Suggestions
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All invitations for the 2020 Parents and Grandparents Program have now been sent Ottawa, January 11, 2021Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has now finished sending invitations to apply for the 2020 Parents and Grandparents Program. All interested potential sponsors who were randomly selected to apply for the 2020 program have been sent invitations. For the 2020 year, IRCC will accept up to 10,000 applications. Those who received invitations to apply must su...bmit their complete applications to IRCC within 60 days. The deadline for when we need to receive your application is clearly marked on your invitation. If you successfully submitted an interest to sponsor form but did not receive an invitation in your email inbox, please check your junk mail and make sure you’re checking the email address you provided on your interest to sponsor form to see if you were randomly selected to submit an application. The government understands how disappointing it can be for those who are not randomly selected to sponsor their family members under the Parents and Grandparents Program. Due to the continued popularity of the program, the number of people interested in sponsoring their parents and grandparents always exceeds the number of applications we can accept. If you submitted an interest to sponsor form in 2020 but were not selected to apply, you’ll have another opportunity to show your interest when the 2021 Parents and Grandparents Program opens. See more

Express Entry: CRS drops in latest draw Canada caps off the year with 107,350 invitations issued to Express Entry candidates. The minimum Express Entry cutoff score dipped slightly from the previous two rounds on December 23.... Canada invited 5,000 immigration candidates with a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of at least 468. The new CRS requirement is just slightly lower than the previous draw on December 9, when candidates needed a minimum score of 469. This draw brings the number of Invitations to Apply (ITAs) issued this year to 107,350, a record-high number of invitations. Today’s draw was the fourth consecutive invitation round to issue 5,000 ITAs for Canadian permanent residence. There was a consistent increase in the number of ITAs issued in all-program Express Entry draws since September 2. In the early months of the coronavirus pandemic and amidst the most stringent travel restrictions, IRCC only conducted program-specific draws. Since then, and despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of Canada has taken steps to facilitate immigration processes for most of its programs and to ensure the continued selection of skilled workers for permanent residence. Express Entry is Canada’s immigration application management system for three federal economic-class programs: Federal Skilled Worker Program, Federal Skilled Trades Program, and Canadian Experience Class. Candidates in these programs, as well as some Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs), are given a score based on the CRS. Points are awarded depending on a candidate’s human capital factors such as age, education, work experience, and language ability in English or French. The highest-scoring candidates receive an ITA, which they can then use to apply for Canadian permanent residence. In case of a tie between candidates, IRCC applies the tie-breaking rule. Candidates who had a CRS score of 468 or more in this draw needed to have submitted their Express Entry profile before June 4, 2020 at 13:39:44 UTC in order to receive an invitation. Today’s draw continued a trend that has seen the cut-off CRS score decrease in each of the last four draws. This trend may be explained in part by the regular, two-week interval between draws that IRCC has maintained since September and the high number of ITAs that are being issued in recent draws.

Ontario overfills PNP allocation A glance back at Ontario's last draws of 2020, and what to look forward to next year. Ontario has issued more than 8,000 nominations to immigration candidates this year, more than filling the number of spots the province was originally allowed.... The federal government originally allocated 7,600 provincial nomination for the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) out of the 61,000 that were expected to be welcomed through the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) in 2020. But, Ontario has finished off the year with 8,050 successful nominations across all streams, including 400 additional nominations that the province received through an in-year reallocation, and 50 more for intermediate skilled occupations, or NOC skill level C. All new applications, and those that are in processing, will be considered under the 2021 nomination allocation. Ontario’s allocation for 2021 is not yet available, but we know that the PNP is expected to bring in upwards of 80,800 immigrants over the next three years, according to the new immigration levels plan. Ontario held its last draws of the year on December 15. The OINP held a Tech Draw, and issued 668 invitations to Express Entry candidates with work experience in certain tech occupations. On the same day, Ontario invited 19 to apply under the OINP Entrepreneur Stream. Ontario to launch EOI system in 2021 Ontario’s Employer Job Offer Category currently works on a first-come-first-served basis, however this has caused problems for the province and prospective applicants in the past. What happens is, the OINP announces when registration windows will open. Applicants flood the system trying to submit their files. Then the online portal closes within minutes, or the system breaks. The most recent example of this happened in late November. Ontario opened the Employer Job Offer: International Student Stream registration window, but closed it due to technical difficulties. Later, the OINP confirmed that 1,426 applicants registered during the opening, and that they will contact people who reported errors when submitting their files. Since this rush seating model is not working for the province or candidates, Ontario announced that in early 2021 they would launch an Expression of Interest (EOI) system. Other provinces, like Manitoba and Saskatchewan, already have EOI systems in place to manage application intake.

Canada to delay parents and grandparents 2020 immigration lottery Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is delaying its Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) 2020 immigration lottery until early 2021. The lottery was planned to take place by the end of this month, but a number of factors including the global coronavirus pandemic will cause a delay.... IRCC opened the PGP 2020 expression of interest window to potential sponsors between October 13 and November 3, 2020. During this period, Canadian citizens and permanent residents could fill out a form to notify IRCC of their desire to sponsor their parents or grandparents to immigrate to Canada. Afterwards, IRCC was to hold a randomized lottery inviting up to 10,000 sponsors to submit their PGP applications. As currently noted on IRCC’s website, the department was expecting to hold the lottery by the end of the year: sponsors will be invited to apply near the end of the year so we expect to get applications in early 2021 (likely January and February).

Latest B.C. Tech Pilot draw issues 92 invitations Invitations to apply for a provincial nomination were issued to foreign tech workers and international students through the BC PNP. B.C. issued invitations to immigration candidates through the Express Entry BC (EEBC) and Skills Immigration (SI) streams on December 15.... The EEBC stream is for candidates with a valid profile in the federal government’s Express Entry system, which is Canada’s main pathway for skilled immigrants who are hoping to obtain Canadian permanent residence. The SI stream is for skilled and semi-skilled workers whose occupations are in high demand in the province of B.C. Both streams allow candidates to apply under various categories. Candidates selected in today’s draw all needed a minimum provincial score of 80 and were from the following categories: SI Skilled Worker SI International Graduate EEBC Skilled Worker EEBC International Graduate The British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) Tech Pilot was launched in 2017 to assist employers in attracting potential immigrants in the Information Technology (IT) sector and to facilitate the immigration process for foreign tech workers and international students. The BC PNP sends weekly Tech Pilot invitations to eligible candidates with a valid one-year job offer in one of the program’s specified 29 occupations. The job offer must also have at least 120 days remaining at the time of application.

Canada eases eligibility requirements for Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot It is now easier to be eligible for Canadian immigration to a rural community. Canada’s minister of immigration, Marco Mendicino, made two announcements on changes to the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP) on December 14. Applicants no longer need to have accumulated work experience over a continuous period of time. Instead, Canada will count the work experience requirement if it was compl...eted within the three years preceding the application. One year of eligible work experience is still required for the program, but having breaks in employment does not make someone ineligible for the program. This applies to all who have already applied for the pilot, as well as those who apply in the future. Also, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is also allowing RNIP applicants who are waiting for a decision on their permanent residence application to apply for a work permit without being penalized due to processing delays. This temporary measure applies to people who are going through the process during the pandemic. Despite these changes, applicants will still need to meet the admissibility and program requirements of the RNIP in order to immigrate to Canada through the pilot. The RNIP allows certain rural communities in Canada to offer pathways to permanent residency for skilled workers. Participating communities are allowed to set their own eligibility requirements based on their local labour market needs. The Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot, and other pilots, are helping to get the workers we need to places like Sault Ste. Marie, where we need them, Mendicino said. We’re going to continue working to ensure that the benefits of immigration are felt in cities and towns across our country. There are 11 rural communities participating in the pilot including: North Bay, Ontario; Sudbury, Onatario; Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario; Timmins, Ontario; Thunder Bay, Ontario; Brandon, Manitoba; Altona/Rhineland, Manitoba; Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan; Claresholm, Alberta; Vernon, British Columbia; and West Kootenay, British Columbia.

Program delivery update: COVID-19 Public policy exempting certain out-of-status foreign nationals in Canada from immigration requirements

Canada announces immigration measures supporting Hong Kong residents and Canadians in Hong Kong News release November 12, 2020OttawaImmigration is a key driver of Canada’s economic growth, and Canada continues to welcome the best and brightest from around the world, who help create jobs for Canadians. As we focus on accelerating our recovery, Canada will continue to be the world’s top destination for talent, capital, and jobs....Continue reading

Canada’s labour market gained 84,000 jobs in October The unemployment rate fell 0.1 percentage points to 8.9 per cent last month, according to Statistics Canada. Canada added another 84,000 jobs in October, which is significantly slower employment growth compared to the month before....Continue reading

Manitoba PNP draw issues 205 invitations Manitoba has now issued 4,273 invitations to PNP candidates so far this year. Manitoba issued 205 invitations to immigration candidates on November 5.... The Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP) invited skilled workers and international graduates through three immigration streams: Skilled Workers in Manitoba, International Education Stream, Skilled Workers Overseas. The invitations, also known as Letters of Advice to Apply (LAAs), were distributed as follows along with their Expression of Interest (EOI) score requirement: Skilled Workers in Manitoba 166 LAAs with a score of at least 461; Skilled Workers Overseas 16 LAAs with a score of at least 708; and International Education Stream 23 LAAs, no EOI score requirement. Out of the 205 LAAs issued, seven went to Express Entry candidates. The MPNP says they will refuse any of these candidates who do not have a valid Express Entry ID, a job seeker validation code, and verifiable experience in an occupation on Manitoba’s In-demand Occupations list. The MPNP only considered Skilled Worker Overseas candidates in this draw if they were directly invited under a strategic recruitment initiative. If candidates scored higher than the minimum ranking, but did not receive an LAA, it could be because: their third-party language test did not have a valid test number; their language test is no longer valid; or the candidate was invited under a strategic recruitment initiative, but they did not send a valid invitation number. The MPNP said that candidates who are in one of these scenarios can update their EOI profile with the correct information in order to be considered for the next draw. Candidates who are working in a regulated occupation have been invited in this draw. The MPNP says that they may refuse candidates who are not actually working in a regulated occupation, or who do not provide proof of having completed all licensing steps to be employed in Manitoba. Those who are in this situation have the option to decline their LAA. The November 5 draw brings the total number of LAAs issued so far this year up to 4,273.

Canada to target over 400,000 immigrants per year Canada will aim to welcome 401,000 immigrants in 2021, another 411,000 in 2022, and 421,000 in 2023. Today, Canada announced its 2021-2023 Immigration Levels Plan in which it stated it will target the highest level of immigration in its history.... Over the coming three years, Canada will aim to welcome the following number of new immigrants: 2021: 401,000 immigrants 2022: 411,000 immigrants 2023: 421,000 immigrants The only time Canada welcomed over 400,000 immigrants in a year was in 1913, when it admitted 401,000 newcomers. It has never come close to this figure again. The 2021-2023 Immigration Levels Plan aims to welcome about 60 per cent of all immigrants under economic class programs, including through Express Entry and the Provincial Nominee Program. The Immigration Levels Plan is the most important immigration announcement made by the Government of Canada each year. It outlines the number of new permanent residents Canada aims to welcome over the coming years, and what categories Canada aims to admit them under. Canada welcomes immigrants under the following categories: economic; family; refugee; and humanitarian and compassionate grounds. Earlier this year, on March 12, the federal government announced Canada would aim to welcome over one million new permanent residents between 2020 and 2022. Days later, Canada had to shut its borders due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, Canada will likely fall well short of the 341,000 immigration target it set for this year, however it has been holding Express Entry draws throughout the pandemic that will result in Canada breaking its Express Entry record this year. In addition, Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) draws remain ongoing. To compensate for the fall of immigration this year, Canada has set the most ambitious immigration levels plan in its history.

Additional points in Express Entry to help increase Francophone immigration outside Quebec News release October 27, 2020OttawaThe Honourable Marco E. L. Mendicino, P.C., M.P., Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, today announced that French-speaking and bilingual candidates will receive additional points under the Express Entry system. Express Entry is an online system used to manage applications for permanent residence from skilled workers. This change will h...elp deliver on the government’s commitment to reach the target of 4.4% French-speaking immigrant admissions outside Quebec by 2023. While French-speaking immigration to Canada outside of Quebec has been increasing, recent data indicates that existing selection tools will not be sufficient to reach the 4.4% target by 2023. Awarding additional points to candidates with strong French language skills via Express Entry could increase French-speaking immigrant admissions to the 4.4% target by 2023. Making progress towards reaching this target will be facilitated by an eventual easing of travel restrictions associated with the global pandemic. The change announced today will see the current number of points increase from 15 to 25 for French-speaking candidates and from 30 to 50 for bilingual candidates. This comes after we initially awarded points in June 2017 to candidates with strong French language skills.