Processing Standards to Return to Normal By 2023
More Changes for Express Entry?
Immigration Minister Sean Fraser appeared before the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration this week. He was participating in the committee's study of IRCC's backlogs and processing times.
The Committee consists of elected officials who monitor and make recommendations regarding federal immigration policies, conduct studies, and oversee institutions such as Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB).
As of April 29, the IRCC's backlog is more than 2 million applicants, which include visas, permanent resident cards, and citizenship status. As a result, the backlog for temporary residence has doubled in the last year. However, this is partially caused by the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel, which is a special measure put in place to support people trying to flee Ukraine.
Processing Times Normal By Next Year
According to Fraser, IRCC aims to restore most processing times to the pre-COVID standard by the end of the calendar year for the majority of business immigration-related matters. All other processing standards should return to normal by 2023. That said, processing standards do not always reflect the actual processing times.
The IRCC plans to hire more staff and modernize the immigration process and improve wait times for applicants. According to Fraser, the current system will see huge upgrades with an $827 million budget to go digital. Until now, the efforts to modernize the system resulted in the IRCC approving 156,000 permanent residency applications in the first quarter of the year.
In addition, the IRCC has spent $85 million to expedite certain business-immigration matters, including PR card renewals. Assistant Deputy Minister of Operations Daniel Mills reported that these PR card renewals are now being processed in 65 days, as opposed to December when they were being processed in an average of 120 days.
Express Entry Changes
Minister Fraser is tasked with expanding pathways to permanent residency for international students and temporary foreign workers through Express Entry. He had previously suggested that the occupation-specific Express Entry draws could be a thing of the future.
As a result, he hinted that the Express Entry system would undergo further changes:
”I'm very excited about new flexibilities we’re going to be pursuing in the Express Entry system which will allow us, with more precision, to target workers to fill gaps in key sectors as soon as possible under the current system”.
Currently, there are no details or timelines available with those details.
Canada's Backlog Now More Than 2 Million People
The Inventory Increased With the Introduction of the CUAET
Immigration Canada is facing an even bigger backlog than before. Despite the citizenship backlog decreasing, the temporary and permanent residence backlog now stands at more than two million people. The IRCC has been given an extra $85 million to reduce wait times, but that has done little for people who are still waiting for their permits.
CUAET driving the increase
March and April saw an increase in the inventory of temporary residences, which include work and study permit holders. As of April 11, there are currently more than 1.1 million temporary residence applicants waiting for processing.
Recently, an IRCC spokesperson said that the number of temporary resident visas and work permits had increased dramatically since the introduction of the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET).
This program, which has already received more than 180,903 applications, enables the IRCC to bring people to Canada through its existing temporary resident visa infrastructure.
How does CUAET work?
The CUAET is a temporary residency pathway, not a refugee program. It was put in motion following the Russian aggression towards Ukraine and is designed to ease the immigration process by removing many of the usual requirements.
With this program, Ukrainians and their immediate family members can stay in Canada for up to three years, after undergoing a background and security check.
The number of Ukrainians who can apply for this program will not be limited, and visitor visa applications are to be submitted online.
Canada has also come up with settlement program services which are available to temporary residents eligible for CUAET. Available services include:
- Language training;
- Information and orientation to life in Canada, such as assistance with registering children in school;
- Information and services on labour market access, including mentoring, networking, counselling, skills development and training;
- Activities that promote links with communities;
- Assessment of other needs of Ukrainians and referral to appropriate agencies; and
- Services to meet the needs of women, older people, youth and LGBTQ2+ people.
Canada to Welcome Ukrainian Nationals
Express Entry Improving
While the permanent residency inventory increased by 11,000 people, the Express Entry backlog has reduced. There are currently 45,000 Express Entry applicants awaiting decisions in April, down from about 52,000 in March.
According to Immigration Minister Sean Fraser, the reduction in Express Entry applications prompted draws for all programs to resume in July and processing time for most new applicants to last for the usual six months. This is great news for Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) and CEC candidates as there hasn’t been a draw since last year.
Read More: Express Entry Draws To Resume Soon
Canada Invites More Than 800 PNP Candidates
IRCC Wants 55,000 Landings Through Express Entry in 2022
Earlier this week, 829 Express Entry candidates were invited to apply for permanent residence. All of the candidates had previously received a nomination from a Provincial Nominee Program and had a CRS score of at least 772. Although this score appears relatively high, candidates get an automatic 600 points added to their score after receiving a provincial nomination. In the previous round, the IRCC invited candidates with scores of at least 782.
Prior to the pandemic, the IRCC rarely held PNP-only draws. Instead, they were more likely to invite the highest-scoring candidates to apply for immigration, no matter what program they were eligible for. Now, the IRCC is more focused on inviting PNP and CEC candidates to help support the provincial immigration goals.
During the early stages of COVID, IRCC aimed to admit a record-high number of immigrants in a single year by inviting CEC candidates. This was because most CEC candidates were already in Canada, so travel restrictions did not apply to them. Using this strategy, the government was able to land a record number of permanent residents last year.
Federal Skilled Worker Program Still on Hold?
Since the IRCC was focused on changing the residency status of those already in the country, other applicants including Express Entry candidates, were forced to wait. This resulted in the IRCC pausing FSWP invitations in 2020, and CEC invitations in 2021.
Since its launch in 1967, the FSWP was the primary source of foreign skilled immigrants in Canada until the IRCC decided to focus on inviting and processing CEC candidates.
While prioritizing applications was important to prevent the backlog, it created an unforeseen problem with employment- there are a record-number of job vacancies with no one to fill them.
Although this policy change has reduced foreign skilled immigration to Canada, the IRCC is looking to land 55,000 permanent residents through Express Entry this year.
As it stands, Express Entry is the main pathway for new economic class immigrants. By 2024 the IRCC should be back to its 110,000 Express Entry immigrants per year goal.
What Is Express Entry?
Express Entry is the application management system used for Canada's most popular immigration programs: Canadian Experience Class, Federal Skilled Worker Program, and the Federal Skilled Trades Program. The Provincial Nominee Program candidates are also in the Express Entry within the pool because they have previously qualified for one of these programs. To determine who is eligible for an invitation for permanent residency, Express Entry uses a point system which ranks the candidates' profiles.
Canada to Offer Open Work Permits to PGWP Holders
Students to Get an Additional Open Work Permit After Graduation
Immigration Minister Sean Fraser announced a new temporary policy that will allow international students to extend their stay in Canada.
International students who have a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) that expires between January and December 2022, and are physically present in Canada, will be able to apply for an additional open work permit, valid for up to 18 months, starting this summer.
Read More: International Students Getting More PGWP
This announcement relates to an initiative that aims to keep PGWP holders in Canada for longer, allow them to gain work experience, and give them a better chance of obtaining permanent residency. Since Express Entry draws for Canadian Experience Class (CEC) candidates have been paused since September, a number of PGWP holders whose permits are about to expire are being forced to either apply for a new work permit, quit their jobs, or leave the country.
According to the IRCC, about 95,000 PGWPs will expire this year, 50,000 of which will benefit from this program. Last year, over 157,000 former students have become permanent residents, with more than half of them transitioning directly from a PGWP to permanent residency.
Read More: What Is Canada Doing to Help International Students?
To qualify for the PGWP, you must complete a full-time program of at least eight months at a Designated Learning Institution. Since the validity period of the PGWP matches the study period, it can be valid for a minimum of eight months and a maximum of three years. However, temporary COVID protocols have made students eligible to apply for a PGWP even if 100% of studies were completed online before August 31, 2022.
Express Entry
The government also announced that Express Entry draws for Canadian Experience Class (CEC), Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) and Federal Skilled Trades (FST) candidates will resume in early July, which should help fill over a million job vacancies in the country. Once draws reopen, the applications are expected to be back to their six-month processing time.
Read More: Unemployment Rate Low, But More Workers Needed
Permanent Residency Applications
People who apply for Open Work Permits while they wait for their PR applications to be processed will be issued permits valid until the end of 2024. Currently, the IRCC aims to ensure all permanent residence applications are approved before applicants have to apply to extend their temporary status again.
Applicants will no longer have to be in Canada while their application is being processed, and the immediate family members included in a permanent residence application who are outside of Canada will be eligible for their own open work permits.
Express Entry Draws to Resume Soon
IRCC Announces New Measures to Address Canada's Labour Shortages
In a recent news release, Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) revealed a new set of measures to help tackle Canada's labour shortage. One of the things addressed was the Express Entry draw that has been on pause. The most popular immigration stream is set to resume soon, with invitations for applying for a permanent residency sent out in early July.
To address the shortage, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser stated that “Canada needs to look at every option so that we have the skills and labour needed to fuel our growth.” Fraser said that he acknowledged the pressure felt “ in all sectors across the country”, and that the government is actively focused on providing more opportunities for applicants to build their lives in Canada.
Federal High-Skilled Stream to Resume in July
When the pandemic hit and travel restrictions were set, it delayed the processing of overseas applications, which then led to an increase in the size of the processing inventory. To manage that, the IRCC put a pause on processing outside-Canada applications and focused more on applications that came from within the country.
Federal high-skilled streams, including the Canadian experience class, federal skilled worker class and federal skilled trades class remain paused but will resume in early July. The IRCC says the new applications will be processed within 6 months.
International Graduates to Stay Longer in Canada
A new temporary policy regarding international graduates with expiring status has also been revealed. According to Minister Fraser, the new temporary policy will allow them to stay in Canada longer, so they can continue to gain work experience and have a better chance of qualifying for PR status.
Ex-international students who are currently in Canada and have a post-graduation work permit that expires between January and December 2022 will be eligible for an additional open work permit of up to 18 months starting in summer 2022. A simplified, expedited process is being explored by the IRCC, and details will be provided in the coming weeks.
More Than 100,000 Work Permits Processed So Far This Year
In the first quarter of 2022, the IRCC has processed nearly double the number of work permits compared to last year.
Recognizing that visitors in Canada might want to stay to find meaningful employment, the temporary public policy that was first introduced in August 2020 has now been extended until February 2023. Using this policy, visitors can apply for an employer-specific work permit without having to leave the country.
Temporary Resident to Permanent Resident Pathway Changes
Finally, new measures for those who applied for permanent residence through the Temporary Resident to Permanent Resident Pathway last year have also been announced. Even though new applications are no longer possible, the processing for ones already submitted will continue. However, starting today:
- Applicants will no longer be required to remain in Canada while their application is being processed;
- Applicants who apply for an open work permit while waiting for their permanent residence application to be finalized will be able to get work permits valid until the end of 2024; and
- Immediate family members who are outside Canada and who were included in a principal applicant’s permanent residence application will be eligible for their own open work permit.