Tag Archive: cic canada immigration
New pathway to permanent residency for essential temporary workers and international graduates already in Canada
April 14, 2021
Today, the Honourable Marco E. L. Mendicino, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), announced a new pathway to permanent residence for over 90,000 essential workers and international graduates who are currently actively contributing to Canada’s economy.
These special public policies will grant permanent status to temporary workers and international graduates who are already in Canada and who possess the skills and experience that Canada needs to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and to accelerate the country’s economic recovery.
The focus of this new pathway will be on temporary workers employed in Canadian hospitals and long-term care homes and on the frontlines of other essential sectors, as well as international graduates.
To be eligible, workers must have at least 1 year of Canadian work experience in one of 40 health-care occupations or one of 95 other essential jobs across a range of fields, like caregiving and food production and distribution. International graduates must have completed an eligible Canadian post-secondary program within the last 4 years, and no earlier than January 2017.
Graduates and workers, alike, must have proficiency in one of Canada’s official languages; meet general admissibility requirements; and be present, authorized to work and working in Canada at the time of their application to qualify.
Effective May 6, 2021, IRCC will begin accepting applications under the following 3 streams:
- 20,000 applications for temporary workers in health care
- 30,000 applications for temporary workers in other selected essential occupations
- 40,000 applications for international students who graduated from a Canadian institution
The streams will remain open until November 5, 2021, or until they have reached their limit. Up to 90,000 new permanent residents will be admitted under these 3 streams.
To promote Canada’s official languages, 3 additional streams with no intake caps have also been launched for French-speaking or bilingual candidates. According to the Minister, Immigration is essential to the vitality of Francophone communities across Canada and that is why these policies include dedicated spaces for French-speaking or bilingual candidates, and no limit on applications for them.
If you are a temporary worker or an international graduate working in Canada and you wish to avail yourself of this opportunity, please contact our office and we will explain the detailed eligibility requirements to you and determine with you whether you meet them.
Canada plans to bring in more than 1.2 Million immigrants in next 3 years
October 30, 2020
The Honourable Marco Mendicino, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, tabled the 2021‒2023 Immigration Levels Plan, today.
The 2021 to 2023 Levels Plan aims to continue welcoming immigrants at a rate of about 1% of the population of Canada, including 401,000 permanent residents in 2021, 411,000 in 2022 and 421,000 in 2023. Of those, the following are the number of immigrants that will be admitted under the Express Entry system (the system used to process Immigration Applications of Federal Skilled Worker/Federal Skilled Trades/Canadian Experience Class applicants):
2021: 81,000-110,250
2022: 96,250-112,900
2023: 100,000-114,500
Highlights of the plan include
- an increase in admissions over the 3 years of the Plan
- a focus on economic growth, with about 60% of admissions to come from the Economic Class
- a continued focus on innovative and community-driven approaches to address diverse labour and demographic needs across the country
- additional points for French-speaking candidates under Express Entry, to promote the growth of Francophone communities outside of Quebec
According to the Minister, “[t]he 2021–2023 Immigration Levels Plan will help cement Canada’s place among the world’s top destinations for talent, creating a strong foundation for economic growth while reuniting family members with their loved ones and fulfilling Canada’s humanitarian commitments”.
Additional Express Entry CRS Points for French Speakers
October 27, 2020
To increase the number of French speakers residing in Canada outside of Quebec, the Honourable Marco E. L. Mendicino, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced today that French-speaking and bilingual candidates will receive additional Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points under the Express Entry system.
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. The increase in points will obviously improve the chances of French-speaking and bilingual Express Entry applicants receiving an Invitation to Apply for Permanent Residence in Canada.
If you are a French speaker or you are bilingual and wish to have your eligibility to immigrate to Canada under the Express Entry System assessed by our firm at no charge to you, please visit https://www.akcanada.com/assessment1.php. Likewise, if you are a French speaker or you are bilingual and you have already had your eligibility to immigrate to Canada under the Express Entry System assessed by our firm and wish to proceed with your proposed Canadian Immigration plans, please send us an e-mail or contact us, via our website, at https://www.akcanada.com/contact.php.
Canada Increases Number of Immigrants – Larger Percentage of Skilled Workers
November 2, 2018
On October 31, 2018, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced the new multi-year immigration levels plan for 2019-2021.
The new plan will see the number of permanent residents that Canada welcomes annually grow to 330,800 in 2019, 341,000 in 2020 and 350,000—nearing 1 percent of Canada’s population—in 2021.
According to Minister Hussen, this new immigration plan will benefit all Canadians because immigrants contribute to Canada’s economic growth and help keep Canada competitive in a global economy. With this in mind, the majority of the increase in 2021 will be allotted to those wishing to enter Canada under the Express Entry System.
According to the plan, Canada will see the number of immigrants admitted under the Express Entry System increase as follows:
2018: 72,700-78,200
2019: 76,000-86,000
2020: 81,000-88,000
2021: 84,000-91,000
If you are considering immigrating to Canada under the Express Entry System and you meet the eligibility requirements of the Federal Skilled Worker Class, the Federal Skilled Trades Class or the Canadian Experience Class, now would be an excellent time for you to enter the Express Entry Pool of Candidates so that you can be one of the first applicants to benefit from possible lower CRS drawing scores and an increased number of Express Entry candidates invited to apply for Permanent Residence in Canada.
If you have already had your eligibility to immigrate to Canada favourably assessed by Abrams & Krochak and wish to proceed with your proposed Canadian Immigration plans, please follow the instructions that were sent to you, via e-mail, in Mr. Abrams’ favourable eligibility assessment or send an e-mail to askus@akcanada.com for further information/instructions.
If you have not yet had your eligibility to immigrate to Canada assessed by Abrams & Krochak but wish us to do so, please complete our Online Eligibility Assessment Questionnaire at https://www.akcanada.com/assessment1.php and we will assess your eligibility to immigrate to Canada under Express Entry, free of charge, and send you our assessment within one (1) business day.
New Deadline for Application Filing Under Express Entry
June 26, 2018
Today, June 26, 2018, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced that, effective immediately, the amount of time Express Entry applicants have to submit an Application for Permanent Residence (post receiving an Invitation to Apply) will change from 90 to 60 days. When Express Entry first came into effect and up until November 2016, applicants also had only 60 days to file.
How does this change affect applicants currently in the Express Entry Pool of Candidates? If you were invited to apply before June 26, 2018, you still have 90 days to complete your Application. If you are invited to apply on or after June 26, 2018 you will have 60 days to complete your application.
IRCC’s rationale for going back to the original timeframe of 60 days to apply is that it reflects the intended design of Express Entry as a process leading to expedited results.
More Changes to Express Entry Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS)
April 4, 2017
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced changes to the Express Entry Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). The changes will affect those individuals who have submitted their candidacy for immigrating to Canada in the Federal Skilled Worker Class, the Federal Skilled Trades Class and the Canadian Experience Class. The changes will take effect on June 6, 2017.
What are the changes?
1. French Language Ability
On June 6, 2017, Express Entry candidates with strong French language skills, with or without English language skills, will be awarded additional points by the CRS.
A total of 15 additional points will be awarded for test results of the Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NLC) at level 7 in all four language skills in French (listening, speaking, reading and writing) and an English test result of Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 4 or lower.
A total of 30 additional points will be awarded for test results of the NLC at level 7 in all four skills in French and English test results of CLB 5 or higher.
2. Sibling (Brother/Sister) in Canada
Previously, the system did not award any points to candidates with siblings in Canada. On June 6, 2017, the Express Entry system will award 15 points to candidates with siblings in Canada.
To get these points, candidates will need to show that the sibling is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident who is living in Canada and is 18 years of age or older.
The sibling in Canada must share a mother or father with the principal Express Entry applicant or their spouse or common-law partner. This relationship can be through blood, marriage, common-law partnership or adoption.
3. Job Bank
Previously, candidates were required to create a Job Bank account (after creating their Express Entry Online Profile) if they did not have a valid job offer or a provincial or territorial nomination before they were placed in the pool and became eligible for an invitation round.
On June 6, 2017, Job Bank registration for Express Entry candidates becomes voluntary for all candidates.
Candidates who meet the minimum entry criteria for Express Entry will be automatically placed into the pool and immediately eligible for invitation rounds. If they do not currently have a job in Canada and would like to start their job search, they will be able to register for Job Bank.
Employers will still be able to use all of their existing recruiting methods, including Job Bank, to find Express Entry candidates and Abrams & Krochak will continue to create Job Bank accounts for its clients as part of its services.