Express Entry is the online system used by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC”) to manage and process Immigration Applications from skilled workers in the following three Immigration programs:

• the Canadian Experience Class
• the Federal Skilled Worker Program
• the Federal Skilled Trades Program

In category-based rounds of invitations, IRCC invites candidates in the Express Entry pool who are eligible for a specific category to apply for permanent residence.  Category-based selection allows Canada to invite candidates with the skills and experience needed to fill critical labour gaps in key sectors and occupations.

Categories for 2026

The new categories are

• medical doctors with Canadian work experience
• researchers with Canadian work experience
• senior managers with Canadian work experience
• transport occupations
• skilled military recruits who have a job offer from the Canadian Armed Forces

The renewed categories are

• French-language proficiency
• health care and social services occupations
• education occupations
• science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) occupations
• trade occupations

The minimum work experience required for all renewed categories has been increased from six months to one year of experience in an eligible occupation, gained in Canada or abroad over the previous three years.

If you would like to have your eligibility to immigrate to Canada assessed or reassessed by our firm, we invite you to complete our Express Entry Online Eligibility Assessment Questionnaire at:

https://www.akcanada.com/assessment1.php

Our Online Eligibility Assessment Questionnaire is on a secure server; therefore, any information that you might provide to our firm cannot be viewed by anyone else on the Internet and all information provided to Abrams & Krochak will be kept STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL.

Our Online Eligibility Assessment Questionnaire is designed to enable our firm’s team of lawyers to assess your qualifications for Immigration to Canada in accordance with Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s selection criteria, at no charge to you, usually within a few hours but no more than one (1) business day from the time that your completed Online Eligibility Assessment Questionnaire is received. Business days in Canada are from 09:00 to 17:00, Eastern Time, Monday to Friday. If Abrams & Krochak determines that we can assist you to immigrate to Canada, a member of our firm will provide you with a detailed breakdown of Abrams & Krochak’s fees and services, via e-mail.

We look forward to receiving your completed Online Eligibility Assessment Questionnaire and to hopefully seeing you soon in Canada!

The Government of Canada announced its Immigration levels plan on November 4, 2025.  The plan aims to admit about 380,000 new permanent residents annually from 2026 to 2028 and increase the number of economic immigrants coming to the country.  For the permanent resident stream, the government is aiming to boost the share of economic migrants from 59 per cent to 64 per cent over the next three (3) years.  The plan prioritizes economic immigrants with a target of just under 240,000 in 2026.  That grows to almost 245,000 in 2027 and 2028.

By contrast, the federal government is significantly reducing the number of temporary residents it allows into Canada over the next few years.  Canada will aim to admit only 385,000 temporary residents next year — about 43 per cent less than the 2025 target — and 370,000 in the following two years.  The target for 2026 is down by about a quarter compared to the Immigration levels plan released last year, which had said Canada would welcome more than 516,000 temporary residents.  The rationale behind this move is that the government is aiming to bring Immigration to “more sustainable levels.”

If you are considering immigrating to Canada under the Express Entry System and you are:

• in Canada as a temporary foreign student/worker
• working in the health care field or in a trade
• Francophone or have French language ability,

now would be an excellent time for you to retain/engage our services so that you can benefit from the Government of Canada’s policy initiatives and the high number of economic immigrants being admitted to Canada.

If you have already had your eligibility to immigrate to Canada favourably assessed by Abrams & Krochak and you wish to proceed with your proposed Canadian Immigration plans, please send an e-mail to askus@akcanada.com and we will provide you with further instructions.

To have your eligibility to immigrate to Canada assessed by Abrams & Krochak, please visit https://www.akcanada.com/assessment1.php.

Our Online Eligibility Assessment Questionnaire is on a secure server; therefore, any information that you might provide to our firm cannot be viewed by anyone else on the Internet and all information provided to Abrams & Krochak will be kept STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL.

Our Online Eligibility Assessment Questionnaire is designed to enable our firm’s team of lawyers to assess your qualifications for Immigration to Canada in accordance with Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s selection criteria, at no charge to you, usually within a few hours but no more than one (1) business day from the time that your completed Online Eligibility Assessment Questionnaire is received. Business days in Canada are from 09:00 to 17:00, Eastern Time, Monday to Friday. If Abrams & Krochak determines that we can assist you to immigrate to Canada, a member of our firm will provide you with a detailed breakdown of Abrams & Krochak’s fees and services, via e-mail.

We look forward to receiving your completed Online Eligibility Assessment Questionnaire and to hopefully seeing you soon in Canada!

Doctors and nurses licensed in the United States will soon be able to more easily practise in Ontario, under changes announced on June 5, 2025 by the minister of health.

According to the minister, the move will increase the number of health-care professionals working in the province.

The province is enabling qualified U.S.-licensed physicians, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, and registered practical nurses to start working in Ontario health settings before they register with the regulatory college.

They will be allowed to work for up to six months while seeking registration with either the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario or the College of Nurses of Ontario.

Doctors and nurses would still have to go through the usual immigration processes, and to qualify they must be licensed in their home jurisdiction with no history of misconduct or incompetence.

On Friday, March 7, 2025, the Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC”), announced the government’s intent to introduce a number of new measures to support Canada’s construction industry.

Because Canada is facing a housing shortage and uncertainty in the face of tariff threats, IRCC will immediately convene a tripartite advisory council comprised of federal government and union representatives, and industry leaders. This advisory council will work to identify on‑the‑ground labour needs and advise on the parameters for potential pathways that would bring in and retain the construction workers Canada needs for the long term, with robust protections against abuse and a strong wage threshold.

IRCC intends to create a pathway that would offer opportunities for undocumented migrants in the construction sector. These undocumented migrants are already living and working in Canada, and are contributing to the sector, and this pathway will keep them here legally so that they can continue to build the homes that Canada’s economy and Canadian communities need with the proper protections.

More information about these pathways will be shared in the near future as the new advisory council meets to develop these important policies.

Finally, to support foreign apprentices in construction programs and to address the current labour market needs in the construction sector, Canada is also introducing a temporary measure to allow foreign apprentices to complete their studies without a study permit, effective immediately. By removing this administrative barrier, apprentices will be able to gain the valuable skills they need to contribute to infrastructure projects more quickly.