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New measures to address Canada’s labour shortage

April 22, 2022—Saint John, New Brunswick – 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. Canada is a top destination for global talent. We need to use this fact to ensure that businesses and employers have access to the skilled workers they need to grow and succeed.

Today, the Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced that Express Entry draws will soon resume and that invitations for candidates to apply for permanent residence will begin in early July.

Travel restrictions throughout most of 2020 and 2021 delayed the processing of overseas applications, which led to an increase in the size of the processing inventory. To manage this inventory, we temporarily paused invitations to apply under the federal high-skilled streams, including the Canadian experience class, federal skilled worker class and federal skilled trades class. Invitations to apply will resume in early July, and the vast majority of new applications will be processed within the 6-month service standard.

As a result of the temporary pause, the federal high-skilled processing inventory has been cut by more than half, decreasing from approximately 111,900 people in September 2021 to just 48,000 people by March 2022. This inventory will be further reduced by July 2022, allowing us to return to the service standards that our clients expect.

Minister Fraser also announced today 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. 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.

These talented and skilled international graduates play a vital role in addressing our labour shortage, and those nearing the end of their post-graduation work permit are already well-integrated into Canada’s labour market and work in key industries across the country. Tens of thousands are able to successfully transition to permanent residence each year, including more than 157,000 former students who became permanent residents in 2021, with more than 88,000 of them transitioning directly from a post-graduation work permit to permanent status.

This additional open work permit will allow applicants to continue contributing to the Canadian economy, helping address our labour shortage while gaining valuable work experience and preparing their Express Entry profiles.

To help bring even more skilled workers quickly to Canada, we have 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.

We have also processed more than 100,000 work permit applications in the first quarter of 2022, nearly doubling the number processed over the same time period in 2021.

Through another temporary public policy implemented in August 2020, foreign nationals in Canada as visitors have been able to apply for an employer-specific work permit without having to leave Canada. Recognizing that those with visitor status in Canada may also wish to stay and find meaningful employment, this temporary public policy has been extended to February 28, 2023.

Finally, the Minister announced new measures for those who applied for permanent residence through the temporary resident to permanent resident pathway last year. The limited-time pathway was launched in 2021 to invite a broad range of individuals already working in Canada to apply to stay permanently. While closed to new applications since November 2021, the processing of applications will continue for some time.

Canada announces new immigration benefits for international students, job seekers.

Canada has announced additional benefits for international students studying in the country as well as the resumption of its Express Entry draws for Canadian Experience Class (CEC), Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) and Federal Skilled Trades (FST) candidates in early July.

Immigration minister Sean Fraser announced a new temporary policy that will give recent international graduates with expiring temporary status an opportunity to extend their stay in Canada, so they can continue to gain work experience and have a better chance at qualifying for permanent residency.

Good News!

Holiday is over and we are back, do you miss me?

IRCC to resume FSWP and CEC invitations in July; and offer open work permit to PGWP holders
Today's major announcements provide more certainty for Canadian immigration candidates.

Canada’s immigration minister Sean Fraser has just announced Express Entry invitations to FSWP and CEC candidates will resume by “early July.”

Minister Sean Fraser made several other major announcements, such as that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will be offering an open work permit extension of up to 18 months to Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) holders.

A summary of today’s major announcements
Express Entry invitations to FSWP, CEC, and FSTP candidates will resume in early July.
The vast majority of new Express Entry applications will be processed within the six-month service standard. According to IRCC, current Express Entry processing times range from seven months to in excess of 20 months.
Those with an expiring PGWP between January and December 2022 will qualify for an additional open work permit of up to 18 months beginning this summer. IRCC is working on a simplified process and will provide further details “in the weeks ahead.” IRCC notes about 95,000 PGWPs will expire in 2022, and it estimates as many as 50,000 PGWP holders could benefit from this new open work permit.

Applicants will no longer be required to remain in Canada throughout the entire time their application is being processed.
Applicants who also apply for an open work permit while they wait for their permanent residence application to be processed will be able to get work permits that are valid until the end of 2024. This will ensure all permanent residence applications will be finalized before applicants need to apply to extend their temporary status again.

To support family reunification, the immediate family members included in a principal applicant’s permanent residence application who are outside of Canada will be eligible to get their own open work permit.

How A Fraudulent Agent Duped Me of N1.5m, And How I Eventually Relocated To Canada Without Using An Agent
I want to tell you a story about Samuel Olabisi, a former Nigerian banker who was duped by a fraudulent agent who promised to provide him a work visa to travel to Canada with his family.
Hear the story from the horse’s mouth…
My name is Samuel Olabisi and I want to tell you my story (I like to call it my Canada miracle story) of how I moved to Canada from Surulere Nigeria almost 2 years ago…..
Two and half years ago, I was at the lowest of lows.
Why, you ask?
My application for permanent residency to Australia had just been rejected.
On top of that, I had completed the express entry application to Canada and had been in the pool for 10 months without being invited to apply for Canada permanent residency.
On top of that, I was duped of N1.5m by an agent who told me he could get me a work permit, a job, accommodation in Canada and Canada visas for all my family members.
As if that was not enough, I had just been passed up for promotion at my office. I had been looking forward to this promotion because things were getting hard financially for me and my family.
The price of everything was skyrocketing and my income was at a standstill. Even my wife who used to support financially was now sitting at home because she was laid off from her work a few months ago.
I was angry!
At myself. At my employer. At the Government. At the president. At my parents. At the Australian government and especially at the Canadian government.
I was just angry!!
My heart had been set on migrating to Canada for several months now. In fact, I cannot understand why I wasted so much time in starting the immigration process.
The year before, there was no express entry and I know a few people that were able to migrate then…
But I felt that things would get better in Nigeria. Afterall, my wife and I both had good jobs and we were doing fairly well. I thought, migrating abroad was okay but why the rush?
9 months after, my wife had lost her job, the economy had dived and I was being passed over for promotion. What about the insecurity in the country? A distant cousin of mine who lives in the north was recently murdered in cold blood right in his own home!
The health system? Let’s not even go there. A colleague of mine who had a simple fibroid surgery lost her life simply because the nurse on duty forgot to transfuse blood after the surgery……such carelessness!
I had to leave the country…..NOW!
Canada, here I come!
Yes, Canada is not heaven! But at least, I will not have Boko Haram breathing down my neck and I hear the healthcare system is top notch. What about the free education for my children until 18 years old, with the government still paying them a monthly stipend o…
It was a no brainer!
I decided to make inquiries on how I could immigrate to Canada….
And that was when my nightmare started.
Remember I mentioned the agent that had duped me of N1.5m promising to help me and my family migrate to Canada? That experience almost ruined me!
I was beyond devastated! This was my almost all my life savings gone down the drain…just like that!!
I was faced with the harsh reality of watching my family go through the unneeded pains of hardship.
What a pathetic situation!
At this point, I was desperate for a solution. I was tired of being in a country where nothing worked!
I was in depression for about 3 months!!
I couldn’t face myself, talkless of facing the world.
So trust me when I say I understand what it means…
To be duped by unscrupulous agents that prey on peoples desperation to travel..
To desire to give your family a better life in a new country and yet not know how to go about it successfully...
To be frustrated with life itself...
But guess what?
After several months of tears, pain and failures….
On a beautiful August day two years ago, I finally left the shores of Nigeria to Canada with my family. I was 40 years, 6 months and 3 weeks old when I left.…..
I am here to encourage and assure you that you can still relocate to Canada, no matter how old you are.
You can take your life in your hands and create the reality you want for yourselves and your loved ones
How was I able to finally relocate to Canada after so many failed attempts?
I will tell you…and I need you to listen attentively
My story is bound to shock you like it has done many others who have heard my story.
My breakthrough came from a simple WhatsApp call from my friend
Unbelievable, right?
Here’s what happened……
I have put everything that happened and how I was able to relocate to Canada at 40+ years despite my previous failed attempts.
You want to see it?
Amazing! Simply connect with me by clicking here and I will send you the video.
Trust me, you need to drop everything and get access to that video NOW!
The Canadian immigration policies are changing so constantly….
Please don’t be caught napping

Canada to resume Express Entry draws for skilled workers in “near term”
A spotlight on Immigration Minister Sean Fraser's discussion about the future of Express Entry.
When asked about when Canada would once again hold Canadian Experience Class (CEC) draws, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser replied draws would resume “in the near term” and said that he was looking into how to make the Express Entry system more flexible.
Fraser sat down with the president and CEO of the Business Council of Canada, Goldy Hyder, for a discussion on Canadian immigration. The event was streamed on the Canadian Club Toronto website on February 16.
While the immigration minister said there was no announcement on when CEC draws would resume, he suggested that they would return “in the near future” and that Express Entry would start to look more normal in the coming years.
“We do need to resume, in the near future, draws for federal skilled workers,” Fraser said. “If you actually look at the immigration levels plan over the next couple of years the balance is shifting back and by year three… a record number of federal skilled workers, including through the Canadian Experience Class, will be welcomed to Canada.
By no means do I want to communicate that there will be any kind of abandonment of—what I would argue—is one of the most successful immigration programs anywhere in the world.”
Fraser also said he was looking to add more flexibility to the Express Entry system. He suggested that Express Entry could be used to respond to short-term needs including welcoming people into smaller communities, sectors in high demand, and “people who are coming from a particular region that has the kind of educational institutions that will train the workers we need in strategically important sectors.”
“Building this flexibility into the Express Entry system is something I’m personally digging into right now because I think it’s going to enable us to respond in a more nimble way when we do see the pace of transformation is only increasing over time,” Fraser said.
Fraser had previously hinted that occupation-specific Express Entry draws could be a possibility in the future.
Expanding pathways to permanent residence for international students and temporary foreign workers through Express Entry is one of Fraser’s priorities listed in his minister’s mandate letter. He is also tasked with ensuring immigration better supports small- and medium-size communities by expanding the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot and moving forward on the Municipal Nominee Program. Since taking office in the fall, Fraser has already made the Atlantic Immigration Pilot a permanent program, which was one of the other priority items specified in his mandate letter.
How Express Entry works
Express Entry was created to manage immigration applications for skilled workers who are eligible for at least one of three programs: Canadian Experience Class, the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), and the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP). Candidates who are eligible for one of these programs may become eligible for a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP).
Generally speaking, eligibility for Express Entry-managed programs depend on a candidates prior work experience in what are considered to be “skilled” occupations. If a candidate is qualified for an Express Entry-managed program, they can then get points for human capital factors like age, education, work experience, and official language ability among others. The highest-scoring candidates are invited to apply for Canadian immigration.
The state of Express Entry
Since September 2021, Canada has only been inviting PNP candidates to apply through the Express Entry system. Fraser has said on multiple occasions that the pause in CEC, FSWP, and FSTP draws is temporary, while Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) deals with the pandemic-related backlog of immigration applications.
As of February 1, about 64,890 FSWP and CEC candidates are waiting for decisions on their immigration applications. The 2022-2024 immigration levels plan is calling for fewer Express Entry immigrants this year than there are in the backlog. In 2022, Canada is expecting to admit 55,900 immigrants through Express Entry, not including PNP candidates. The following year, Canada is currently slated to welcome 75,750 Express Entry immigrants.
By 2024, Canada is expecting to welcome a record number of 111,500 immigrants through Express Entry.
Fraser will table the next immigration levels plan for 2023-2025 in the fall of this year. By then, the targets for 2023 onward could change.

So I made you this short video (6 minutes)

Relocate to Canada via study permit Visa Discover why it is easier to relocate to Canada via the study route in 2022

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