Canada is inviting skilled workers to apply for permanent residency.
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Two-year wait
This comes after a 2 year wait due to a massive backlog owing to the pandemic and the suspension of the visa programs.
Canadian Experience Class (CEC) – a common route for foreign post-graduation candidates to apply for PR was closed in September 2021.
Now for the first time since December 2020 Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) invited as many as 1,500 candidates to apply for a PR, including those under the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP).
Immigration Minister Sean Fraser announced, “Express Entry draws have officially resumed and applications will be processed at our six month processing standard.”
Canada’s labor shortage
Immigrants are crucial to solving Canada’s labor shortage.
Its labor force shrank in June, largely due to people aged 55 and older retiring and fewer people seeking jobs.
There are around 1 million job vacancies in Canada.
At the same time, Canada’s fertility rate decreased to a record low of 1.4 children per woman in 2020, meaning that the new generation of natural-born Canadians will not be enough to replace the retirees who are leaving the labor force.
Every year, Canada aims to grow its population by about 1% through immigration.
Categories
People can apply for Canadian PR depending on their education and work history under several different immigration classes.
There are 3 categories under the Express Entry system, Canadian Experience Class, Federal Skilled Worker Programme and Federal Skilled Trades Programme.
Canadian Experience Class (CEC): People who have worked in Canada before, three years before application can apply through this route.
It’s mostly international students in Canada that apply through this method.
Federal Skilled Worker Programme (FSWP): This is for people with foreign working experience.
factors that are considered include age, education, employment history etc.
Federal Skilled Trades Programme (FSTP): This is for workers with skills in construction, agriculture, and manufacturing.
Application procedure
Select the immigration pathway that fits you and confirm if you meet the criteria.
Candidates can upload their Express Entry profile on IRCC’s website.
Candidates receive a Comprehensive Ranking System score based on age, education, language skills, and work experience.
One has to score the minimum cut-off marks for the PR applications, the latest one of which is 557 points.
However this is subject to change.
What happens next?
Approximately every two weeks, IRCC invites the highest-scoring candidates to apply for permanent residence.
Those invited will have 60 days to submit their applications which will be processed within 6 months or less.
There are no guarantees in Canadian immigration, but with Express Entry you have the chance to get permanent residency status six months after you apply.