Canadian Canadian News Network reported on September 21: In May this year, Canadian Immigration Minister Sean Fraser was asked by parliament to announce relevant plans for temporary residents to expand their application for permanent residence (i.e. "Immigration Amnesty") within 120 days. In September, the announcement was postponed due to the death of the queen.
Today (September 21), the immigration minister finally announced the specific measures for the New immigration plan !
The program will greatly promote the acquisition of permanent residence for international students and temporary residents to address the ongoing labor shortage in Canada.
The plan follows a motion proposed in May urging the government to "publicly release a plan to expand economic immigration pathways so that workers of all skill levels can to obtain permanent residence and support a greater transformation from temporary resident status to permanent resident status".
Immigration Minister Sean Fraser introduced the details of 5 measures at yesterday's regular meeting of the Canadian Parliament, which will greatly benefit Canadian temporary residents and international students .
5 measures summarized as follows:
: The number of new immigrants surged within three years, and the specific measures 2023-2025 were re-formulated
Use the new immigration level target listed in the 2022-2024 Immigration Level Plan to provide Canada with a larger permanent labor supply.
The plan requires to add 431,645 permanent residents this year, 447,055 next year and 451,000 in 2024, providing ample space for new immigration for the Canadian Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (IRCC).
To ensure the smooth implementation of the new immigration plan, Fraser will redefine the 2023-2025 year immigration plan goals before November 1 to accept more new immigrants. At that time, details such as specific quotas for the new immigration plan may also be announced.
: Reform the ExPRess Entry system and open up a new fast immigration channel
It is reported that Canada will start implementing lottery invitations for specific occupations through Express Entry in early 2023.
Express Entry's Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) will be reviewed, focusing on focuses on Canadian work experience and education, language skills and job opportunities scores. The government will allow the IRCC to invite PR candidates based on labor market demand and regional economic priorities.
This is also laying the foundation for the next version of the Express Entry system, so that workers with all skill levels of have a greater chance of turning into permanent residence.
. Improve the Economic Immigration Program
Improve the Economic Immigration Program, such as improving the National Occupational Classification (NOC) used to evaluate immigration qualifications; improving the recognition of foreign certificates; supporting the transition of international students and immigrants to permanent residents in health majors, etc..
The program is designed to help staff in high-demand occupations , transitioning from temporary resident status to permanent residents. These changes include:
- will be released in November new 2021 National Occupational Classification (NOC) .IRCC said this will expand qualifications to some of the needs of some programs. Careers
- improve access to information to ensure new immigrants meet the necessary qualifications and connect them to federal and provincial programs
- for high-demand basic staff (such as doctors), providing better and faster ways to immigrate
- Improvement pilot projects, including nursing staff and agricultural food immigration pilot projects
4. New municipal nomination program + The province nominates
Canada plan helps French-speaking minority communities outside Quebec to achieve a 4.4% French-speaking immigration target by 2023.
In addition, Immigration Bureau is developing a new municipal nomination plan to help municipalities attract and retain new immigrants to solve the needs of local labor problems.
5. The immigration system is transformed and modernized to speed up processing.
IRCC Immigration Department has accumulated more than 2 million applications. It is hoped to improve processing capabilities through technological improvements while improving the “customer experience and immigration system modernization”.
report said that the two-step immigration system that transitions workers and students to permanent residence improves work skills matching driven by labor demand, but recognizes that these temporary residents may face exploitation and harsh working conditions.
New Democratic immigration critic, Jenny expressed disappointment with the plan and believed there was not much new.
In addition, although the New Immigration Program does mention the current review of the international student program by the immigration department, including the rules and powers for permanent residence, and the option of issuing open work visas to foreign workers' family members, the current privilege is still aimed at engaging in high-skilled, highly paid jobs.
"IRCC must balance convenience measures and project integrity checks to ensure international students benefit from a positive, quality academic experience during Canada."
Government officials are still weighing different options to increase the pathways for international students to stay here permanently. In particular, their education, training or work experience is related to addressing emerging economic priorities in Canada.
