On April 22, IRCC announced a series of new measures to address the labour shortage in Canada. One of the most talked about is the announcement that Express Entry draws will soon resume and that invitations will begin in early July.
IRCC indicates that, as a result of the temporary suspension federal high-skilled streams, the federal highly skilled processing inventory has been reduced by more than half, from approximately 111,900 people in September 2021 to just 48,000 people in March 2022. By July 2022, this inventory will be further reduced.
The number of permanent residence decisions made doubled in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021. From January 1 to March 31, 2022, IRCC has made more than 156,000 final decisions on permanent residence applications, and Canada welcomed more than 113,000 new permanent residents in the first quarter of 2022.
IRCC also processed more than 100,000 work permit applications in the first quarter of 2022, nearly double the number processed during the same 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. this temporary public policy has been extended to February 28, 2023.
The new measures are as follows:
- Express Entry invitations to the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), Federal Skilled Worker (FSWP), and Federal Skilled Trades (FSTP) will resume in early July.
- The vast majority of new EE applications will be processed within 6 months. Current EE processing times range from 7 months to 20 months.
- A new temporary policy for international students. Starting in summer 2022, former international students who are in Canada and hold a graduate work permit expiring between January 2022 and December 2022 will qualify for an additional open work permit for up to 18 months. Details of the policy will be available in the weeks ahead.
- 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. While it closed to new applications since November 2021, the processing of applications will continue for some time. The new changes include:
- Applicants will no longer be required to remain in Canada while their application is being processed.
- Applicants who apply for an open work permit while waiting for their permanent residence application to be finalized will be able to obtain an open work permit valid until the end of 2024.
- To support family reunification, immediate family members outside of Canada who were included in the principal applicant’s application for permanent residence will be eligible for their own open work permit.
These new measures will all take effect this summer.
Source: IRCC news release