Canada Opens Application for 90,000 International Students to Become PermanentResidents in May

The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has presented six new programs for 90,000 international student graduates, essential workers, and French-speaking applicants to become permanent citizens of Canada, starting this May.

The Immigration Minister, Marco Mendicino, announced the new programs on April 14, which will open the way for 90,000 immigrants who want to reside in Canada while the other three programs for French-speaking immigrants do not have a cap on the number of eligible applicants, Erudera.com informs.

IRCC will start receiving applications from May 5 on these categories:

• 20,000 applications for workers in health care
• 30,000 applications for workers in essential jobs
• 40,000 applications for Canadian graduate international students

The deadline for application will be November 5 or until the required number of applicants has been met. These policies apply to 40 healthcare occupations and 95 essential jobs in caregiving, food production, and distribution.

To be qualified for application, workers need to have at least one year of experience working in Canada or a previously approved essential job occupation. Graduates and workers must speak one of the official languages, meet application requirements, be authorized to work, and reside in any other province but Quebec.

“These new policies will help those with a temporary status to plan their future in Canada, play a key role in our economic recovery and help us build back better,” Minister Mendicino said.

Implementation of the Idea Foreseen Since Fall 2020

The move came after the Minister of Immigration set the highest immigration goals in fall 2020, a necessary action since the country is facing a decrease in the number of immigrants moving to the country to fill jobs that Canadians can’t; primarily due to the COVID-19 restriction that has caused the latter not to be allowed to enter Canada.

By 2023, Canada intends to transition nearly 1.2 million immigrants to permanent residents, with 401,000 of the latter possibly becoming Canadian citizens in 2021 alone.

Canada intends to create a permanent residence for immigrants that already live in Canada. Participating in the 100 economic class programs can also earn immigrants extra points to implement the facilitation of transitioning temporary workers to permanent residents. This move helps immigrants remain in smaller provinces, promoting foreign students and workers to be settled in the country.

Express Entry – Main Alternative for Reaching the 401,000 Immigrants Target

Express Entry has been the main way for welcoming working immigrants through which over one-quarter of newcomers are admitted annually. In February, Canada invited a total of 27,332 from the Express Entry pool. Before this, the highest number of people that IRCC has invited at one time was 5,000.

According to the IRCC, this is an effort to help temporary workers and students to stay in Canada, which will affect the country’s economy. About 90 percent of the applicants live within Canada, making it easier for them to provide the required documentation in time as they won’t be subdued to travel restrictions due to COVID-19.

Express Entry selects candidates who meet the criteria or that have been nominated through a Provincial Nominee Program.

Alternatives for Canada to Hit the Immigration Goal

The 401,000 immigration target is also planned to be met by the Atlantic Immigration Pilot and Family class immigration.

At the beginning of December 2020, Canada decided to accept permanent residence applications by the foreign workers in the health frontline during the COVID-19 outbreak as a sign of appreciation for their contribution.

Canada’s Economic Recovery Depends on Immigrants

Canada is hitting a demographic challenge with its population ageing and a low fertility rate meaning that the country needs new workers to sustain a competitive economy and the older generation to be taken care of.

As such, Canada has turned to immigrants to support the population and grow the labor force that the country needs to maintain its high living standards. In January and February of 2021, the country has granted 50,000 immigrants permanent residency.

According to a study conducted by Statistics Canada, graduated international students’ compensation is 20 percent less compared to their domestic counterparts. However, international students were permitted to obtain work permits during the pandemic, regardless of their studies being completed remotely.