Canada believes that its future success is tied to the contributions of immigrants and their descendants. The government is determined to make sure that newcomers that arrive in Canada continue to feel welcome and are well-integrated into society. From the 2018 immigration plans submitted to parliament, the goal is to grow immigration levels under the economic class.
The government sought to add more than a million new permanent residents in the next three years. Growth in the economic class is good news for skilled immigrants who aspire to move to Canada and those already living in Canada.
Canada continues to live up to its reputation for being one of the most immigrant-friendly countries in the world. As we wait for the Immigration plan for 2020-2022, here are some critical updates to some of the immigration programs for 2020 that you should know.
Updates to the parents and grandparents sponsorship program
Last year within the first 11 minutes of opening the application window, the Immigration, Refugees and Citizen Canada (IRCC) received 27,000 applications for sponsoring parents and grandparents. Locking several people out of the application window and leaving many annoyed and frustrated.
There are reports that many people put in multiple applications for the same person just to increase their chances. The IRCC tweeted that the sponsor form had closed. This intake process was not working, and the Canadian government has now decided to go back to the drawing board to redesign the process.
The express interest process to sponsor parents or grandparents was suspended at the beginning of the new year. The IRCC will be providing more information on a new launch date and intake process sometime in 2020. Their goal is to give people who are interested in sponsoring their parents and grandparents an equal playing field.
Be sure to stay up to date by following the IRCC’s website and social media channels. We will be retweeting any new updates on our twitter, so stay tuned.
New immigration levels plan for 2020-2022 to be announced in March
If you’re looking to move to Canada in the next three years, then you would want to stay up-to-date on the new immigration levels plan for 2020-2022. According to Canadavisa express entry quick facts, the number of Invitations to Apply in 2019 was 81,400.
This ITA tracker by Campbell and Cohen is an excellent resource for aspiring immigrants to Canada to track the number of ITA issued and the minimum CRS score required for each draw. The average minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score for 2019 was 459.
Total annual ITAs to date were 85,300, which was higher than the federal immigration target for the year. There is a good indication that there will be continued growth in 2020.
Increasing immigration was a key promise made by the Liberal Party government in last year’s Federal elections. We are expecting the new federal immigration minister Marco Mendicino to submit his immigration levels plan to parliament in March. The government is targeting 341,000 newcomers in 2020 and 350,000 in 2021.
Though we have to wait until March to hear 2022 targets, many experts anticipate the increasing trend to continue. Do you hope to be one of the newcomers heading to Canada in 2020 or 2021? Head over to cic to check your eligibility using the Come to Canada tool, then use one of the CRS score calculators to understand your score.
Growing the Provincial and Regional nominee programs
The Provincial Nominee Program is a program under the economic class that will continue to grow in 2020. Provinces and territories are eager to draw more immigrants through the PNP, especially to the smaller and less popular cities. 80% of immigrants settle in the largest cities in the provinces and territories.
As you can imagine, most newcomers are not rushing to move into the smaller towns and rural communities. The provinces and territories will be unveiling regional PNP streams, To encourage immigrants to move into smaller cities.
The success of the Atlantic Immigration pilot brought in 4000 additional immigrants to Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The government will be expanding the distribution of immigrants across Canada through the regionalization policy.
In addition to the AIP becoming a permanent program, the federal government launched the rural and northern immigration pilot (RNIP) and selected 11 municipalities across Canada to attract newcomers through the pilot. There is also a new Municipal Nominee program, which will allow selected municipalities to invite newcomers to meet their growing labor needs.
Moving to smaller cities and municipalities through a nominee program is an exciting new opportunity for immigrants. The advantages of rural communities are the less competitive job market and lower cost of living.
Highlighting Ontario
Ontario put a request to the federal government to double the number of economic immigrants eligible for the Ontario Nominee Program. Ontario will also be introducing a new permanent residence Regional Immigration Pilot in early 2020 with 150 nominations under the Employer Job offer stream for new immigrants hoping to relocate to small and rural communities.
For its new Regional immigration pilot, Ontario has selected three communities. This program will be for newcomers who already have secured job offers located in small or rural towns a new path to permanent residency. Ontario is experiencing a skilled labor shortage and has high hopes for this pilot program to bridge the gap of qualified workers.
Increasing the settlement funds requirements for Express Entry
The proof of funds required for express entry applicants has increased for 2020. This nominal increase is usual each year to account for the cost of living adjustments. Applicants need to show proof of funds to cover the cost of living for themselves or their family members, even if they will not be accompanying them to Canada.
Applicants also need to show this proof to the Canadian visa office in their home countries that they have sufficient funds when they apply to immigrate. The government expects these funds to be available both before your application and after your visa has been issued. You can review all the requirements on cic when you are ready to embark on your application journey.
Quebec’s new values test
Quebec is a unique province in Canada with their fair share of headline policies. Quebec introduced a new values test as part of its immigration application in January 2020. The government created the Attestation of learning about democratic values and the Quebec values expressed by the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. The government of Quebec believes that knowing these values is essential to successful integration into the province.
The guide introduces 5 key principles:
- Quebec is a French-speaking society
- Quebec is a democratic society
- Equality between women and men
- The rights and responsibilities of Quebeccers
- Quebec is a secular society
This values test will be applied to the five economic immigration programs:
- Quebec Skilled Worker Program (QSWP);
- Quebec Experience Program (PEQ);
- Entrepreneur Program;
- Self-Employed Program; and the
- Investor Program.
There is an expectation for all applicants to pass the test with the exception of children under 18 and people with a permanent cognitive or physical impairment. You can learn more about the values test at cicnews article.
Bonus tips:
You can subscribe to cic news to get the latest breaking news on Canadianimmigration. You can also explore the canadavisa new pathways to Canada PNP finder . The PNP pathway will be very important in 2020 and is a good place to start.
Post-secondary Canadian schools are making it easier for international students to enroll in Canadian schools by growing its Student Direct Stream from five countries: China, India, Morocco, Pakistan, Philippines, Senegal and Vietnam to six, by adding Kenya to the program. Student permit applications that qualify for SDS are processed in 20 calendar days. Learn more about the eligibility requirements of the SDs program.