Express Entry

Starting April 6, 2023, some current and former Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) holders may be eligible for an 18-month Open Work Permit.

Following a temporary pause that has been in place since September 2021, Express Entry invitation rounds for CEC candidates are set to resume in July. Also, the processing standard for new applicants is expected to return to six months.

Not all job offers are equal in the eyes of the Express Entry system. Here's what you need to know when calculating your CRS score.

Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) is a critical initial step for many international students after completing their studies in Canada. The PGWP allows graduates to work for any employer in Canada for up to three years, depending on the length of their study program. While the PGWP is not a PR pathway itself, the Canadian work experience gained through it is highly beneficial and often essential for qualifying for various PR pathways.

Between its launch in 1967 and the start of the pandemic, the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) was the main immigration pathway for skilled workers to come to Canada. Following a temporary pause that has been in place since December 2020, Express Entry invitation rounds for FSWP candidates are set to resume in July. Also, the processing standard for new applicants is expected to return to six months.

Canada offers about 120 different immigration pathways for economic class candidates. Here are the most popular options.
Do you want to immigrate to Canada as a skilled worker?

There are a number of pathways for nurses to immigrate to Canada.

Canada was experiencing nursing shortages even before the pandemic. Ontario, for example, is planning to invest $342 million over the next five years to hire more than 13,000 healthcare workers to the province. BC has promised to provide up to $16,000 to about 1,500 internationally educated nurses to cover application fees, English language tests, and educational upgrading. Also, Quebec is investing $65 million to recruit and train nearly 1,000 nurses from francophone countries.

Middle Easterners can choose from over 100 immigration pathways to start a new life in Canada.

Express Entry candidates should know that increasing their score beyond the eligibility requirements is key, and that being eligible to enter the pool is a different thing than having enough points to obtain an ITA.

The CRS starts by assessing what the Canadian government refers to as “core human capital factors”, which include the following characteristics: age, education, first language ability (English or French), second language ability (English or French) and Canadian work experience.

Express Entry is also Canada’s main method for bringing international skilled workers to this country through permanent residence.

The downward slope continues as the CRS requirement drops again, this time to 368.

International students are increasingly regarded as an important group of young and well-educated individuals from which to select permanent residents. In December 2015 there were 353,000 international students with a valid study permit in Canada, up from 84,000 in December 1995. Of the international students admitted to Canada in the early 2000s, 25% became permanent residents over the 10 years that followed. Of these, nearly one-half applied as principal applicants in the economic class.

As of mid-March, IRCC reports a backlog of 1,844,424 persons across all lines of business.
IRCC reports there are 1.84 million people waiting on decisions in its inventory as of mid-March.

The backlog has progressed as follows since summer 2021:

• March 15 and 17, 2022: 1,844,424 persons
• February 1, 2022: 1,815,628 persons
• December 15, 2021: 1,813,144 persons
• October 27, 2021: 1,792,404 persons
• July 6, 2021: 1,447,474 persons

The data represents the number of persons currently awaiting processing by IRCC.
Permanent residence inventory data is from March 15 and temporary residence inventory data is from March 17. The reason for the difference is when IRCC provided the March 15 temporary residence data initially, the “visitor record” data was missing. On March 17 temporary residence data was provided when requested.

Recent changes to the immigration system have made it harder for foreign students who graduate from Canadian universities to immigrate here.

Canada’s population broke the 37 million mark in the first four months of 2018, growing by a million people in record time thanks largely to immigration, Statistics Canada reports. New preliminary estimates from Statistics Canada put Canada’s population at 37,067,011 on April 1, 2018.

Ahmed Hussen , Canada’s Minister of Immigration, , recently reaffirmed the country’s commitment to economic immigration during a wide-ranging address in Toronto, Ontario, where he also touched on how the government plans to continue welcoming immigrants from around the world.

Immigration Minister has announced lower required points under express Entry program . According to his new announcement, foreign nationals who, on October 19, 2016 at 12:20:50 UTC, have been assigned a total of 475 points or more under the Comprehensive Ranking System that is set out in the Ministerial Instructions Respecting the Express Entry System, as published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, on December 1, 2014 and as amended from time to time, occupy the rank required to be invited to make an application for permanent residence.

Canada may soon allow easier pathways to permanent residence for temporary foreign workers, the Minister of Immigration, John McCallum, said on Sunday on national television. Details of modifications to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) are likely to be revealed in the coming weeks, with a parliamentary report on the matter set to be introduced.

Canada’s Immigration Minister Sean Fraser believes meaningful steps are being taken to get the immigration system back on track.