First-leaf Immigration Services

11/22/2022

11/15/2022

04/11/2022

IRCC continues to evaluate Express Entry options but will resume FSWP and CEC invitations in 2022

ANALYSIS: A new internal memo shows IRCC continues to weigh its options and is going to submit a new Express Entry plan to the Deputy Minister this month.

A new internal memo by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) states the department remains undecided on its Express Entry plans for this year but invitations to FSWP and CEC candidates will resume “later in 2022.

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The Deputy Minister is the senior-most non-political official in each Canadian government department. Unlike the Minister, who is an elected official tasked with carrying out the government’s political agenda, the Deputy Minister is responsible for providing the government with technocratic advice.

Key components of the memo include:

• Invitation to apply rounds for Federal Skilled Worker Program, Canadian Experience Class, and Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) candidates will resume later in 2022.
• IRCC will extend its temporary pause on invitations to FSWP, CEC, and FSTP candidates until March 31st, while continuing Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) invitations.
• The continued pause will allow IRCC to address its inventory backlogs. The full length of the pause will need to be determined by IRCC’s evolving priorities.
• IRCC will return to the Deputy Minister in March with a plan on the future of Express Entry invitations to determine what timeline and volume will align with the Immigration Levels Plan 2022-2024 and processing time objectives.

• IRCC acknowledges candidates in the Express Entry pool, including those holding work permits due to expire, will continue to face uncertainty in the short term.
• The backlog growth of Express Entry applications is due to the pandemic and IRCC focusing on landing in-Canada candidates to achieve its 401,000 immigration target in 2021. The backlog has caused IRCC’s average application processing times to exceed its 6 month service standard for Express Entry.
• IRCC would need to reduce the Express Entry backlog by more than half in order to achieve the 6 month service standard for new applicants.
It is important to note the IRCC website continues to tell applicants the processing standard for Express Entry is 6 months.
IRCC has processed 4,000 people in the FSWP backlog in the past 2 weeks, something that took 7 months in 2021

Recent IRCC data obtained by CIC News indicates major progress is being made in tackling Express Entry backlogs. Based on its recent rate of application processing, IRCC could see the Express Entry backlog fall to half by this May. This does not guarantee Express Entry invites to FSWP and CEC candidates will resume by then, but it would represent a milestone IRCC continues to note as one they want to achieve to be able to more strongly consider resuming FSWP and CEC invitations.

IRCC has processed more FSWP applications over the past 2.5 months than it did in all of 2021. In February, it processed the FSWP applications of over 4,300 people, compared to the roughly 600 people it was processing monthly for much of 2021. As of March 15, 2022, there were about 41,300 people in the FSWP inventory, a decrease of 4,000 people over the past two weeks. To put this figure into context, in the past 2 weeks, IRCC achieved what it took it 7 months to do in 2021 (i.e., process 4,000 people in the FSWP backlog).

Its current processing rate suggests it could bring the existing FSWP backlog to an end by the close of 2021, if not sooner.

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04/04/2022

Canada nears record-low unemployment rate in February

Statistics Canada's February Labour Force Survey reports that unemployment in Canada dropped to 5.5 last month, lower than in February 2020.

Canada’s labour force made a full recovery in February as Omicron-related public health measures lifted in several provinces.
Statistics Canada measured Canada’s labour market performance during the week of February 13 to 19. After public health measures were tightened in December and January, many had been lifted by the February reference week. Several provinces were easing proof of vaccination requirements and increasing capacity limits in restaurants, retailers, theatres, and gyms.

Unemployment had fallen below its pre-COVID-19 level for the first time, down to 5.5%. Before the pandemic, in February 2020, the unemployment rate was 5.7%. The record unemployment rate was 5.4% in May 2019.

On a seasonally unadjusted basis, the total immigrant unemployment rate was 5.7% in February, compared to 5.9% in February 2020.

In February, Canada released its 2022-2024 Immigration Levels Plan, revealing the government is planning to increase the number of new permanent residents coming to Canada over the next three years.
“The increased targets are recognition of the labour shortages plaguing many sectors of the Canadian economy,” wrote Liam Daly, economist at the Conference Board of Canada. “Over the course of the pandemic, job vacancies in Canada have surged. Amid pandemic disruption to international mobility, the government has increasingly relied on converting the status of temporary residents located in Canada to permanent residents. While status conversion will remain an important channel for immigration, many temporary workers are already in employment. Given the pressing need to address labour scarcity, it is important that the government works to increase immigrant landings from outside Canada.”

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03/29/2022

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* Study Visa
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* Permanent Residence
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