If you’ve been waiting for a chance to move or work in Canada, the opportunity presents itself once more. The Express Entry applications are back on after a break since 2020. The first application was opened in July to allow 1500 candidates apply for permanent residence. The Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) set the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score at 577.
Before the pool was closed in 2020, the IRCC had issued about 5000 Invitations to Apply (ITAs), after which applications were reduced to just Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and PNP candidates. The CEC applications were also halted in 2021 because the six month service period proved to be hectic for the IRCC.
Fast forward to 2022 and the opportunity to work and live in Canada is back on the table. Here is what you need to think about before sending in your application;
Applications will be reviewed and processed in six months
After clearing an inventory of about 50,000 people between September 2021 and February 2022, the IRCC is now ready to process new applications and has the capacity to do so in 6 months. A statement released by the immigration minister, Sean Fraser solidifies this idea, along with the IRCC briefing notes that are available for everyone to view. The IRCC will manage to meet its 2022 target with current measures and processes but to meet their 2023 target, they will send out invitations between July and September. You have enough time to get your documents ready before the applications are reopened. Here is a breakdown of the IRCC’S target for 2022 and 2023;
- 55,900 Express Entry candidates without Provincial Nomination in 2022
- In 2023, the number increases to 75, 750 candidates
- The targets are expected to grow to around 111,500 in 2024
While these are the targets, IRCC is working on building their capacity to manage all applications to meet these targets each year. You might just qualify within these durations based on the points you can accumulate. And if not, these plans might be up for revision in November when the IRCC will table their new multi-year plans. As long as IRCC has the capability to manage all these applications, you will have nothing to worry about, Canada might be closer than you think.
Our labor market needs immigrants
Recent statistics and snapshots continue to prove Canada’s need for immigrants. A higher population of the working class in Canada was falling within the 55 year age bracket which means that they have left the work force and fewer people are looking to join. This only means the workforce has a large gap hoping to be filled, hence the need for skilled immigrants and with summer, there are about 1 million job openings waiting to be filled.
Our predictions had shown that a large number of the baby boomer generation would be retiring during this decade. However, because of the pandemic, most people have changed their retirement dates and are leaving earlier than expected.
