Canada is known to be one of the most sought after immigrant destinations in the world. When Covid-19 struck, this became a challenge. For the first time since December 2020, Canada has invited Express Entry applicants into the country. If you have been hoping to move to Canada as a skilled worker, laborer, permanent resident or an immigrant, the country offers programs to facilitate you;
- Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP)
- The Canadian Experience Class (CEC)
With so much going on in the world today, the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IRCC has opened its doors to about 1500 people and granted them permanent residence, even with the cut off being at 557.
The minister for immigration, Sean Fraser made a public announcement on the resumption of all programs and the reviewing of applications. The reason why the program was halted for a few months was because of backlog that the ministry needed to clear before reopening the draws. In true Canadian spirit, he welcomed the skilled workers, and thanked immigrants for their patience as we continue to work around our labor shortages.
Significance of these draws
The Federal Skilled Worker Program has been in play since 1927 and was the main channel that immigrants used to get into our country. Before covid19 happened, the program represented 45% of all immigrants who got their Express Entry ITA.
When the CEC was introduced, it presented the best opportunity for foreign students and the international working population to gain permanent residence in Canada, which also meant that we met our immigration goals each year. Before the pandemic, the CEC only provided 9 percent of the total number of immigrants coming into Canada for humanitarian, economic and family refuge.
Today, it has gained a lot of popularity and boosted its numbers up to about 33% of all immigrants.
A few months ago, IRCC made an announcement that our minister later confirmed through twitter that IRCC has gotten on track in its aim to hold all draws for the express Entries on July 6th. They also plan on going back to processing the Express Entry applications in just six months.
