June 20th, 2023 at 06:58 am
Canada Immigration New Plans & Policy Updates: Canada PR & Express Entry | IRCC
Express Entry brings in category-based immigration for priority occupations, and Canada enacts new legislation to encourage immigration from francophone countries. All Canadian PR applicants will now be required to provide biometrics.
According to a recent update from Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), regardless of any prior submissions, all candidates for Canadian Permanent Residency (PR) are required to present biometrics starting on June 14, 2023. For applications received on or after this date, the temporary policy change that exempted PR applicants from providing biometrics during the COVID-19 pandemic will cease to remain in effect.
Biometrics
For those who are not familiar with the term, biometrics refers to an individual’s distinctive physical traits that can be exploited to identify them. Biometrics generally involve fingerprints and a photo, which are taken as part of the application procedure when discussing immigration to Canada. You might be curious as to why Canadian immigration authorities value biometrics. Establishing and confirming people’s identities is the main goal.
The Canadian government feels that biometrics greatly help ensure the security and safety of immigrants in numerous ways, even though at first glance it may not seem essential. Having biometric data on file makes it harder for people to commit identity theft, commit fraud, or use someone else’s identity inappropriately.
Furthermore, biometrics assist in addressing any problems or errors that may occur throughout the application process in cases when there may be identical names, birth dates, or places of birth. Despite the validity of your prior biometric data, you will be required to submit your fingerprints once more if you are submitting a family class, economic class, or refugee case application for permanent residency after June 14, 2023, and you are between the ages of 14 and 79.
Keep up with these changes and make sure the new rules are followed by staying informed. To ensure a pleasant and effective application process, it is advised to seek advice from an immigration specialist or consult the official IRCC resources if you have any specific questions or concerns about your PR application and biometrics.
Biggest Update ever in Canada Immigration
Canada updates Express Entry to add a category-based immigration system for high-demand professions seeking Canada PR visas. Instead of hand-picking the qualified individuals from a pool of eligible applications as it has in the past with priority vocations, Canada Express Entry will now do so.
To be qualified for the new procedure, applicants must have a respectable CRS score on the CRS calculator. The information for the category-based method is provided below;
- Most importantly, have strong French language proficiency
- Also, work experience in the following occupation categories:
- Healthcare occupations
- STEM occupations
- Trade professions
- Transport occupations
- Agriculture and Agri-food professions
Priority Job Classifications
There are a huge variety of vocations within these categories, including tier-level subcategories. For Canada PR, all applicants in those careers must achieve a minimum IELTS score. The priority jobs in each category are listed below.
1. STEM Occupations
- Architects
- Landscaper
- Land surveyor
- Civil engineers
- ICT managers
- Computer engineers
- Software Engineers
- Developers
- Programmers
- Cyber security Specialists
- Data scientists
- Database analysts
- Electrical, industrial, and material engineers
- Mathematicians
- Applied science researchers
- Program officers and Specialists
2. Healthcare Occupations
- Nurses
- Surgeons
- Physicians
- Vets
- Physiotherapists
- Psychologists
- Pharmacists
- Medical Technologists
- Health Services
- Lab
- Massage therapists
- Chiropractors
- Dentists
- Dietitians
- Nutritionists
3. Trade Occupations
- Residential installers
- Elevator constructors
- Mechanics
- Fitters
- Carpenters
- Plumbers
- Electricians
- Welders
- Construction supervisors
- Repairers
- Heating and Refrigeration or AC Mechanics
- Oil and gas workers
4. Transport Occupations
- Transportation or Logistics managers
- Air Pilots
- Flight Engineers
- Purchasing managers
- Supply chain
- Production and Manufacturing
- Procurement
- Administrative Services managers
- Agriculture and Agri-food Professions
5. Agriculture Services
- Food processing
- Livestock
- Butchers
- Meat Cutters
- Poultry workers
- Harvesting
- Horticulture
- Aquaculture
- Forestry
The average salary in Canada and all these occupations is more than 60,000 CAD per annum.
Canada Passes New Law to Promote Francophone Immigration
Canada has enacted a new rule that prioritizes francophone immigration and minorities outside of Quebec to highlight the significance of the French language in Canada. The Official Languages Act (OLA) now includes immigration for the first time thanks to Bill C-13. The OLA is the federal law that declared English and French to be Canada’s official languages. The new law updates the Official Languages Act to acknowledge that French’s status as a Canadian official language is under threat and that it has to be safeguarded.
It is split into three sections. The Official Languages Act is amended in the first section, French usage in federally regulated private businesses is controlled in the second section, and the legal implications of the act are described in the third section. The new law recognizes the significance of francophone immigration to francophone minority groups outside Quebec by introducing immigration in the Official Languages Act.
Further Details
Legislative changes are part of the immigration-related measures, and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) must create a francophone immigration policy with goals, targets, and indicators. Additionally, one of the things that help to sustain or improve the demographic makeup of francophone minority populations is the recognition of immigration. The law also grants those who operate in privately owned, federally regulated businesses in Quebec or communities of French speakers outside of Quebec. the capacity to communicate and receive service in French.
To increase access to justice, the statute also stipulates that all justices nominated to the Supreme Court of Canada must be multilingual. In areas of Canada where there is a shortage of bilingual professionals, the liberal government hopes that the new law will enhance access to child care, education, and medical services in French.
IRCCs Commitment to Francophone Immigration
Communities with minority francophones are seeing a reduction in their population size. The most recent census, conducted in 2021, revealed a decrease in the overall percentage of francophones living outside of Quebec, from 3.6% in 2016 to 3.3% in 2021. The IRCC is aware of this decline and has a history of supporting both access to French Settlement Services and the immigration of francophones outside of Quebec.
The francophone immigration strategy was introduced by IRCC in 2019 to support efforts made during the immigration process. The IRCC asserts that they are on schedule to achieve their goal of admitting 4.4% of French-speaking immigrants to Canada outside of Quebec by 2023, starting with the promotion and attractiveness of IRCC missions overseas to selection and integration in Canada.
Some key initiatives under the francophone immigration strategy include;
- First and foremost, added extra points to the Express Entry system for candidates who speak French and are bilingual
- Also, as part of the interim to permanent residency pathway for necessary employees and recent graduates from overseas already in Canada, there are temporarily designated streams for French-speaking and bilingual individuals.
- Additionally, increased funding has allowed for the delivery of settlement services to French-speaking newcomers outside of Quebec by over 80 francophone service providers.
- Lastly, the creation of the strategy on francophone immigration, which includes a new and more significant admission objective for francophone immigration beyond Quebec – currently worked on by IRCC.
Visit Newsnowgh.com for the most up-to-date information on changes to visa criteria, prospective paths to obtaining legal residency, and others.