Today, Wednesday, November 1, 2023, the Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (“IRCC”), tabled the 2024-2026 Immigration Levels Plan. According to the government, the plan is “tailored to support economic growth while balancing with the pressures in areas like housing, healthcare and infrastructure. It charts a responsible course for sustainable and stable population growth”.
Canada will maintain its target of 485,000 permanent residents for 2024 and 500,000 in 2025. Starting in 2026, the government will stabilize permanent resident levels at 500,000, allowing time for successful integration, while continuing to augment Canada’s labour market.
Highlights of the 2024-2026 Immigration Levels Plan include:
- A continued long-term focus on economic growth, with over 60% of permanent resident admissions dedicated to the economic class by 2025.
- New Francophone immigration targets to support and strengthen Francophone communities outside of Quebec.
- Integrating housing, health care and infrastructure planning, along with other important services, into Canada’s immigration levels planning, in close collaboration with provinces, territories and municipalities.
- Creating a Chief International Talent Officer position to more effectively align immigration programs and pathways with the labour market, including industry and sector strategies.
- Making the IRCC website more user-friendly, so that applicants can easily find the information they need.
Starting today, Sunday, July 16, 2023, Canada will offer open work permits to any individuals in the United States on an H-1B Specialty Occupations visa. Canada’s strategy is to lure away highly-educated foreign nationals in the United States who are frustrated by the U.S. immigration process. In essence, Canada is capitalizing on a growing sense from international students and professionals that settling permanently in the United States is too slow and difficult.
The new recruitment strategy, which Canada unveiled at a North American technology conference held in Toronto last month, is designed to appeal to out-of-work foreign tech-sector workers in the U.S. whose immigration status is now in jeopardy after a recent series of layoffs.
The new open work permit would allow H-1B Specialty Occupations visa holders to move to Canada without a job and look for one once they arrive. The types of foreign nationals who would qualify for the program, Canadian experts say, could also quickly become permanent residents under the country’s merit-based points immigration system.
Without the fast-track program, they would either need to apply for entry under the regular Canadian process or get a Canadian employer to obtain a work permit for them.
The program will last for either one year or until the cap of 10,000 applicants has been reached. This cap is on principal applicants and does not include family members.
If you are an H-1B Specialty Occupations visa holder and are interested in applying for a Canadian open work permit, please send an e-mail to info@akcanada.com to obtain more information about the program and Abrams & Krochak’s related services and legal fees.
Today, the Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship announced that category-based selection for Express Entry will begin, today, with 500 Express Entry candidates with backgrounds in Health Care occupations to be invited to apply for Permanent Residence and 1,500 on July 5, 2023. Also, on July 5, 2023, the Government of Canada will be inviting candidates with STEM expertise – including data scientists, software developers and programmers, mathematicians, statisticians and actuaries, and electrical and electronics engineers – with a view to help Canada’s science and technology sector, by bringing in the skilled talent that businesses need to drive innovation and achieve their growth potential.
To be eligible for Category-Based Selection, an applicant must
- have accumulated, within the past 3 years, at least 6 months of continuous work experience (in Canada or abroad) in a single occupation listed in the table below
- meet all of the requirements in the instructions for that round
Full eligibility details will be available in the instructions for each round.
The full list of Health Care occupations appears below:
| Audiologists and speech language pathologists | ||
| Chiropractors | ||
| Dentists | ||
| Dieticians and nutritionists | ||
| Education counsellors | ||
| General practitioners and family physicians | ||
| Instructors of persons with disabilities | ||
| Kinesiologists and other professional occupation in therapy and assessment | ||
| Licensed practical nurses | ||
| Massage therapists | ||
| Medical laboratory assistants and related technical occupations | ||
| Medical laboratory technologists | ||
| Medical radiation technologists | ||
| Medical sonographers | ||
| Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates | ||
| Nurse practitioners | ||
| Nursing co-ordinators and supervisors | ||
| Occupational therapists | ||
| Optometrists | ||
| Other assisting occupations in support of health services | ||
| Other practitioners of natural healing | ||
| Other professional occupations in health diagnosing and treating | ||
| Other technical occupations in therapy and assessment | ||
| Paramedical occupations | ||
| Pharmacy technical assistants and pharmacy assistants | ||
| Physician assistants, midwives and allied health professionals | ||
| Physiotherapists | ||
| Psychologists | ||
| Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses | ||
| Respiratory therapists, clinical perfusionists and cardiopulmonary technologists | ||
| Specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine | ||
| Specialists in surgery | ||
| Therapists in counselling and related specialized therapies | ||
| Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners and acupuncturists | ||
| Veterinarians |
The full list of STEM occupations appears below:
| Architects | ||
| Architecture and science managers | ||
| Business systems specialists | ||
| Civil Engineers | ||
| Computer and information systems managers | ||
| Computer engineers (except software engineers and designers) | ||
| Computer systems developers and programmers | ||
| Cybersecurity specialists | ||
| Data scientists | ||
| Database analysts and data administrators | ||
| Electrical and electronics engineers | ||
| Engineering managers | ||
| Industrial and manufacturing engineers | ||
| Information systems specialists | ||
| Land surveyors | ||
| Landscape Architects | ||
| Mathematicians, statisticians and actuaries | ||
| Metallurgical and materials engineers | ||
| Natural and applied science policy researchers, consultants and program officers | ||
| Software developers and programmers | ||
| Software engineers and designers | ||
| Urban and land use planners | ||
| Web designers | ||
| Web developers and programmers |
Today, Wednesday, May 31, 2023, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced that Canada is introducing category-based rounds of invitations for Express Entry. The Government will invite candidates who are eligible for a specific category established by the Minister to meet an identified economic goal. Candidates will be invited to apply for permanent residence based on criteria such as
- ability to communicate in a specific official language
- work experience in a specific Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities (TEER) category of the National Occupational Classification (NOC)
- education
Category-based selection will allow Canada to issue invitations to apply to prospective permanent residents with specific skills, training or language ability and will add to general and program-specific rounds by inviting top-ranking candidates who can help Canada meet specific economic goals. Further details on the timing of invitations for individual categories and how to apply will be announced in the coming weeks and the chosen categories will be announced in advance.
Categories chosen for 2023
For 2023, the Government of Canada chose these categories:
- French-language proficiency
- Healthcare occupations
- Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) occupations
- Trade occupations
- Transport occupations
- Agriculture and agri-food occupations
Who is eligible
To be eligible for an invitation through a category-based round, the applicant must meet all of the requirements in the instructions for that round.
When the Government holds a category-based round of invitations, they will
- rank candidates in the pool who meet the category requirements and
- invite top-ranking candidates to apply for permanent residence
A. Eligibility for the French-language proficiency category
To be eligible, you must
- have French-language test results that show a minimum score of 7 in all 4 language abilities on the Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens
- meet all of the requirements in the instructions for that round
B. Eligibility for the healthcare occupations category
To be eligible, you must
- have accumulated, within the past 3 years, at least 6 months of continuous work experience (in Canada or abroad) in a single occupation listed in the table below
- meet all of the requirements in the instructions for that round
Full eligibility details will be available in the instructions for each round.
| Audiologists and speech language pathologists | ||
| Chiropractors | ||
| Dentists | ||
| Dieticians and nutritionists | ||
| Education counsellors | ||
| General practitioners and family physicians | ||
| Instructors of persons with disabilities | ||
| Kinesiologists and other professional occupation in therapy and assessment | ||
| Licensed practical nurses | ||
| Massage therapists | ||
| Medical laboratory assistants and related technical occupations | ||
| Medical laboratory technologists | ||
| Medical radiation technologists | ||
| Medical sonographers | ||
| Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates | ||
| Nurse practitioners | ||
| Nursing co-ordinators and supervisors | ||
| Occupational therapists | ||
| Optometrists | ||
| Other assisting occupations in support of health services | ||
| Other practitioners of natural healing | ||
| Other professional occupations in health diagnosing and treating | ||
| Other technical occupations in therapy and assessment | ||
| Paramedical occupations | ||
| Pharmacy technical assistants and pharmacy assistants | ||
| Physician assistants, midwives and allied health professionals | ||
| Physiotherapists | ||
| Psychologists | ||
| Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses | ||
| Respiratory therapists, clinical perfusionists and cardiopulmonary technologists | ||
| Specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine | ||
| Specialists in surgery | ||
| Therapists in counselling and related specialized therapies | ||
| Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners and acupuncturists | ||
| Veterinarians |
C. Eligibility for the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) occupations category
To be eligible, you must
- have accumulated, within the past 3 years, at least 6 months of continuous work experience (in Canada or abroad) in a single occupation listed in the table below
- meet all of the requirements in the instructions for that round
Full eligibility details will be available in the instructions for each round.
| Architects | ||
| Architecture and science managers | ||
| Business systems specialists | ||
| Civil Engineers | ||
| Computer and information systems managers | ||
| Computer engineers (except software engineers and designers) | ||
| Computer systems developers and programmers | ||
| Cybersecurity specialists | ||
| Data scientists | ||
| Database analysts and data administrators | ||
| Electrical and electronics engineers | ||
| Engineering managers | ||
| Industrial and manufacturing engineers | ||
| Information systems specialists | ||
| Land surveyors | ||
| Landscape Architects | ||
| Mathematicians, statisticians and actuaries | ||
| Metallurgical and materials engineers | ||
| Natural and applied science policy researchers, consultants and program officers | ||
| Software developers and programmers | ||
| Software engineers and designers | ||
| Urban and land use planners | ||
| Web designers | ||
| Web developers and programmers |
D. Eligibility for the trade occupations category
To be eligible, you must
- have accumulated, within the past 3 years, at least 6 months of continuous work experience (in Canada or abroad) in a single occupation listed in the table below
- meet all of the requirements in the instructions for that round
Full eligibility details will be available in the instructions for each round.
| Residential and commercial installers and servicers | ||
| Elevator constructors and mechanics | ||
| Machine fitters | ||
| Heating, refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics | ||
| Construction millwrights and industrial mechanics | ||
| Carpenters | ||
| Plumbers | ||
| Electricians (except industrial and power system) | ||
| Welders and related machine operators | ||
| Contractors and supervisors, other construction trades, installers, repairers and servicers |
E. Eligibility for the transport occupations category
To be eligible, you must
- have accumulated, within the past 3 years, at least 6 months of continuous work experience (in Canada or abroad) in a single occupation listed in the table below
- meet all of the requirements in the instructions for that round
Full eligibility details will be available in the instructions for each round.
| Aircraft assemblers and aircraft assembly inspectors | ||
| Transport truck drivers | ||
| Railway traffic controllers and marine traffic regulators | ||
| Engineer officers, water transport | ||
| Deck officers, water transport | ||
| Air traffic controllers and related occupations | ||
| Air pilots, flight engineers and flying instructors | ||
| Aircraft mechanics and aircraft inspectors | ||
| Railway carmen/women | ||
| Managers in transportation |
F. Eligibility for the agriculture and agri-food occupations category
To be eligible, you must
- have accumulated, within the past 3 years, at least 6 months of continuous work experience (in Canada or abroad) in a single occupation listed in the table below
- meet all of the requirements in the instructions for that round
Full eligibility details will be available in the instructions for each round.
| Contractors and supervisors, landscaping, grounds maintenance and horticulture services | ||
| Agricultural service contractors and farm supervisors | ||
| Butchers- retail and wholesale |
Archives
- October 2024
- June 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- January 2024
- November 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- January 2023
- November 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- October 2021
- June 2021
- April 2021
- October 2020
- September 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- December 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- August 2018
- June 2018
- April 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- April 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- August 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- June 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- December 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- August 2012
- June 2012
- March 2012
- January 2012
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008