Canada is taking immigration into 2021 with more ambitions. With such resolve and confidence that the Canadian government is showing about its immigration Canada must indeed be leading your aspirations as a migrant to new heights too! But many have this question running in their minds, how easy is Canada immigration going to be in 2021.
This question stems from a large part considering the difficulties Canada immigration is facing with the raging COVID-19 pandemic. Canada has shown a good measure of resilience during the pandemic with all immigration events kept running and applications for immigration invited from those willing to settle, study, and work in Canada.
Answering the question of ease of immigration to Canada won’t be possible by not delving into some detail of how the immigration process works in the country. After all, without a robust immigration framework and administration, it won’t be possible for Canada to set immigration levels goals for 2021 at 351,000 new permanent residents. The target for 2022 is 361,000.
Broadly, there are 2 pathways for migrants to arrive and settle in Canada. They are Express Entry and PNP.
Immigration with Express Entry Canada
The Canadian Express Entry system is used by IRCC to manage and process the application of skilled workers from around the world. Their applications are received through 3 federal economic programs meant for skilled workers namely FSWP, FSTP, and CEC.
FSWP is meant for applicants who possess qualifications and experience in a professional field. These include:
Medical professionals and veterinarians;
- IT professionals
- Engineers and architects
- Accountants and other financial professionals
- Managerial jobs and shore captains
FSTP is for applicants who possess experience and/or training in a trade. The trade could be:
- Industrial, electrical, and construction trade workers. Such as electricians
- Chefs and cooks
- Butchers and bakers
- Maintenance and equipment operation trades (E.g. mechanics)
- Supervisors, HR officers, and admin assistants
CEC is meant for applicants already having work experience in Canada in any of the categories listed above. This class of applicants gets preference in the Express Entry draws. This is because they have proven that they can already merge into the community in Canada. Their determination to be a PR is backed by a stronger resolve and well-thought-of decision.
So, is the Express Entry process fast enough? Well, with each step from application to final approval for a Canada work visa is handled professionally and without issues, the applications are processed within 6 months or lesser. This has no reason to change in 2021 when the global situation is expected to be much better and immigration doing well yet again.
Immigration to Canada via provinces
PNP is another pathway for skilled workers and professionals to arrive in Canada. Every province and territory of Canada has a system of provisional immigration that invites the right candidates to come to the region. The immigrants are chosen to take up occupations that need the right manpower in the province’s labor market.
The provincial nominations are earned in 2 ways. One way is to submit the applications directly to the province. But this immigration stream takes a longer time to process applications.
Another way to apply for a provincial opportunity is by creating an EOI in a particular province on the candidate’s Express Entry profile. Provinces will endorse and nominate such candidates and adds 600 points to the candidate’s CRS score. This puts the candidate forward in the line, enabling him to be assured of an invitation to apply in a federal immigration draw.
PNP application processing takes from 2 to 9 months. Even though the COVID-19 pandemic could have made it a longer deal of work, with 2021 putting things back together, the pace of process will improve.
Once the PNP nomination is done, the applicant could get assistance to expedite the process of obtaining a work visa before immigrating to Canada.
The actual time taken could be different from case to case. But the normal timeline will retain its pace and even improve once things come back to normal in 2021.
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Note:
PNP – Provincial Nominee Program
IRCC – Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
FSWP – Federal Skilled Worker Program
FSTP – Federal Skilled Trades Program
CEC – Canadian Experience Class
PR – Permanent Resident