New Measures to Address Canada’s Labour Shortage
The Government of Canada announced that Express Entry draws will soon resume and that invitations for candidates to apply for permanent residence will begin in early July. The vast majority of new applications will be processed within the 6-month service standard.
Canada also announced a policy that will allow over 50,000 international students to stay and work in Canada for an additional 18 months if they are applying for permanent residency in 2022.
Finally, Canada announced new measures for those who applied for permanent residence through the temporary resident to permanent resident pathway last year. The limited-time pathway was launched in 2021 to invite a broad range of individuals already working in Canada to apply to stay permanently. While closed to new applications since November 2021, the processing of applications will continue for some time.
Taking effect this summer, the policy changes announced include:
Applicants will no longer be required to remain in Canada while their application is being processed.
Applicants who apply for an open work permit while waiting for their permanent residence application to be finalized will be able to get work permits valid until the end of 2024. This will ensure that all permanent residence applications will be finalized before applicants will need to apply to extend their temporary status again.
To support family reunification, immediate family members who are outside Canada and who were included in a principal applicant’s permanent residence application will be eligible for their own open work permit.