Let’s focus on the key developments to happen within Canadian immigration in 2023. To explain it further, IRCC and the Canadian immigration system typically undergo a particularly busier period during the fall and the Christmas season.
Although the entire Canadian immigration system has witnessed a plethora of changes and movements, there are several key developments yet to take place.
These could be modifications concerning the policies and priorities of the Canadian immigration system. Additionally, these could also be permanent residence levels, parents and grandparents updates, along with international students and work permit programs.
Key developments to happen within Canadian immigration in 2023 – new Ministerial Mandate Letter
The Canadian Prime Minister will soon issue a Ministerial Mandate Letter. This implies that he will instruct ministers on the objectives for their respective tenures.
When the Canadian immigration minister receives this letter, he will be able to formulate a country’s immigration policy. Further, it will also support IRCC in taking action in the future.
The Prime Minister will have the choice to send new mandate letters after a cabinet shuffle. This could be similar to the one that took place when Marc Miller became the new immigration minister of Canada. However, there is no compulsion for the Prime Minister to issue a letter. This also indicates that Marc Miller can take over things from the point where Sean Fraser left.
The former mandate letter requested the minister to bring forth newcomers based on the Immigration Levels Plan. This was an initiative to strengthen family reunions and Canada’s economic growth ever since the pandemic.
Immigration Levels Plan for 2024 to 2026 – essential details
The non-election years call for IRCC to release the Immigration Levels Plan by November 1 officially. This plan is all the more necessary to formulate targets for the number of permanent residents arriving in the country. Additionally, it classifies the entire immigration class into the following:
- Economic, family, refugee, and humanitarian and the program.
- The Immigration Levels Plan (2023-2025) reflects that Canada will admit nearly 500,000 new permanent residents every year by the end of 2025.
- 301,250 will fall under the economic class, while 114,000 will fall under the Express Entry.
However, it still needs to be determined whether IRCC will increase, reduce, and maintain the targets when it publishes the 2024 to 2026 plan in 2023. Also, Marc Miller (the immigration minister) reiterated that the Canadian immigration targets will not decrease.
OAG Report details on the processing of immigration applications
The Office of the Auditor General is responsible for assessing the Canadian government’s internal process and pointing out the parts where improvement is evident. It also reviews the entire working system with its successful areas.
As anticipated, OAG will indeed publicize an audit to decide whether IRCC has been able to process immigration applications efficiently or not. OAG will ensure that the department will fulfill all goals to assist the Canadian economy, reunite families, and support applicants under the Humanitarian class.
However, this audit will in no way offer coverage for non-permanent resident applications.
Express Entry
Express Entry went through significant changes in 2023. IRCC launched six fresh categories for category-based selection draws in May. Generally, these category draws function on the basis of specific characteristics of the candidates rather than just the CRS scores.
One category is French-language proficiency, and the rest five emphasize candidates with work experience in the following sectors:
- STEM professions
- Carpenters, Plumbers and Contractors – Trades
- Agriculture and Agri-Food
- Healthcare
- Transport
The Globe and Mail’s latest report claims that IRCC looks forward to focusing more on candidates with STEM work experience. To support this claim, it even stated that 28 to 31 percent of the Express Entry ITAs in 2023 will be sent to individuals with STEM work experience. These could be data scientists and software developers.
Overall, the Express Entry all-program draws have significantly contributed to the summer invitations. These include three programs under the Express Entry such as the Federal Skilled Worker Program, CEC, and the Federal Skilled Trades Program. Moreover, this is unlikely to change.
Parents and Grandparents Program
Looking at the recent records, IRCC has provided information about the Parents and Grandparents Program during the fall season.
Typically, the department issues invitations to the parents and grandparents of those with Canadian Citizenship or Permanent Residence to apply for the yearly Family Class Sponsorship.
IN 2022, the sponsors were being selected only through a lottery. Due to the lurking pandemic season, IRCC only acknowledged applications sent to them between October 13 and November 3, 2020. This happened because the department was looking forward to removing the application backlog.
IRCC issued invitations to 23,100 PGP participants in 2022. The present Immigration Levels Plan depicts an admission target of 28,500 new permanent residents through the PGP in 2023. However, this target will increase to 36,000 toward the end of 2025.
However, it is yet uncertain which process IRCC will adapt for PGP 2023.
International Students
Marc Miller recently stated that Canada now looks forward to bringing as many as 900,000 international students in 2023. Additionally, the International Student Program of Canada is under review by the IRCC and Global Affairs Canada.
More information will be available about the Trusted Institutions Framework as the year progresses. This framework is for the study permit and the solidification of the ISP. It is a two-tier model.
The Designated Learning Institutions will primarily benefit from expedited study permit processing for international students. This is possible only if these institutions meet the parameters of the Trusted Institution.
The fall season will make the framework details more visible. Besides this, other essential information concerning IRCC initiatives to solidify ISP for international students will also become official soon.
Lastly, IRCC’s policy extension to permit specific students for full-time work will expire on December 31. IRCC also stated that it will re-examine the policy and determine the next set of actions.
Tech Talent Strategy
IRCC launched a new Tech Talent Strategy to welcome an increasing number of Tech Occupation newcomers. According to IRCC, it will soon launch the International Mobility Program’s Innovation Stream to enable Canadian employers to recruit foreign talent with an LMIA.
Also, IRCC will send employer-specific work permits to workers under the Innovation Stream for up to five years. This applies to workers with employment offers from government-authorized firms that contribute toward the Canadian economic goals. Moreover, it will also be able to issue Open Work Permits to those under in-demand occupations.
Apart from this, IRCC promised to become the most appealing destination for digital nomads. These are precisely the foreign nationals who do remote work for employers not in Canada. Also, the department has committed to providing more information regarding the dedicated pathway for these employees.
At present, digital nomads can arrive in Canada on a Temporary Residence Visa without needing a work permit. They will be able to be in Canada for at least six months.
So, the department might reveal more details regarding the transition of digital nomads with jobs to a Canadian work permit.
Overall, these key developments to happen within Canadian immigration in 2023 are crucial for the entire system.
