Express Entry invitations to FSWP, CEC, and FSTP candidates will resume in early July. The vast majority of new Express Entry applications will be processed within the six-month service standard. According to IRCC, current Express Entry processing times range from seven months to in excess of 20 months. Those with an expiring PGWP between January and December 2022 will qualify for an additional open work permit of up to 18 months beginning this summer. IRCC is working on a simplified process and will provide further details “in the weeks ahead.” IRCC notes about 95,000 PGWPs will expire in 2022, and it estimates as many as 50,000 PGWP holders could benefit from this new open work permit. Applicants will no longer be required to remain in Canada throughout the entire time their application is being processed. Applicants who also apply for an open work permit while they wait for their permanent residence application to be processed will be able to get work permits that are valid until the end of 2024. This will ensure all permanent residence applications will be finalized before applicants need to apply to extend their temporary status again. To support family reunification, the immediate family members included in a principal applicant’s permanent residence application who are outside of Canada will be eligible to get their own open work permit.

This past week, three Canadian provinces released their Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) draw results. Most Canadian provinces and territories (with the exception of Quebec and Nunavut) operate their own PNPs. Through these programs, interested candidates may be invited to apply for a provincial nomination. Although provincial nomination is not in itself the same as a permanent residence, it can significantly increase the chances of obtaining permanent resident status. For instance, PNP candidates with Express Entry profiles who receive a nomination get 600 points added to their score. They also become eligible to be invited to apply for a PNP-specific round of invitations.

Why employers are able to hire more tech talent in Canada Canadian tech employers continue to face labour shortages, as the tech sector continues to grow despite the pandemic. One way to support gaps in the labour market is to hire talent from abroad. The shortage of qualified workers in Canada was the crux of the Council of Canadian Innovators‘ recent call for the federal government to pilot a new visa that would allow tech workers to come to Canada without a job offer. Recognizing the importance of the tech sector to the economy, federal and provincial governments offer a host of options to employers seeking to recruit tech talent. Here are some options your company can explore pursuing.

Express Entry: Canada invites 829 PNP candidates after announcing all-program draws will resume in July Canada invited 829 Express Entry candidates to apply for permanent residence on April 27. All invited candidates had previously received a nomination from a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) and had a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) of at least 772. The minimum score was relatively high because Express Entry candidates get an automatic 600 points added to their score when they receive a provincial nomination. Without the nomination, the lowest-scoring candidates would have had 172 base points. Canada’s Immigration Minister Sean Fraser announced last week that Express Entry invitations for Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) and Canadian Experience Class (CEC) candidates will resume by early July. Also, the majority of new Express Entry applications will once again be processed within the six-month service standard. Before the pandemic, IRCC only rarely held PNP-only draws. More often, IRCC would invite the highest-scoring candidates to apply for immigration regardless of which program they were eligible for. In the early days of the pandemic, IRCC focused on inviting CEC candidates to achieve its goal to admit a record-high number of immigrants in a single year amid travel restrictions. CEC candidates are oftentimes already in Canada, which meant they were not subject to the travel restrictions Canada had in place between 2020 and 2021. This strategy enabled Canada to land a record 405,000 permanent residents last year. IRCC has also focused on inviting PNP candidates throughout the pandemic to support provincial immigration goals.

On April 22, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser announced a new temporary policy to allow international graduates to stay in Canada longer. Starting this summer, international student graduates who have a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) that is expiring between January and December 2022 and who are in Canada will qualify for an additional open work permit for up to 18 months. Under normal circumstances, the PGWP is not extendable or renewable.