Express Entry – Canada invites skilled immigrants for the first time since 2020

Express Entry Canada, Immigrants to Canada

With a cut-off score (CRS) of 557, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) invited 1,500 Express Entry candidates to apply for permanent residence on July 6th, 2022.

This is big news for skilled workers overseas who have been waiting for this news since December 2020, which is the last date an Express Entry draw was done.
Part of today’s draw also includes CEC draws that have been paused since September 2021

What is Express Entry
Express Entry came into operation on January 1, 2015, where potential candidates make expressions of interest in Immigrating to Canada by creating an Express Entry profile and providing information about their skills, work experience, language ability, education and other personal information. If they are eligible for at least one of the mentioned programs, then they enter the Express Entry pool. It is the main canal for Canada to address their labour shortage. By 2024 Canada is set to welcome 110 000 FSW each year.

Learn if you are eligible for express entry

CEC
The Canadian Experience Class (CEC) is an immigration category for Canada’s temporary foreign workers who wish to become permanent residents. Temporary foreign workers are ideal candidates for Canadian immigration (permanent residency). Having obtained Canadian work experience, these individuals have already adapted to the Canadian way of life and have established important networks in their communities and careers. Canadian Experience Class applications are processed through the express entry system for immigration to Canada. Eligible candidates must make an expression of interest in immigrating to Canada, create an online Express Entry profile, and receive an invitation to apply for permanent residence. CEC is important for international students who have finished their work experience and wish to move permanently to Canada

Learn if you are eligible for CEC

Those invited for permanent residence have 60 days to submit their applications to IRCC. IRCC aims to process most applications within 6 months or less.

Express Entry Proof of funds changes in 2022

Express Entry Settlement Fund 2022, Express Entry, Swift Immigration

Express Entry Proof of funds changes in 2022

Recently, Immigration Canada announced the increase of their settlement fund for Express Entry in 2022. This news has come in preparation for the new Express Entry draws being reinstated in July.

These changes only apply to the Federal skilled worker ( FSW) candidates and Federal skilled trade candidates. If you are part of the Canadian Experience Class, these changes don’t apply to you.

Click here to find out if you are eligible for express entry

To stay eligible in the pool, you must update your settlement fund in your Express Entry profile by June 8, 2022.

Updating your profile doesn’t affect the date and time that IRCC receives your information, so you’ll keep your rank if you’re in a tie-breaker situation.

Proof of funds is how you show Canada Immigration that you have enough money to settle in Canada. If are invited to apply, you must give written proof that you have this money. The most popular proof is Bank statements for at least 6 months. It can be from a personal account or a joint account.

You can’t use the equity on real property, or you can’t use borrowed money as proof of settlement funds. Additionally, you must prepare how you will bring that money when landing in Canada. It is a requirement that you tell the border officer that you are carrying more than $CAD 10 000. Here is a list of how you can bring money into the country without incurring any fines.

  • cash
  • documents that show property or capital payable to you, such as:
    • stocks
    • bonds
    • debentures
    • treasury bills
  • documents that guarantee payment of a set amount of money, which is payable to you, such as:
    • banker’s drafts
    • cheques
    • money orders
    • travellers’ cheques

 

Canada Immigration Priorities 2022- 2024

Canada Immigration 2022-2024, Study Visa Canada, Swift

Canada Immigration Priorities 2022- 2024:- Canada has so far remained committed to its immigration policy objectives to strengthen the economy, reunite families, and assist those with humanitarian needs.
The immigration levels targets have increased since the pandemic and it has made Canada constantly update its travel restrictions.
Although the application never stopped and many other issues influenced the travel restrictions, COVID remains the main issue influencing Canadian immigration for now. With that being said, here is an overview of major Canadian immigration development to watch out for in the next 1-2 years.

Immigration Levels Plan 2022-2024
According to the current Canadian government immigration levels plan, Canada is looking to welcome 411,000 new immigrants in 2022 and 421,000 in 2023.
This target is higher than Canada’s previous targets and this remains surprising as everyone expected the numbers to reduce but the new immigration minister, Sean Fraser says the numbers might even have to increase due to certain factors like growing labour shortages in Canada, application backlogs, and the federal government’s promise to settle 40,000 Afghan refugees. Canadian Government focus’s on Canada Immigration Priorities 2022-24.

Express Entry
In the coming year, it is expected that we’ll see more major express entry developments. Express entry will likely invite more than only Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and provincial Nominee Program (PNP) candidates.
Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) candidates were the main source of Express entry immigrants before the pandemic, but they have been excluded from the express entry invitations just recently.
Currently, they make up 85% of candidates in the Express Entry pool.
IRCC says inviting more CEC candidates will allow Canada to achieve its goal of landing more immigrants since CEC candidates are a lot in Canada and they’re less likely to face COVID-related obstructions during the processing of their permanent residence.
FSWP candidates tend to be located abroad, so IRCC has excluded them from invitations since they are less likely to land within the time frame in which the newcomer’s target was set.
IRCC wants to continue inviting PNP candidates so that provinces can address their labour market goals through immigration.

 

What Else Should Be Expected?

  1. Travel Rules:
    Just as expected, Canada’s travel rules will continue to evolve because of the pandemic. More travellers seeking entry into Canada will have to undergo vaccination on arrival
  2. PGP 2022:
    IRCC says Canada will continue to look forward to admitting 23,500 immigrants under the parents and grandparents program in the coming year.
  3. Trusted Employer System:
    The Canadian government intends to launch a trusted employee system for the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) according to the new immigration officer, Sean Fraser; the launching of the system is a priority in the coming years.
  4. Citizenship Applications:
    The federal government promised to make Canadian citizenship applications free. IRCC has also promised to allow all citizenship candidates (families inclusive) to be able to submit applications online.
  5. Backlogs:
    The pandemic made IRCC’s inventory drastically increase to 1.8 million immigration applications. Because of this, Trudeau has asked Fraser to improve processing times including applications affected during the pandemic.
    With all of these in place, immigration to Canada will definitely be on a high for the next two years.
    Visit swiftimmigrations.com for the best immigrations services from our experienced Swift Immigrations team. Above describes some facts about Canada Immigration Priorities 2022-24.