Under its 2021-2023 Immigration Level Programme, Canada plans to accept more than 400,000 immigrants each year, with an estimate of 110,000 projected to arrive annually via the Canadian Express Entry Program. According to a recent media release, IRCC will accept professional workers abroad when travel restrictions are lifted.
Travel restrictions are in effect as a measure of public protection and will be lifted when the government determines that the benefits of accepting foreigners outweigh the risk of transmitting COVID-19. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has consistently vowed that everyone in Canada who needs a vaccine should be able to get immunised by the end of September 2021. This is not to suggest that prohibitions will come to an end at this time, but there is reason to be hopeful about Canada’s widespread immunity.
When determining the best time for you to apply your profile to the Canadian Express Entry Pool, note that the process may take months from when you choose to immigrate to Canada when you are finally accepted for permanent residence.
To join the pool through the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), the most common route for those overseas, you need the results of the language tests and the Educational Credential Assessment, both of which can take a few months to complete.
If you have an ITA, you will have 90 days to apply for permanent residency. Upon submission of your application, the IRCC processing standard is six months.
If your application is accepted, you will receive a Confirmation of Permanent Residency (COPR) valid until your medical examination or passport has expired. Travel restrictions currently delay this process. Generally, COPR holders who have been authorised after March 18, 2020, are not permitted to come to Canada. In order to enter Canada or cross the border and complete their landing, they must be excluded from travel restrictions for any other purpose, such as coming for important work or reuniting with the family. They will also be able to join if they come from their home in the U.S. to Canada. However, they cannot transit via the United States from another country. These are the things you need to remember when determining whether to start a Canadian Express Entry process abroad;
Canada has a massive commitment to upholding, so we can expect to see more Express Entry draws and might also have lower CRS requirements—depending on how many people are in the pool and how high the draws are. The Canadian government is making it clear that now is not the time to visit, but with vaccinations being carried out worldwide, it is only a matter of time before the borders are reopened.
When borders are reopened, the FSWP will play a vital role in achieving Canada’s immigration goals since it was the leading category of Express Entry immigrants before the pandemic and has been the top category of skilled workers Canada since the FSWP was introduced in 1967.