On Wednesday, April 14, 2021, the Canadian government announced its latest public policy measures to ensure that Canada can meet its 2021-2023 Immigration Levels Plan.
With border restrictions cutting off the usual flow of skilled workers and other applicants into Canada, the government is having to get creative with those already in the country. Under the two new policies, work permit holders with work experience in a long list of “essential occupations” and certain recent international student graduates can apply for Permanent Residence. This means bypassing the Express Entry points system, which is great news for those hopeful applicants who simply don’t have the right combination of age, degrees, and higher language fluency to get a high enough score. Instead, applicants are eligible for permanent residence if they reside in Canada (Quebec residents not included) and have one year of work experience after completing a post-secondary program in Canada or if their work experience is in one of the identified “essential occupations.” Both programs have a lower language ability requirement than the regular skilled worker programs. All applicants still have to show that they are admissible to Canada.
There is a cap on how many people can apply. The government will accept 40,000 applications for processing under the international student program and a total of 50,000 applications for processing under the work permit holder program.
The programs open on May 6, 2021 and will stay open until November 5, 2021, or until the spots are all filled.
