The Canadian Immigration Department temporarily suspends incoming pandemics and travel restrictions, and then everything under Express Entry (the system used to select so-called economic immigrants). The lottery for the program will resume today.
This would be good news for many who are stuck in the considerable backlog of applicants seeking permanent residence, but CTV News. People who talked to ca say that long pauses and wait times led to uncertainty and suffering in their lives.
Canadian Immigrants, Refugees, Citizenship(IRCC) announced on July 6th that they will resume theExpress Entry (EE)draw as oif.
{12 The Canadian Experience Class (CEC) lottery has been withheld since September last year. Meanwhile, the Federal Skilled Workers Program (FSWP) and the Federal Skilled Trade Program (FSTP) have been suspended since December 2020, more than 18 months ago.Canada's Immigration Minister, Sean Fraser, tweeted:
This decision is that Canada's current immigration backlog is 2.4 million and the country faces a labor shortage. It is done when you are.
"People have been waiting for a long time and I think the resumption of these draws is welcomed, especially for skilled federal workers, especially for Canadian experience classes", { Fragomen Canada, director of 22} and Rick Ramanna immigration service provider, told CTV News in an interview with Zoom.
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Many Canadian employers have advanced skills through programs that were introduced in 2015 and lead to permanent residence (PR). It relies on express entries designed to attract workers.
EE-based programs include parts of the Federal Skilled Workers Program (FSWP), Federal Skilled Trade Program (FSTP), Canadian Experience Class (CEC), and State Nominee Program (PNP). increase.
According to a recent survey of major employers by the Canadian Business Council, employers are most dependent on the global talent stream, FSWP, and CEC of all economic immigration programs.
However, many employers struggled to fill vacancies due to the suspension of express entry programs such as FSWP and CEC.
4 out of 5 respondents to the survey are experiencing labor shortages and delays in processing are considering hiring new entrants It was still the biggest barrier for two-thirds of Canadian employers.
Historic Weekend Lottery and Sudden Suspension
IRCC sent more than 27,000 economic immigrants on Saturday, February 13, 2021 before the program was suspended. ) Was invited to apply under CEC. The greatest attraction in the history of the express entry system.
Invitations to Apply (ITAs) has the lowest score accepted from 75 toin theComprehensive Ranking System (CRS)CRS It was issued to the person of. Is a point-based system where qualified candidates get scores based on factors such as age, level of education, language skills, and work experience.
A few months later, in September 2021, the CEC and FSWP draws ceased, PNPs will be the main focus of all future draws, and other program applicants will be eligible for express entry. did not.
CTV News. In an email statement sent to ca, IRCC Media Relations Advisor Rémi Larivière said travel restrictions in 2020 and 2021 delayed processing of international applications and increased processing inventory.
"In September 2021, ITA temporarily under a federal highly skilled stream while continuing to run a PNP invitation round to manage its inventory. It's stopped. This pause was temporary, "says Larivière.
For express entry, you must first select and invite one, and then you can only apply.
However, the pause meant that the IRCC stopped selecting people from a particular program for some time. Therefore, because these applicants were resident in the country, people in Canada were invited through PNP. The IRCC states that some of the
Express Entry systems are designed to reduce or suspend ITA to manage increasing inventory. With the resumption of ITA, the department expects to reduce sufficient processing inventory to process new applications within the 6-month service standard.
One of the problems when looking at the backlog is that the longer it takes someone to get a PR, the more applications they have to submit to maintain their status.
An example is a student whose post-graduation work permit program(PGWP) expires. To maintain your current status in Canada, you need to extend your status as well as arbitrate your PR application.
"Therefore, it is more important to resume these draws," Ramanna said. "It's a good sign that the government has promised to do so this summer."
Life affected by an unexpected suspension
Suspension in September 2021 Affected those who planned their lives within a certain period of time. Since January 8, 2020, PNP has accounted for 52% of the total draw for Express Entry and CEC has only accounted for 29% of the total lottery.
Due to the temporary suspension, many struggle to maintain their legal status in the country, some lose their jobs and temporarily extend their work licenses. I had a hard time.
With the resumption of the lottery, some wonder what that means in terms of securing the future of the country they love. Others believe that they may not be able to meet the cutoff score they estimate to be very high.
'Due to DRAWS delay, work has ended'
Mikita Arlous came to Canada from Belarus in 2019 and graduated from Hamburg College during the 2020 outbreak. With a one-year PGWP — an open work permit that allows international graduates to work in Canada — his path to PR seemed clear and manageable at the time.
But because I don't have a job today, Arlous relies on his savings and hasn't heard about his application for a work permit extension yet.
His 90-day interim period ends in mid-July and allows him to regain his position in Canada. If he fails to regain his status within 90 days, he may not be able to live or work in the country and may have to return to Belarus. He said he didn't want to make this choice.
Arlous also has no access to healthcare because he has no employment. As a survivor of cancer, he needs an annual examination, which he can't do now.
"We were waiting for the extension of the work permit promised by Immigration Minister Sean Fraser two months ago, but there was no single update on how and when to apply," he said. .. I told ca as follows. Zoom call.
Mikita Arlous came to Canada in 2019, but after months of waiting, he hasn't heard about his work permit extension application yet.Fraser stated that the Immigration Department plans to extend work permits for peopleaffected by theCEC lottery, but no application for the extension was opened.
Fraser tweeted about the PGWP application extension, whose work license expires or expires between September 20, 2021 and December 31, 2022, on June 24. It was a day.
But for Arlou, these timelines are tight and the news is late.
"I'm stuck because I don't have a job right now. I don't do anything and spend days in bed thinking about the future," he said.
'The last eight months have been hell'
Like Arlou, Joshua Addis has put his life on hold after the September suspension.
He first came to Canada from the UK in February 2020 after obtaining a two-year open work permit underInternational Experience Canada (IEC). This is the route leading to CEC and ultimately PR.
However, the sudden suspension of express entry disrupted Addis' plans to secure the future of Canada.
"Moving to Canada was the most stressful experience I've ever endured, so I sought expert help," Addis said in a zoom call on CTV News. I told ca.
Joshua Addis and his partner Rosie. Addis said he submitted an extension of his work permit in January this year to maintain the status of his work, but it took five months for the IRCC to refuse it.
He states that he has obtained a professional license, gained experience, paid taxes, spent time and effort to contribute to the local economy, and permeated the community and culture. I did.
Addis said he submitted an extension of his work permit in January this year to maintain the status of his work, but said it took five months for the IRCC to refuse it.
Currently there is no extension of work, he is currently unemployed and has no income, insurance or benefits.
If you have a visitor visa, he is not allowed to work or study under that visa.The announcement to continue the express entry draw has provided some relief, but it is still doubtful that Addis will meet the CRS cutoff.
"It's difficult to deal with uncertainty," Addis said. "It was hard for me to be unable to sleep and not know where I am in the coming months."
However, due to uncertainties, he sponsored general law, etc. Does not exclude other options.
"I couldn't get PR for another year and couldn't work in Canada while I was waiting," he said. "At least with the support of my family, I might be able to get an open work permit in 4-5 months."
"I really want my partner, my job, and my home." It doesn't have to be left behind, but this situation has robbed us of our human rights, "he said.
'This whole situation is rude to us'
Pedro Carvalho came to Canada from Brazil with his wife in 2017. After graduating in 2019, the couple live and work in Toronto.
"Our lives are stopped. We can't plan for the future. Immigration was a nightmare," Carvalho said on CTV News. I told ca with a zoom.
The couple applied for the Express Entry Program and received the ITA on July 22, 2021.
However, due to a technical problem with the online portal, the application was not made on time.
After many unsuccessful attempts, filling out web forms and not receiving useful assistance, he decides to cancel his application and re-enter the pool as it approaches its expiration date. I was hoping for it.
However, due to the unpredictable September suspension at Express Entry, he realized that there could be another ITA opportunity for the next nine months.
Pedro Carvalho and his wife Marini Slek
Carvalho is skeptical about whether he can meet the CRS score in the July EE draw. It is a target. His age.
"At least I don't think there is a chance for this draw," he said.
Age is one of the criteria that the CRS score takes into accountThe younger the applicant, the higher the score. According to the point-based system, after the age of 40, it will decrease by 10 points year by year.
The couple are currently navigating another route called PR from TR.
Carvalho and his wife have a baby due to give birth in October and want to calm things down before that. However, as the work visa expires in November of this year, there are not enough options.
What's next?
According to the IRCC, the department continues to evaluate invitation round options in line with current inventory, current and future levels of space and processing time goals.
In that statement, global migration was overturned by the pandemic, and application inventory increased during the pandemic with health and travel restrictions enabled.
"It will take some time to fully recover," Larivière said in an email.
IRCC continues the $ 317.6 million new funding announced in thebudget 2022
, with the government promising $ 2.1 billion over five years. He said he had raised $ 85 million from. The 2021 Economic and Fiscal Updateaims to reduce the backlog of applications accumulated during pandemics by hiring processing staff, digitizing applications, implementing technology-based solutions, and more.
According to the IRCC, the entire vast processing network has approximately 5,460 employees dedicated to processing, including support staff and processing personnel. As of June 2022, since March 2020, when the pandemic began, the department has hired more than 1,200 additional staff across its processing network.
But Ramanna said there was no silver bullet to end these huge backlogs overnight.
"There are many people in Canada who depend on immigrants, both inside and outside Canada," Ramanna said. "We want people to have some certainty, whether they apply in paper or online, so what if the government tries to fix what it wants to do?
But for many immigrants, the combination of overcoming backlogs, delays, lack of communication, and transparency makes them feel like they have lost their fight.
"I don't know what we're trying to do," Carvalho said. "We've been working here for five years and the whole situation is rude to people like us. I thought everything was organized and kind to people, but I don't seem to care."