Canada opened the online portal to apply for permanent residency under the newly launched immigration pathways on May 6, at about 12:00 p.m. EST.
The country is expected to target about 1.5 million temporary residents, including foreign essential workers in health & non-healthcare sectors, international student graduates under the new program—candidates with about 1,560 hours of Canadian work experience needed to apply under the essential worker streams.
However, candidates with bilingual proficiency, i.e. both in English & French, are distinct. An unlimited number of candidates may apply through the remaining three designated pathways for French speakers.
More information about the program is available here. You may also visit the official page to determine your eligibility or get in touch with our consultants for one-on-one interaction.
Immigration Demand High As International Graduate Stream Reaches Cap
The need to introduce new pathways for temporary residents is to fulfil the immigration targets of 401,000 new permanent residents in 2021 and overcome travel-related restrictions which may affect the entry of newcomers from abroad.
Experts see the new PR pathways as recognition of educated and experienced foreign workers on the journey to economic recovery in Canada.
“With this new pathway, we are recognizing their key role in our economic recovery, allowing them to set down roots in Canada and help us build back better. Our message to them is simple: your status may be temporary, but your contributions are lasting – and we want you to stay,” remarked Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino.
Given the demand for Canadian immigration is always high, the English-speaking international graduate stream attracted 10,000 submissions in the first hour, followed by another 5,000 in the following hour. However, the overall quota of 40,000 was reached by May 7, at 1:01 PM Eastern Standard Time. IRCC will no longer accept applications for English-speaking PR pathways for international student graduates.
There was a low uptake of the essential worker streams with just 200 English-speaking health care worker applications in the first two hours. However, the English-speaking essential non-healthcare worker stream saw 20,000 applications.
The overall cap for individual streams is 20,000 and 30,000, respectively.
French-speaking immigration applicants are free to apply until November 5, and there are no caps specified. This is why less than 200 French speakers have submitted applications thus far.
For Canadian immigration aspirants who find the new PR pathway irrelevant to their work profile, they may consider qualifying for Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) streams and Express Entry programs. They may even qualify for PR with no prior work experience inside Canada.
Additionally, Canadian Universities are slowly opening up to international students for new admissions this fall.
Contact CanApprove to determine your chances at other Canadian immigration programs.