Canada will resume Express Entry draws for Canadian Experience Class, Federal Skilled Worker and Federal Skilled Trades candidates in early July as it ramps up efforts to combat a chronic labour shortage.
Immigration Minister Sean Fraser announced on Friday that the federal high-skilled backlog had been cut by more than half, from nearly 112,000 in September 2021 to 48,000 in March 2022. The backlog is expected to drop further by July.
It means that Canada can once again start issuing Invitations to Apply to skilled worker candidates both already in the country and from overseas. Since fall 2021, ITAs have only been issued to Provincial Nominee Program candidates.
New applications received from July will be processed within six months in the vast majority of cases, Fraser said.
The Main major announcements
– Express Entry invitations to FSWP, CEC, and FSTP candidates will resume in early July.
– The vast majority of new Express Entry applications will be processed within the six-month service standard. According to IRCC, current Express Entry processing times range from seven months to in excess of 20 months.
– Those with an expiring PGWP between January and December 2022 will qualify for an additional open work permit of up to 18 months beginning this summer. IRCC is working on a simplified process and will provide further details “in the weeks ahead.” IRCC notes about 95,000 PGWPs will expire in 2022, and it estimates as many as 50,000 PGWP holders could benefit from this new open work permit.
– Applicants will no longer be required to remain in Canada throughout the entire time their application is being processed.
– Applicants who also apply for an open work permit while they wait for their permanent residence application to be processed will be able to get work permits that are valid until the end of 2024. This will ensure all permanent residence applications will be finalized before applicants need to apply to extend their temporary status again.
– To support family reunification, the immediate family members included in a principal applicant’s permanent residence application who are outside of Canada will be eligible to get their own open work permit.
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