Simplified immigration for 180,000 applicants and other Canadian news
The most important events of the week from October 10 to 16.
Canada invites relatives of immigrants, residence applications in Canada are processed faster, 180,000 applicants are exempted from medical exams before immigration, and other news.
Jobs and income in Canada
Unemployment in Canada continues to decrease. It dropped to 5.2%. The most positive employment dynamics are observed in education, healthcare, and social services, while there are now fewer workers in manufacturing, transport, technology, and culture. The average wage has also risen by more than 5% to $31.67 CAD an hour.
Besides raising wages, many Canadian provinces are helping residents cope with rising prices. Newfoundland and Labrador have announced a $500 CAD payment to all residents whose last year's income was less than $100,000 CAD. Quebec, under the same conditions, announced payments of $500 CAD in March and promised $600 CAD more by December. Saskatchewan turned out to be more generous and is ready to pay $500 CAD to everyone who pays taxes without exception. More modest assistance is offered by Prince Edward Island and Manitoba.
International students got an opportunity to earn more in Canada. From November 15, 2022, to December 31, 2023, students will be allowed to work full-time during the study year, not 20 hours a week as before. This will help them both earn more for everyday needs and get more hours of work experience. In the future, this will be beneficial for getting a permanent job and permanent residency in Canada.
Accelerated immigration
Canada continues to do everything possible to speed up the processing of temporary and permanent residence applications. Some candidates will be exempted from the mandatory medical examination. This applies to those who are already in Canada, have applied for TRP or PR, and had a medical exam earlier, within 5 years before applying. The measure will be valid until October 2026 and will exempt 180,000 applicants from exams.
A medical exam is required to enter Canada for permanent residence, as well as on work, student, and visitor visas if you plan to stay in the country for more than 6 months. However, if you or your family members have a serious medical condition, this may result in a ban from entering Canada. We talked about the diseases with which you can be refused entry, how the decision to refuse is made, and whether you can challenge it.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada introduced new technologies that will speed up the processing of visitor record applications. The automated tool will perform the routine work of immigration officers and sort applications. However, the final decision to approve or reject is always made by an immigration officer. The visitor record is a document that extends your stay in Canada on a visitor visa.
Another measure is aimed at reducing queues at airports. Travelers arriving at Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport can now fill out immigration and customs declarations in advance on the ArriveCAN application. This will save time upon arrival. Previously, this option was only available at Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver airports, and will roll out to other major cities in the coming months.
Immigration draws
Canada announced the start of sending out invitations under the family sponsorship program. 23,100 invitations will be sent to Canadian citizens and permanent residents who applied to sponsor their parents and grandparents to move from abroad. Applications are selected randomly from those who submitted them back in 2020. As a result, 15,000 sponsors will be approved.
Let's move on to the immigration draws. During the week, Canada held only two draws and invited 4,624 people. On October 12, there was an Express Entry draw under federal immigration programs. 4,250 people received invitations. The passing score has been lowered again but is still slightly higher than before the pandemic. On the same day, the province of British Columbia held a draw. The region selected 374 candidates in a general draw and a targeted draw for childhood educators, healthcare professionals, and veterinarians. This is the last British Columbia draw before the break, which will last until November 16.
Alex Pavlenko, founder of the Immigrant.Today emigration portal
