We Enter March With Several Immigration Announcements

Permanent Residence – Category-Based Express Entry Draws

Express Entry is the system under which the profiles of PR hopefuls are assigned points based on factors like age, education, official language skills, and work experience. Over the past few years, the government has been conducting targeted draws to meet immigration targets and boost certain economic sectors. To begin March, the government has announced that the focus of its draws for Express Entry will be for those who have work experience in Canada under the Canadian Experience Class. It has also announced that it will continue with Francophone draws to meet its Francophone immigration targets as well as draws specifically for health care and social services (including family physicians, nurse practitioners, dentists, pharmacists, psychologists, and chiropractors), trades (including carpenters, plumbers, and contractors), and education (such as teachers, childcare educators, and instructors of persons with disabilities). It has not mentioned anything about STEM or agriculture-sector draws, which could mean that they will no longer be conducting targeted draws under these categories.

This update to the Express Entry draws may be followed by the implementation of changes to the points under Express Entry for Canadian job offers. The government said it would do away with points for job offers some time in spring, but has not provided a date on when this will be implemented.

CUAET Extension

The government has also announced that it will allow those in Canada under the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (“CUAET”) who arrived on or before March 31, 2024, to apply for a new open work permit to be valid for up to three (3) years, renew an existing open work permit, or apply for a new study permit up to March 31, 2026. This will be welcome news to many thousands of Ukrainians who came to Canada since the large-scale Russian invasion and war began on February 22, 2022. Since then, close to 300,000 Ukrainians came to Canada under the CUAET. However, there is no specific permanent solution to allow these individuals to stay in Canada with PR status, and CUAET beneficiaries are required to apply for PR status under the regular PR pathways.

Home Care Worker Immigration Pilot

On March 31, 2025, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC”) will also implement the Home Care Worker Immigration pilots which are similar to past PR pilot streams for home care workers of children and elderly people. Applicants will need to do an approved language test and achieve CLB 4 in English or NCLC 4 in French, showing a basic ability to understand and communicate in familiar situations; have a high school diploma or higher; have at least six (6) months of recent and relevant work experience or a related caregiver training credential; and have a full-time home care job offer in Canada.

Hopefully this harsh start to March will be followed by calmer and more certain circumstances this spring. In the meantime, if you have any questions about the above program changes, please feel free to reach out to us for a consultation. Our Canadian immigration legal professionals can be reached by phone (416-368-1111) or via email: caruso@cilf.ca; bonisteel@cilf.ca; ali@cilf.ca; mukherjee@cilf.ca; garciafialdini@cilf.ca.