Canada’s immigration authorities have made few changes in the Express Entry program, which will come into force next year. Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced that specific attributes will be considered for Express Entry draws from 2023.
As per the plan, Express Entry will target candidates based on their occupation, language and/or education to decide who will be given Canadian permanent residency.
The Bill related to update in Express Entry program (C-19) was passed in both houses of parliament on June 23. According to Bill C-19, the immigration authorities will invite candidates with in-demand skills or abilities from the first quarter of 2023.
Currently, Canada immigration authorities are trying to figure out the Invitations to Apply (ITAs) to conduct target draws in the country. IRCC says that it will “consult a wide range of stakeholders to inform new categories in Express Entry” to ultimately decide on the details of the new format.
For example, job vacancy rate stood at 6% in Canada’s healthcare sector in October this year, hence, the government has been taking several measures to fill the positions. It is believed that new Express Entry draws may target only healthcare professionals to shrink the job vacancy rate in the sector.
For now, IRCC will continue to conduct Express Entry draws as usual. That is, every two weeks, a certain numbers of invitations to apply (ITAs) for Canadian PR will be given out based on CRS scores.
The CRS scores are based on factors like age, official language proficiency and Canadian work experience etc. And, this process sometimes restrict the right kind of candidate to get the ITA.
The Canadian government is changing the Express Entry program due to workforce shortages caused by an aging population and low birth rate. As per reports, it is expected that around nine million people in Canada will reach the retirement age by 2030.
Additionally, there are not enough younger Canadians to fill the positions in different companies, leading to rising number of job vacancies in the country. Canada relies on immigrants to maintain an ideal number of workforce in every sector and keep its economy strong.
Canada is planning to increase the immigrants’ entry into the coming years. Immigration Levels Plan 2023-2025, which was recently released, announced its aim to welcome 465,000 new immigrants in 2023. This will further increase as the country is likely to set a target of 485,000 new immigrants in 2024, and 500,000 new immigrants in 2025.
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