Canada closed its borders and imposed restrictions for travelling to the country on March 16, 2020. Despite the coronavirus COVID-19 spread, the government promised to continue the immigration to Canada.
Will IRCC meet the immigration target for 2020?
Earlier in March, the Federal government finally presented The 2020-2022 Immigration Levels Plan. The target set for 2020 is to accept 341,000 immigrants. Less than a week after the publication the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic reached Canada and the feds decided to temporarily implement a travel ban. At the moment, travel restrictions will last until June 30.
Immediately after the travel ban was proposed, the Immigration experts community raised the question of whether the country will meet its immigration targets. Some even predicted that there will be no choice but to reduce the number of invitations for this year. Despite the uncertainty, the new Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Honourable Marco Mendicino assured the public that Canada will not reduce immigration and that his department is committed to all previous goals. So far both federal and provincial governments keep the promise.
Coronavirus and Immigration to Canada
The federal government held six Express Entry draws since the implementation of the travel ban. In those rounds, Immigration Canada sent an Invitation to Apply (ITA) to 11700 individuals. Having four different programs served by Express Entry – three federal economic programs and the umbrella Provincial Nominee Program that unites nine provincial and two territorial immigration programs – the government is doing everything possible to be on track to this year’s target.
Nevertheless, these six invitation rounds were aimed at candidates already residing in Canada as temporary residents – international graduates or foreign workers. These candidates were invited under the Canadian Experience Class or as provincial nominees. This also caused the reduction of the cut-off score, as many candidates with higher scores are eligible to apply for immigration the Federal Skilled Worker program but since they reside outside Canada they are not being invited.
As for the provincial programs, since the COVID-19 crisis started, Alberta invited 456 candidates, British Columbia issued invitations to 925 individuals, Manitoba invited 511 candidates, Ontario invited 26 entrepreneurs, and Saskatchewan issued 205 invitations. In total, there were 2,123 invitations distributed under the Provincial Nominee Program between March 16 and April 26, 2020.
Immigration Canada Pro keeps consulting clients and submitting their applications
Our team continues monitoring all the immigration programs and regulation updates. As we predicted, the government did not stop inviting candidates to apply for permanent residence. That is why we offer a free assessment to our readers during the quarantine so those who want to immigrate will be able to do so shortly after the pandemic is over.