The covid-19 pandemic affected everyone and every country, and Canada is no exception. On the 18th of March 2020, the Canadian government said it was closing the Canada-U.S. border to all “non-essential travel.” This is one of the many measures the country, like most other countries, took to contain the spread of the virus.
Also, the government gave airlines instructions to carefully examine all boarding passengers for covid-19 symptoms, and also prevent anyone presenting the symptoms from flying to Canada.
However, as countries all over the world gradually open up after partial or total lockdowns, Canada has also adjusted some of these rules and now welcoming immigrants from most parts of the world.
Canada to Welcome 401,000 New Immigrants in 2021
The new data released by the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) on the 13th of April showed that 23,375 people got Canadian permanent residence in February alone. That is over 3,000 more than the 25,000 immigrants welcomed the previous month, according to data previously released by the same IRCC.
Therefore, Canada has already welcomed more than 48,000 new permanent residents only in the first two months of the year. Compare to last year, 50,600 new immigrants were welcomed in the first two months of 2020 before the pandemic.
If this pace continues (it most likely would), the country is on its way to hit its 401,00 target for 2021, all thanks to returning to normalcy following the destabilization caused by the pandemic last year.
How the Pandemic last year will affect Canadian Immigration in 2021
Due to the covid-19 pandemic last year, Canada fell way short of its target of welcoming 341,000 immigrants in 2020. Instead, only about 184,370 immigrants were welcomed last year. To make up for this shortfall, Canada’s immigration minister Marco Mendicino made the announcement last October of the most ambitious immigration plan in the history of the country. That is the plan to welcome 401,000 immigrants in 2021, tying with the country’s 1913 record.
The main way Canada is hoping to accomplish its Immigration Levels Plan objective in 2021 is by promoting those currently in the country to permanent residents.
Groups, for example, temporary foreign workers and previous international students can get more points under a large number of Canada’s more than 100 distinctive economic class pathways. A considerable lot of these pathways are simply accessible to candidates with Canadian experience. For example, the Canadian Experience Class program is the main way the nation changes such people’s status to permanent residents.
In February 2021, IRCC held the biggest Express Entry draw ever, welcoming more than 27,000 CEC applicants to apply for permanent resident status. Express Entry is the primary way Canada welcomes financial class immigrants and is responsible for around one-fourth of the country’s immigrants who arrive in the country every year. With Express Entry you can Immigrate to Canada as a Doctor, as an Engineer, or as a Skilled worker in various occupations.
Along with promoting individuals’ status from inside the country, Canada is hoping to welcome from abroad the individuals who are excluded from its covid-19 travel limitations.
For instance, sponsored relatives of permanent residents and Canadian citizens and are among those qualified to venture out to Canada at this moment. The latest plan involves the welcoming of a little more than 100,000 family class migrants in 2021. In case you are interested in Immigrating, then you should check first your eligibility for immigration with a CRS score calculator that can predict your chances to get into the Express Entry pool and get elected for permanend residency.
Best time of the year to Immigrate to Canada
The new permanent residence arrivals should grow even more in the second half of the year. Immigration to Canada goes up during the summer months and warmer spring.
With regards to the pandemic, this implies that the individuals who are actually qualified to move to Canada presently might be deferring their arrivals until the warmer months. Moreover, a large number of those in Canada who got permanent resident invitations a year ago and in the first half of 2021 will probably officially acquire permanent resident status before the end of 2021.
In Conclusion
There is so much to deduce from all of these. But the summary of it is this–though the pandemic affected immigration to Canada last year, things have picked up this year and anyone who wants to move to Canada can do so now. In addition, the chances of getting selected in the different Canadian immigration programs are even higher now as the country is trying to make up for last year’s deficit.
So, if you’ve been postponing your Canadian application because of the pandemic, you have no reason to do so anymore and you should begin that application now. All you need to do is contact an RCIC and start your journey towards Canadian Visa.
