A preview of Canadian Immigration in 2022

With all the reforms, draws, and hiatus in the Canadian immigration structure in 2021, it is now crucial to get a preview of the Canadian immigration structure in 2022 before we get into any program pools.

As the pandemic situation has worsened, it can continue to loom large over the Canadian immigration system in 2022, as Canada is constantly updating its travel restrictions due to the rise in covid cases. As a result, we noticed a more incredible immigrant backlog in 2021, ranging from 1.8 million. The country’s constant attempts to prioritize the applicants already present through the Express Entry’s CEC class and PNPs.

Although Canada has a massive backlog of applicants, it has planned to issue 411,000 new invitations in 2022. So, below is a brief preview of what to expect from the Canadian Immigration department in the coming months.

What are the Immigration Levels Plan 2022-2024 and 2023-2025?

Canada might announce two Immigration levels plans in the upcoming months, focusing on the country’s target for new permanent residents’ arrival and under which program they might enter. However, it is news that under the current immigration plan, Canada is all set to welcome 411,000 immigrants in 2022 and 421,000 in 2023, which might get reformed later according to the new projects, if required.

Minister Fraser might unveil the first plan by February 10, which would explain the details about the Immigration Levels Plan 2022-2024.

It is expected that Canada might even introduce higher levels due to various factors such as growing labour shortages in Canada, application backlogs, and the federal government’s commitment to resettle 40,000 Afghan refugees.

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Express Entry

Since the Express Entry stream launch in 2015, it has seen one of the most exceptional years as the government was mainly focused on inviting only the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) candidates in 2021. However, due to the travel restrictions set by the pandemic, the Federal government decided to focus on the candidates present inside the country to make the process smoother.

Though the Federal Skilled Worker Program candidates were more prioritized before the pandemic, the current pool is 85% filled with FSWP candidates waiting for their draws since the last year. IRCC’s rationale for inviting PNP candidates has been to help provinces address their labour market goals through immigration.

When will Canada resume Express Entry FSWP draws?

The answer to this question is very uncertain as IRCC has not announced any such plans. The best guidance right now is that Express Entry might focus on clearing its backlog by 50% first before resuming FSWP draws again in 2022.

What are the new Express Entry reforms?

The federal government of Canada had many announcements regarding the plan to introduce the new Express Entry reforms. In Budget 2021, it was announced that the immigration minister would be allowed more flexibility to invite the Express Entry candidates that are skilled enough to meet the country’s labour market shortage. However, no details are available as of now.

What else to expect in 2022?

Backlogs: As the pandemic caused the country’s immigrant backlog to reach 1.8 million, the prime minister asked the immigration minister to improve processing times, including among applications affected by the pandemic.

TEER System in place of NOC Skill Levels: It is targeted by the IRCC and Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) to use the new Training, Education, Experience, and Responsibilities (TEER) system to classify occupations by fall 2022. 

Citizenship applications: This letter focuses on the government’s promise to make the Canadian citizenship application accessible.

Settling Afghan refugees: Canada has announced its commitment to invite and settle 40,000 Afgan refugees since August 2021.

Travel rules: The travel rules keep evolving amidst the pandemic, which includes the rule that the travellers seeking entry to Canada, post-January 15,2022, will need to be fully vaccinated.