The COVID pandemic impacted Canada’s immigration programs significantly during 2020 and 2021. Most programs were either curtailed or operated under strict COVID-related restrictions. As the pandemic eases in 2022, Canada’s immigration programs are set to catch up with the lag created during the last two years. Therefore, this is a good year for potential immigrants to consider one of Canada’s immigration programs.
Canada plans to welcome more than 431,000 newcomers this year and this number will grow in the coming years. According to Sean Fraser, Canada’s immigration minister, application processing speeds would resume to their normal pre-COVID pace by the end of the calendar year. The minister also disclosed that Federal Skill Worker and Canadian Experience Class Express Entry draws will resume on July 6, 2022 and application processing is likely to take about six months. Express Entry is Canada’s main immigration program for skilled immigrants.
Do you qualify for Express Entry to Canada?
Express Entry uses a the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) to accept and manage online application for three Canadian immigration programs: the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP), and the Canadian Experience Class (CEC). The Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) is a points-based system that is used to assess and award a score to a candidate’s Express Entry profile in order to rank the candidate in comparison to other applicants in the Express Entry pool. The CRS score is based on the information provided in the candidate’s EE profile.