Canada has released its latest annual immigration report according to which 406,000 new immigrants have been given permanent residency. According to the report, more than 191,000 work and study permit holders have changed from temporary to permanent resident status. The country also welcomed over 415,000 temporary work permit holders and over 445,000 study permit holders.
Canada is a destination of choice for many people looking for a new home. This results in a large number of requests each year and this is why the government and IRCC made immense and great decisions to clear the backlog. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has provided $85 million for the Department and its partners to improve results in this area, including adding more than 1,200 new staff to support the processing of applications.
Canada releases every year an annual immigration report. So this year’s report came in November. According to this, in 2021, Canada welcomed the highest number of immigrants in a single year in its history, nearly 406,000 permanent residents through the economic immigration, family reunification, refugee, and compassionate considerations streams. humanitarian.
Another important milestone worth noting is Bill C-19, the Budget Implementation Act, which received Royal Assent in June 2022 and implements many of the government’s commitments to grow our economy and make life more affordable for Canadians. It will make it easier for skilled immigrants to settle in Canada by improving the government’s ability to select Express Entry applicants who fill labor shortages and meet the needs of Canadian businesses.
In 2021, Canada welcomed the highest number of immigrants in a single year in its history, at 405,999 permanent residents, which corresponds to an increase of 120% compared to 2020. This was made possible, despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, by redoubling efforts and leveraging innovative practices. Examples include shifting to an approach focused on applicants already living in Canada by creating time-limited pathways from temporary residence (TR) to permanent residence (PR); as well as the use of virtual admissions and digitization of paper applications to expedite processing.
As part of this tradition, the top five permanent resident admissions to Canada as resettled refugees by country of citizenship in 2021 include:
- Afghanistan (6,105),
- Syria (4,195),
- Eritrea (3,674),
- Iraq (1,520)
- the Democratic Republic of Somalia (1,297).
Statistics for Temporary Residence Visas
Temporary foreign workers
In 2021, a total of 168,656 work permit holders made the transition to permanent residence. IRCC also worked with Employment and Social Development Canada to continue efforts to improve worker protections, including conducting public consultations on proposed new requirements for employers that would reduce the vulnerability of temporary workers, for example by prohibiting employers to charge recruitment fees to workers. These new regulatory requirements are expected to come into effect in 2022.
International students
A total of 445,776 study permit holders entered the country. In 2021, a total of 22,682 international students who already held study permits were admitted as permanent residents.
Visitor’s Visa
In 2021, a total of 962,506 TRVs and AVEs were issued to visitors. In September 2021, the announcement of the easing of border restrictions enabled IRCC to prioritize the processing of visa and eTA applications from business travelers and clients who have declared that they meet the conditions of waiver for family members, as well as family members who had already been found eligible and needed to write permission to travel to Canada.
Global skills strategy
In 2021, the GCS continued to be an important tool to support Canadian employers who need access to international talent to grow, innovate and create jobs for Canadians. IRCC approved applications under the GCS for more than 38,500 temporary workers with specialized skills and global experience, which contributed to Canada’s economic recovery.
Statistics for Permanent Residence Visas
Economic class program
In 2021, the number of people admitted to Canada under the economic class was 252,971, which includes spouses and their dependents. On the other hand, 139,459 new permanent residents were admitted through the Canadian Experience Class, Federal Skilled Worker Program, and Federal Skilled Trades Program.
More than 106,000 applications have been made under the temporary-to-permanent residence pathway, which is time-limited and aimed at recent foreign graduates and essential workers in sectors like healthcare. Special streams for French-speaking and bilingual temporary residents were added, where an unlimited number of applications were accepted. Through this pathway, approximately 24,000 new permanent residents were admitted in 2021 and another 18,000 by the end of March 2022. An additional 32,000 admissions are expected to take place in 2023.
IRCC completed the processing of permanent residence applications for nearly 6,000 caregivers and their family members, leading to admissions that year and beyond. It also admitted nearly 565 foreign entrepreneurs (and their family members) to become permanent residents and start their businesses in Canada.
Parents and grandparents
In 2020-2021, IRCC invited 47,900 potential sponsors, who had submitted an interest in sponsorship form, to apply for sponsorship for their parents and grandparents, with the aim of accepting up to 40,000 new applications in 2021. In addition, 11,738 sponsored parents and grandparents were admitted to Canada in 2021 as permanent residents under the Parents and Grandparents Sponsorship Program.
Provincial nominee program
In 2021, 54,020 people were admitted under the Provincial Nominee Program, a 40% increase from 2020.
Refugees
Canada has maintained its proud humanitarian tradition of being the world’s leading refugee resettlement country; resettling 20,428 refugees in 2021.
Family reunion
Last year 81,423 people were admitted under this category. While the focus in 2021 was on applicants in Canada, there was a waiver of travel restrictions for some family members, and IRCC processed family class applications from foreign. Under the Family Reunification Program, IRCC processes sponsorship applications for spouses, common-law partners, and children of Canadian citizens and permanent residents. In 2021, there were 69,685 admissions under this category, with a remaining inventory of 67,826 requests to be processed at the end of the year.