Canada’s immigration trends in 2020

Canada is trying to retain its immigration goals in spite of the pandemic. The country invited 74,000 new immigrants between January and April.

Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has released new data that analyses where Canada’s new immigrants arrived in from in the early months of 2020.

The Canadian immigration system has no doubt faced some disruptions because of the pandemic, but the country is continuing to welcome and process immigration applications on a priority basis.

Top source countries:

The top 10 source countries for the 74,000 people who managed to secure permanent residence in the first four months of the year are:

• India
• China
• Philippines
• USA
• Nigeria
• Pakistan
• Syria
• France
• Iran
• Brazil

Breakdown:

India has continued to be the primary source country of new permanent resident (PR) visa holders in Canada. They constitute 24 percent of all the new PRs that were conferred between January and April. India remains the leading source of immigrants because citizens are fluent speakers of English and have characteristics necessary for eligibility in the Canadian immigration system. Many Indians have university or college credentials and work experience. Indian immigrants enter Canada from the United States as well because H1-B visa holders find it difficult to secure permanent residence there.

Till now, the number of immigrants from China has risen slightly as compared to recent years. In fact, Chinese immigrants made up almost 10 percent of the newcomers. Filipino immigration is consistent at 7 percent in 2020.

Coronavirus-related problems have restricted new permanent residents from arriving in Canada from abroad. As a result, the second half of 2020 could possibly see a change in the distribution of immigrant source countries. However, it is equally likely that similar trends might continue if Canada opens its borders soon.