Coronavirus has bolstered interest in Canadian immigration

There is no doubt that coronavirus has had a damaging effect on economies all over the world, but it seems that people are still largely undeterred when it comes to their plans of immigrating to Canada. Prospective immigrants are predicting that Canada is likely to face much lesser economic hardship as compared to their own country.

Results:

A recent survey, conducted by the World Education Services (WES), asked 4,615 people about their immigration plans. The survey found that 38% of the respondents feel a greater interest in immigrating to Canada now that the world is in the throes of such a crisis. Moreover, 57% made it clear that the pandemic will not affect their decision. Only 5% of the respondents said that they are now less interested in immigrating to Canada.

Joan Atlin, a researcher, was taken by surprise to find that only a small percentage of people had lost their interest in immigrating to Canada. Prospective immigrants feel that the negative economic impact of the crisis will be much more severe in their home countries.

Atlin told CIC News that the research had been conducted in April when the pandemic was still in its early stages, but the persistent enthusiasm about Canadian immigration stood out. The survey was carried out by WES in between April 15 and April 21 so as to understand the effects of COVID-19 on the intentions of prospective Canadian immigrants. The survey results were collected from respondents, the majority of whom were in their pre-arrival phase and on the track to Canadian immigration.

Breakdown:

The survey only included respondents located outside of Canada. Over half of the respondents in the Philippines (64%), Nigeria (58%), and China (64%) said that COVID-19 had increased their wish of immigrating to Canada. Respondents who did not change their opinion at all because of the pandemic mostly hailed from Pakistan (58%), the U.S. (57%), the U.K. (59%), India (64%), and France (73%). A little over half of the respondents said that they have no reason to think COVID-19 will affect their ability to pay for the immigration costs, but around 35% do fear the possibility of a negative impact on their finances.