Highlights Of Canadian Immigration 2020 Annual Report

With the world unable to escape from the clutches of the coronavirus, 2020 was definitely a dismal time for many. Canadian immigration suffered losses that will not be recovered for a while.

The following immigration highlights stand out from the rest.

Border Shutdown

Canada was forced to shut its border because of the coronavirus pandemic back in March. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the announcement on March 16 in a dramatic speech. As the reality of the pandemic sank in, coronavirus control measures became compulsory. The travel restrictions have already affected Canadian immigration drastically and it is expected that its effects would trickle into the new year too.

New Plan

In order to deal with the immigration losses suffered this year, Canada published their Immigration Levels Plan 2021-2023 on October 30. Canada is planning to welcome more than 400,000 new immigrants annually for the next three years. Not only will this restore immigration to its regular levels, but it will also speed up Canada’s economic recovery.

International Students

On October 2, Canada decided to exempt international students from the existing travel restrictions. Canada is being accommodated towards international students who had their plans thwarted because of the pandemic. In fact, IRCC announced on May 14 that international students could study virtually at Canadian DLIs until the end of this year without damaging their chances of a PGWP.

Express Entry success

Nobody expected 2020 to be a record-breaking year for Canadian immigration once the country introduced travel restrictions because of the pandemic. However, to the country’s credit, Express Entry draws have continued to take place regularly. The draw sizes have been unusually large because Canada wants to compensate for the low immigration levels. IRCC hosted the biggest draws in Express Entry history, resulting in over 100,000 invitations being issued.