Canada Immigration News Podcast #21 – Express Entry PNP Draw, Start-Up Visa Growth, Family Class Processing, Parents & Grandparents Immigration
In this episode, we examine Canada’s first Provincial Nominee Program-targeted Express Entry draw of 2024, explore the rising immigration numbers through the Start-Up Visa program, discuss IRCC’s use of advanced analytics to accelerate family class application processing, and analyze the latest immigration figures under the Parents and Grandparents Program.
First Provincial Nominee Program Express Entry Draw of 2024
– On May 30, IRCC held first PNP-specific Express Entry draw of the year 2,985
– Invitations to Apply issued, minimum score 676
– Tie-break rule applied to Jan 19, 2024 at 18:32:21 UTC
– 224,404 total candidates in Express Entry pool as of draw date
– Canada has issued 38,955 ITAs through regular EE draws so far in 2024
Surge in Start-Up Visa Entrepreneurial Immigration
– Start-Up Visa admissions rose 17.4% in March to 505 new PRs, up 75 from February
– Growth occurred despite overall immigration slowdown
– Suggests up to 5,760 SUV admissions possible by end of 2024, a 294.5% increase over 2023
– Ontario and BC most popular SUV destinations
– Program rebounded strongly post-pandemic with 48.1% increase in 2021
Advanced Analytics for Family Class Application Processing
– IRCC implementing new automated tools to expedite spousal/partner application processing
– Tools use officer-designed rules and machine learning from prior IRCC data
– First tool auto-approves routine sponsorship cases, others reviewed manually
– Second tool identifies routine principal applicant cases for faster processing
– All final decisions still made by human officers, no independent approvals/refusals
Parents and Grandparents Program Immigration
– PGP admissions up 5% in March to 2,005 new PRs, from 1,910 in February
– But overall immigration down 11% in March to 34,785 total
– By Q1 2024, 5,765 new PRs through PGP, down 14.9% from 2023
– Ontario top PGP destination with 2,855 admissions in Q1
– Nova Scotia saw 50% PGP increase in March, New Brunswick down 66.7%
Stay tuned for more in-depth immigration news and analysis from across Canada.
