Immigration Announcement
What is Canada’s Immigration Outlook for 2023?
According to the most recent census, immigrants in Canada now account for 23% of the country’s overall population, breaking a record that had been set 100 years earlier, The Canadian government appears unwavering in its dedication to immigration and embracing foreigners as we move into 2023. So, here’s a general overview of Canadian immigration during the upcoming year.
The Backlog Continues to Decrease
The entire backlog of applications at Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has consistently shrunk since September 2022. IRCC has announced that the backlog has been reduced by 400,000. Additionally, IRCC has added 2,521 workers to its front-line operations team in an effort to lower application inventories. It is still hoped that in 2023, these elements would continue to have a favorable impact on the IRCC’s service standards and a backlog of applications.
Immigration Levels Plan Target for 2023
The Immigration Levels Plan for 2023 contains a record-high immigration goal for Canada. The 2023 Immigration Levels Plan objective (465,000) is broken down into the following categories.
- Express Entry: 82,800
- Provincial Nominee Program (PNP): 105,500
- Parents and Grandparents: 28,500
- Spouses/ Common-law partners and Children: 78,000
Preview: Canadian immigration pathways
Provincial Nominee Programs in 2023
We discovered around the end of this year that the PNP is about to surpass Express Entry as Canada’s leading immigration route. Accordingly, it is anticipated that Canada will accept slightly less than 23,000 more PNP immigrants than Express Entry applicants in 2023.
Express Entry in 2023
Canada’s goal to address certain labour market requirements and deficits is further supported by the expectation that IRCC would launch “targeted” Express Entry lotteries in 2023. Instead of issuing Invitations to Apply (ITAs) based on a candidate’s Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score, these draws will prioritize applicants with certain professional experience, linguistic proficiency, and/or educational backgrounds.
Parents and Grandparents Program in 2023
It is found that Canada will continue to support family reunification in 2023. The success of Canada’s Parents and Grandparents Program is evidence of this (PGP). The PGP will aim to welcome more than 28,000 newcomers in 2019, together with other immigration paths including the Super Visa.
International Students in 2023
IRCC introduced that International students who are in Canada and have off-campus work authorization on their study permit will be allowed to work over 20 hours per week off-campus during sessions. This change will help the country to fix the labour shortage problems by officially allowing over half of a million international students to work more hours.
The Impact of Changes in 2023
The increase of immigrants through PNPs and targeted Express Entry draws must permit the country to cut down the pressure on the labour market. The reason behind this is as more skilled immigrants will enter the country, the more it will benefit the economic position of Canada. Moreover, by lifting the veil of off-campus work hours, the country can invite more international students to Canada and work overtime. In brief, immigration in 2023 should provide several reasons to be more hopeful for a prosperous labour force and economic future in this country.
