Canada unveils measures to help international students become permanent residents
Canada will resume the federal economic immigration programs in July after a lengthy suspension that has left many international students in limbo without a pathway for permanent residence.
The immigration department will also allow those with postgraduate work permits expiring this year to remain in Canada for an additional 18 months while it tackles a backlog that has reached 1.8 million across all immigration and citizenship programs.
Along with a string of other special measures, the changes are intended to address the crisis faced by thousands of international students who have run out of, or are running out of, status in Canada and face the prospect of having to leave the country.
With the economy growing faster than employers can hire for new jobs, Canada needs to look at every option so that we have the skills and labour needed to fuel our growth," Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said in a prepared statement Friday.
Immigration will be crucial to address our labour shortage, and these measures aim to address pressing needs in all sectors across the country while providing more opportunity for recent graduates and other applicants to build their lives in Canada and continue contributing to our short-term recovery and long-term prosperity."
The pandemic has wreaked havoc on Canada's immigration system as travel restrictions and lockdowns here and abroad throughout most of 2020 and 2021 delayed the processing of overseas applications. That led to the ballooning backlog.
As a result, Ottawa last year suspended its flagship federal economic immigration programs - the Canadian experience, federal skilled workers and skilled trades streams - that were among the popular pathways for international students to obtain permanent residence after graduation.
Officials said they managed to cut those programs' inventory" by half - from 111,900 people in September 2021 to just 48,000 people by March this year. They hope it will be further reduced by July to return to the service standards in place before the pandemic.
However, only those international students with postgraduate work permits expiring between Jan. 31 and Dec. 31, 2022 are eligible for the 18-month open permit to remain and work in Canada, meaning many who ran out of status last year must stop working and leave.
We would encourage the immigration department to review this gap and extend the 18-month open work permit and restoration of status to this group, too," the Canadian Immigration Lawyers Association said in a statement.
We believe that more can and should be done right now, to facilitate existing programs for people who are stuck due to backlogs or have been overlooked by existing programs. The government could have been much bolder in their response to the backlog issue."
Iranian student Tara Emami graduated with a master's degree in management from the University of Toronto in September 2020 and has worked as an IT consultant since. Her postgraduate work permit expired in December, which means she's out of luck despite the new open work permit policy.
This is not fair. We are people as well, we were just unlucky that our work permits expired in December. Luck should not be a factor in the work permit extensions. What is our fault?" asked the 26-year-old, who is on the so-called implied status" while waiting for her work permit extension to be refused.
We have done nothing wrong and yet we are not eligible for the past (postgraduate work permit) extension, this one, and by the time the Express Entry draws resumes, it's going to be too late for us. I can't sleep well at night, and I cannot plan for my future. We need permanent resident status for all of us immediately."
Last May, the immigration department also launched a one-time special program for some students and migrants employed in essential jobs during the pandemic to become permanent residents. However, processing applicants has taken longer due to the pressing needs for Ottawa to resettle displaced Afghans and now Ukrainians to Canada.
To avoid those applicants falling through the cracks while being stuck with a lengthy wait inside Canada, immigration officials will now allow applicants to leave the country while their application is being processed. The ones with expiring work permits, in the meantime, will also be eligible to extend their work authorization until the end of 2024. Their family members outside Canada will also be able to join them on an open work permit.
Nicholas Keung is a Toronto-based reporter covering immigration for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @nkeung