Canada’s New Plan to Simplify PR Application Process For Foreign Students And Employees

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Sean Fraser, Canada’s Immigration Minister, has proposed a new plan that would allow temporary visas to be converted to permanent residency.

The new strategy aims to improve transitions to permanent residence for foreign workers and international students with significant work experience in industries where labour shortages are persistent.

“I look forward to making sure all temporary foreign workers and international students find a pathway to permanent residency.”

“Kicked things off this session by presenting the ways our government is looking to expand pathways to permanent residency for temporary foreign workers & international students. A special thanks to my colleague @randeepssarai for bringing forth this important motion,” said Sean Fraser in a Tweet.

New Plan to Simplify PR Application Process

The plan lays out a five-pillar strategy for Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

Pillar 1: The increased immigration levels targets outlined in the 2022-2024 Immigration Levels Plan will help provide Canada with a larger, permanent labour supply. This plan increases the opportunities for more temporary workers to transition to permanent residence to help address labour market shortages and fuel our post-pandemic economic growth.

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Pillar 2: The Express Entry system will be reformed, including by increasing flexibility in immigration selection tools under Express Entry, through recent changes to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

The Department will also review the Comprehensive Ranking System criteria under Express Entry, particularly points awarded for Canadian work experience and education, language proficiency, and a job offer.

Pillar 3: Permanent economic immigration programs will be updated to help the transition, from temporary to permanent residence, of essential workers in high-demand occupations. This includes,

  • adopting the latest version of the National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021 which expands eligibility to certain in-demand occupations within a number of permanent economic immigration pathways
  • improving newcomers’ access to information to ensure that they meet the necessary qualifications and connecting them to federal and provincial or territorial programming
  • exploring better ways to transition essential workers who are in high demand, such as removing barriers for physicians
  • introducing improvements to pilot programs to support transitions to permanent residence for those working in in-home caregiving occupations as well as in the agri-food sector

Pillar 4: Canada plans to focus on Francophone immigration. The IRCC is currently working on maximizing French immigration outside Quebec and adding up a new Municipal Nominee Program.

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Pillar 5: The Government will increase processing capacity, improve client experience and modernise the immigration system through technological improvements- to ensure PR is granted to newcomers “as quickly as possible”.

Canada to process all pending visa applications by the end of 2022

Canada has a massive visa backlog of 2.7 million applications, which has resulted in long visa processing times; if you want to apply for a Visitor Visa to Canada, you will have to wait 129 days. However, visa applications have increased by 55% in 2022 compared to 2019, adding to the backlog.

According to Cameron MacKay, the country’s high commissioner to India, despite the unprecedented surge, Canada hopes to return to normal processing times by the end of 2022.

As of August 22, Canada had welcomed more than 300,000 permanent residents, exceeding the milestone earlier than in any previous year. For 2022, the country has set a target of 431,000 permanent residents.

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Manish Khandelwal
Manish Khandelwal

Manish Khandelwal, a travel-tech enthusiast with over a decade of experience in the travel industry. Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Travelobiz.com, he's passionate about writing.

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