The year 2020 was the year of the COVID-19 pandemic, which continues to have an impact on the Canadian immigration system.
After Canada has welcomed 341,000 new immigrants in 2019, the country continued to have a higher admission rate for new immigrants early last year, but the immigration program was completely disrupted when the coronavirus turned into a global pandemic in March 2020.
Canada’s travel restrictions related to COVID-19 have been in effect since March 18, limiting the number of foreign nationals who can currently enter the country. However, the Express Entry system, Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs), and other forms of immigration processing continue to operate.
The fluid nature of the coronavirus crisis means that many remain uncertain about what we can expect from Canada’s immigration system in 2021. But, there are certainties in place that will benefit Canada and future newcomers in 2021 and beyond.
Normality can not be restored to the immigration system until the pandemic is over. Fortunately, Several coronavirus vaccines have given us hope on when will the global pandemic end.
Canada began the largest vaccination campaign in its history in December and aims to vaccinate anyone who wants inoculation with COVID-19 by September 2021. Vaccination of residents of Canada will be part of the return. normal to the country and its immigration system. The other part is to ensure that the world’s population and foreign nationals traveling to Canada are free from the virus.
We can have some idea of how the country will continue to implement different policies for tackling the COVID-19 with the example of travel restriction implemented throughout the year 2020, even as the virus spread has begun to abate. For instance, Canada continues to keep its 14-day quarantine as well as to get a negative COVID-19 test before moving to Canada to help limit the spread of the virus inside its borders.
It is important to stress that the crisis has not affected Canada’s strong commitment to welcome immigrants, temporary foreign workers, and international students. Canada has doubled that commitment because of the crisis. As part of its new Immigration Levels Plan 2021-2023, Canada aims to welcome more than 400,000 new immigrants per year, which is the highest level in its history.
While it’s hard to imagine Canada will be able to meet this target in 2021 as the pandemic continues, the higher targets allow Canada’s federal and provincial governments to continue hosting immigration draws. and process requests. The reason is that even though Canada is unable to physically accommodate as many new immigrants as it wants in 2021, it can provide them with the necessary approvals so that they can move to Canada at a later date.
With the emergence of vaccines, the federal government is exploring the potential of bringing changes to its travel restrictions. Like, lifting of travel restrictions for newcomers who have already received corona vaccination and for those who can provide a negative COVID-19 test before migrate to Canada. Lifting these restrictions would help the flow of newcomers to pick up, giving the country’s economy a much-needed boost. The rationale for the 2021-2023 Immigration Levels Plan is that a significant increase in the number of newcomers to Canada is necessary to support Canada’s economic recovery from COVID.
We should have a clearer idea of where Canada’s immigration system is heading in January. The Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, must issue members of his cabinet with new mandate letters. This has been delayed by the pandemic, but the letters may finally be unveiled this month. If so, a new mandate letter to Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino will spell out the priorities the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will pursue in the years to come.
The lottery for PGP – Parents and Grandparents Program 2020 will be held in early 2021 as confirmed by IRCC. A maximum of 10,000 applicants will be invited to submit their application for sponsorship to bring their grandparents and parents to Canada. Later this year, IRCC will open a lottery window for PGP 2021 and will invite up to 30,000 applicants.
It is fair to expect that IRCC and Canada’s provinces and territories will seek to standardize the immigration system to the best of their ability in 2021. At the very least, we can expect and hope that 2021 will be one less turbulent year than 2020.
