Category Archives: News & Updates

Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has released more details surrounding changes to eligibility for Spousal Open Work Permits (SOWP). On January 22, 2024, the department introduced several changes to Canada’s international student program. Among them, IRCC said that the spouses of international students in undergraduate and college programs will no longer be eligible for […]

Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has issued invitations to candidates in the third Express Entry draw of the month. The department issued 1,980 invitations to apply (ITAs) in a general draw. Candidates required a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 524. Today’s draw follows two Express Entry draws on March 12 and 13. […]

Immigration Minister Marc Miller and Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault have announced changes to Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). During the pandemic, Canada unleashed a series of temporary measures to help ease labour market conditions. Now, however, Canada has begun to undo these temporary measures. “We are now in a different economic picture. With the […]

Express Entry-managed programs are among the most popular options for skilled newcomers who want to immigrate to Canada. This is because Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has a published service standard of six months for Express Entry applications making it, as the name implies, one of the fastest ways to become a permanent resident […]

In a press conference earlier today, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced two separate new immigration pilots – one for rural communities and another for francophone minority communities across Canada – while adding that the existing Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP) will transition into a permanent program. In a press conference today, Immigration […]

British Columbia’s provincial attestation letter (PAL) system is effective as of today, March 4, 2024. International students must submit a PAL with their study permit application to prove that they have been accepted by a Designated Learning Institution (DLI) within the limits of its allocation. The B.C. government says the provincial government issues PALs to […]

Foreign nationals seeking permanent residence (PR) in Canada often look for the fastest pathway to achieving their goal and starting a new life in this country. On a basic level, Canada has four primary immigration classes: economic immigration, family-class sponsorship, humanitarian/compassionate immigration and immigration for refugees/protected persons. However, within those four general classifications, Immigration, Refugees […]

As of February 15, the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) has temporarily paused processing applications for the Alberta Opportunity Stream until further notice. The AAIP says the pause will give the province time to “address its current inventory and focus its limited immigration nominations on priorities, such as filling labour shortages in healthcare, technology, construction, […]

Statistics Canada has released data on provincial retention rates for newcomers both one year and five years after they arrive in Canada. Overall, the report found that immigrant retention rates were on the rise in Atlantic Canada (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador) while retention rates in the prairie provinces […]

Although the term “family reunification” encompasses many groups (spouses, common-law partners, children, parents etc.), a big part of Canada’s family-class immigration is focused on the sponsorship of spouses and partners by Canadian citizens and permanent residents (PRs). In fact, family-class pathways are Canada’s second most popular method of immigrating after economic immigration. This is solidified […]