January 2020 Immigration Updates

Increase in PNP Program Options

Under the 2019-2021 Immigration Levels Plan, Canada will look to welcome 67,800 immigrants (principal applicants, spouses, and dependents) through the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) in the next year, which is an increase of 11 per cent compared with 2019.

The federal government has introduced several new provincial programs to facilitate even distribution of immigrants across all provinces. This opens a new window of opportunity for potential immigrants who did not seem to qualify for skilled immigration previously.

Programs like the Regional Immigration Pilot is the newest addition to the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP), which allows the province to nominate a set number of Economic-Class immigration candidates for permanent residence each year.

Similarly, programs like the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot and Atlantic Immigration Pilot have been introduced, enabling more candidates to become eligible for immigration to Canada. To assess your eligibility for these programs, get in touch with our team of professionals.

Parents and Grandparents Program – 2020 Plan

It is expected that the federal government will announce their intake process plans for the Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) by April 2020 at the latest. In the previous years, due to the excessive demand of this program, the system has been faced with several challenges. The federal government is actively working towards addressing these challenges to ensure the process can be simplified and can facilitate more people to sponsor their parents and grandparents. It is expected that the new system will be rolled out by April 1, 2020. 

LMIA-Exempt Caregiver Program

The Home Child Care Provider Pilot and the Home Support Worker Pilot are 5-year pilot programs that let qualified caregivers and their family members come to Canada with the goal of becoming permanent residents. If you’ve been offered a job in Canada as a caregiver or have experience working in Canada as a caregiver, you may be able to apply for permanent residence through one of these pilots.

Even if you have no prior work experience in Canada, you could still qualify for one of these programs provided you have a job offer from a family in Canada in need of a Home Child care provider or Home Support Worker and you have prior relevant work experience in your home country or any other country.  The language and education requirements of these programs are pretty basic: CLB 5 in English (in all 4 bands) and at least one year of post-secondary education. If you meet the above-mentioned requirements, you could be eligible to come to Canada on a 2-year work permit along with your dependents, and get permanent residence after 2 years of work experience in Canada.

For more information on the above-mentioned programs and other immigration categories, please fill out our assessment form.