Canadian Immigration updates you need to know starting 2021
Express Entry Invitations
Right on cue, the express entry draws are off to a quick start. Two draws have been held, the first on January 6, 2021, specific to PNP candidates (CRS Score 813) and the second on January 7, 2021, specific to Canadian Experience Class candidates (CRS Score 461). A total of 5,000 invitations have been issued to date, with an anticipated 100,000 new permanent residents entering Canada through the express entry system for the 2021 year.
From September 2, 2020, to December 23, 2020, the government-held draws available to all program candidates. It is too early to tell what the next year will look like for express entry candidates and whether program-specific draws will continue. Despite this, express entry for those seeking permanent residence in Canada express entry is a good place to start!
Invitations to apply for the 2020 Parents and Grandparents program are underway.
If you submitted an interest from October 13, 2020, to November 3, 2020, IRCC started issuing invitations to apply on January 5, 2021. If you receive an invitation, you only have 60 days to apply. If there are delays in providing documentation, IRCC may grant a 90-day extension if satisfactory evidence is provided. Sponsors should check their junk mail with the address provided on the interest to sponsor form.
IRCC will also be making a ‘check your invitation status’ tool after all the invitations have been sent out.
Due to the financial impacts of COVID-19, a temporary public policy has been introduced to reduce the amount of income required for the 2020 tax year to meet the minimum necessary income.
If you were not selected, IRCC will accept 30,000 applications for the 2021 program; further information will be posted when it is available. Parents or grandparents can also consider the supervise, which allows for a visit of two years at a time.
Out-of-Status Foreign Nationals in Canada
This public policy provides an exemption from the requirement to apply for biometrics within 90 days of losing temporary resident status for former workers, students, and visitors who had valid status on or after January 30, 2020, but expired on or before May 31, 2021.
The temporary public policy was introduced on July 14, 2020, and has been extended to August 31, 2021.
Approved Permanent Residence Applications (Confirmation of Permanent Residence and Permanent Resident Visa issued to clients outside Canada)
Applicants who have applied for permanent residence to Canada and have an expired Confirmation or Permanent Residence and Permanent Resident Visa who are ready to travel to Canada no longer need to contact IRCC through webform or email.
IRCC will be contacting these applicants to ask them if they are able to travel to Canada to live and settle. Once approved, applicants will be issued the documents needed to travel.
Pre-departure COVID-19 Testing
As of January 7, 2020, Anyone traveling to Canada by air who are five years of age or older will be required to present a negative COVID-19 tests prior to boarding their flights.
Accompanying Family Members of Foreign Workers
Dependents traveling from the United States do not need a family reunification letter from IRCC to reunite with an immediate family member who is in Canada temporarily. They must provide evidence to show that they are traveling for non-discretionary purposes, for example, establishing themselves with the spouse, common-law partner, or family member.
Accompanying family members of foreign workers traveling from any other country than the United sates must meet both of the following requirements:
Be exempt from the travel restriction in their own right, or they require written authorization by an officer to enter Canada for the purpose of reuniting with immediate family members.
Be entering for a non-discretionary purpose.
For family members of temporary residents in Canada, non-discretionary travel usually means they are seeking to reunite with their family in Canada for a length that carries some sort of permanency. For example, if your spouse is in Canada for one year, you are seeking to enter to resettle for that period with them.