Author: Mercedes Sanchez

The United States, Spain, and Canada plan to work together to engage more with Latin America. The partnership aims to promote safe, orderly, humane, and regular migration while creating economic and social opportunities. The three countries will expand regular labour migration opportunities, strengthen national governments' ability to recruit, vet, and support workers, increase awareness of workers' rights, and bring more…

The Government of Canada has reached a tentative agreement with the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) after 155,000 public servants, including the union workers of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), decided to strike. Union members started the strike on April 19, 2023, and ended on May 1, 2023, at 9 AM Eastern Time. According to the article, PSAC has…

The COVID-19 pandemic dealt a heavy blow to Alberta's tourism and hospitality sector, which still grapples with labour shortages hindering industry recovery and growth. To aid employers in the industry, the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program is working on creating a specialized immigration stream for tourism and hospitality workers. This new stream is intended to offer a faster path to permanent…

On April 26, 2023, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) issued 3,500 Invitations to Apply (ITA) to candidates under Express Entry. In this draw, IRCC continued inviting candidates under all immigration programs. In round #247, the cut-off score was 483 points, three points fewer than in the previous all-program draw. The tie-breaking rule for this round was April 22, 2023,…

A record number of Invitations to Apply (ITAs) were issued in the first quarter of 2023, making it the third-highest number to be issued in a three-month period since Express Entry was introduced. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) issued 37,559 invitations, including the three largest all-program draws in history, each inviting approximately 7,000 applicants. The number of invitations issued…

In a recent announcement, Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), provided an update on the ongoing IRCC strike. He emphasized that this strike would severely impact processing times and cause setbacks in dealing with backlogs. The strike will affect many services, including citizenship events, consular passport and citizenship services, access to information and privacy (ATIP), applications…

On April 17, 2023, the Government of Manitoba held the 13th draw for Ukrainian candidates. In this draw, the province invited 28 candidates through the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP). To be eligible, applicants must be Ukrainian citizens, have a minimum of CLB 4 in each language band, have connections to the province (close relative, community ties, previous employment, or…

On April 11, 2023, British Columbia issued new invitations in the Skilled Worker – International Graduate categories of the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BCPNP). In the Tech-targeted draw, BC issued 99 invitations with a minimum score of 85 points. In the Childcare-targeted draw for early childhood educators (NOC 42202), the province invited 25 candidates who scored 60 points. In…

According to the data provided by Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), 19,160 invitations to apply (ITAs) were granted to the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) candidates in 2022. Last year, IRCC issued a total of 37,315 ITAs, with 51% going to PNP candidates. An ITA allows applicants to submit their permanent residency application to IRCC. The number of ITAs issued…

On April 4, 2023, the Government of British Columbia issued new invitations under the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BCPNP) and invited qualified Skills Immigration candidates. In the general draw, the province invited 152 candidates. The minimum score for candidates invited in this draw was 85-106 points. The province issued 17 ITAs to candidates under the childcare-targeted draw for early…