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IRCC to resume CEC, FSW & FST draws in July 2022 and to offer extended work permit to PGWP holders
Highlights of today’s major announcements:
- Express Entry invitations to Canadian Experience Class(CEC), Federal Skilled Worker(FSW) and Federal Skilled Trade(FST) candidates will resume in early July.
- Express Entry applications to be processed within 6 month of regular service standard.
- Candidates whose PGWP is expiring between January and December 2022 will qualify to apply an additional open work permit of up to 18 months starting this summer. IRCC will provide further details “in the weeks ahead.” IRCC notes about 95,000 PGWPs will expire in 2022, and it anticipates as many as 50,000 PGWP holders could benefit from this new open work permit policy.
- Applicants do not need to be required to remain in Canada throughout the entire time their application is being processed.
- Applicants who also apply for an open work permit while they wait for their permanent residence application to be processed will be able to get work permits that are valid until the end of 2024. This will ensure all permanent residence applications will be finalized before applicants need to apply to extend their temporary status again.
- To support family reunification, the immediate family members included in a principal applicant’s permanent residence application who are outside of Canada will be eligible to get their own open work permit.
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Increase in permanent residence fees effective April 30, 2022
Effective April 30, 2022, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is increasing fees for all permanent residence applications including economic, permit holder, family, and humanitarian classes.
In 2020, IRCC raised permanent residence fees for the first time since 2002. Back then, it was announced that fees would increase every 2 years to adjust for inflation.
The Government of Canada supports a cost-effective approach to financing government programs, where most of the costs are the responsibility of those who receive the services and benefit directly from them.
The increase is quite nominal, and it may be a stepping stone to reduce the backlogs. For more information on changes, please do not hesitate to contact us.