WHAT'S SO GOOD ABOUT A CANADIAN PASSPORT, ANYWAY?!

We often hear extremely good, even seemingly unrealistic stories about Canada- the giant floating duck, the colorful money, the fact that their money smells like maple syrup... But have you heard that you can travel to 97 different countries if you own a Canadian passport?

That's right. If you are a Canadian citizen and have a Canadian passport, you can travel to 97 other countries without having a visa.

• In a list that represents 116 countries, a quarterly report by Henley & Partners placed Canada at number 8 of 26 groups holding the most powerful passports in the world. According to Henley & Partners, Canada had a visa-free score of 184 in the fourth quarter of this year.
• Canada is regularly featured among countries with the world’s most powerful passports. Visa-free access is often considered a measurement of a country's freedom.

🍁 If you are thinking "well, I'm not even in Canada, so this doesn't benefit me.", don't worry! Getting there starts with becoming a permanent resident first, and there are over 8- ways of doing so (and eventually a citizen). While this can be a complex process, if expertly handled, it is way less stressful.

What's Happening in Immigration?

In the world of immigration, there are many things that can affect existing policies. This may work both in and out of, your favor. Well- we have good news! A recent change is expected to speed up some processing for immigrants looking to migrate to Canada.

As you may be aware by now, the pandemic has caused some delays in processing applications, with some candidates waiting over 20 months for their permanent residence applications to be finalized by the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

IRCC has recently announced it will be processing majority of new Express Entry applications within six months.

📝 This is expected to take effect once IRCC resumes Express Entry invitations to the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), Canadian Experience Class (CEC), and Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) candidates in early July.

📝 If this materializes, we will see Express Entry going back to being one of the quickest ways skilled workers get to migrate to Canada permanently.

Now, for some updates on recent draws:

Quebec

On March 10, Quebec's immigration ministry released details of their sixth immigration draw held this year, and they are as follows:

🍁 The Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration (MIFI) invited 506 individuals to apply for permanent selection through the Arrima draw.

🍁 Candidates had to have a valid job offer outside of the Montreal Metropolitan area or they had to have a score equal to or higher than 577 points.

British Columbia

British Columbia's PNP invited 184 applicants for Permanent Residency (PR) on May 17, 2022, under 5 different categories. This also included Tech occupations.

Invitations went to the following categories:

✅ Skilled Worker (includes EEBC option)

✅ International Graduate

✅ International Graduate (includes EEBC option)

✅ Entry Level and Semi-Skilled

✅ Skilled Worker, International Graduate (includes EEBC option)

✅ Skilled Worker, International Graduate, Entry Level, and Semi-Skilled (includes EEBC option)

Among these categories, the province targeted occupations such as "Tech", "Childcare: Early childhood educators and assistants (NOC 4214)", "Healthcare" and "Healthcare assistants (NOC 3413) ". Refer to their site for the complete list!

About Kay Wilson

Kay is a Canadian Immigration Consultant and Foreign Worker Recruiter who helps people from over 30 different countries live, work, and study in Canada. She is a licensed member in good standing with the College of Citizenship and Immigration Consultants (CICC) and the Canadian Association of Professional Immigration Consultants.

Find out your options for moving to Canada and the best route possible for you by completing our pre-assessment. Schedule a one of one virtual consultation meeting with Kay for personalized guidance and support with your immigration process.