Canadian Immigration Department resumes lottery for Express Entry programs due to pandemic

　　China Overseas Chinese Network, July 8th According to a comprehensive report by Canada's "Sing Tao Daily", after the Canadian federal immigration department temporarily suspended services due to the epidemic and travel restrictions, on Wednesday (6th), it re-opened all documents under the Express Entry system. Programs are subject to lottery, a system used to select economic immigrants.

　　Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced that it will reopen the Express Entry (EE) draw for eligible candidates starting Wednesday, July 6.

　　The Canadian Experience Class (CEC) draw has been on hold since September 2021, while the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) and Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) have also been on hold since December 2020.

　　Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said in a social media post that newcomers continue to play a key role in the success of Canada's economy and the government looks forward to reviving this important program.

He has said the immigration department will extend work permits for those affected by the experience-based immigration lottery, but applications for extensions have never been opened.

　　Fraser only posted on social media on June 24 that the work permit had expired, or that the application for an extension to expire between September 20, 2021, and December 31, 2022.

　　The decision to redraw the lottery comes as Canada faces a labour shortage with a backlog of 2.4 million immigration applications.

　　Rick Lamanna, director of immigration services agency Fragomen Canada, said in an interview with CTV that applicants have been waiting a long time, so the resumption of the lottery would be welcome, especially for federal skilled workers and Canadian experience applicants.

　　Many Canadian employers rely on the Express Entry immigration program launched in 2015 to attract highly skilled foreign workers by obtaining permanent residency (PR).

　　Programs under Express Entry include the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP), the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and the Partial Provincial Nominee Program (PNP).

　　Of all economic immigration programs, employers rely the most on the global flow of talent, but with Express Entry programs like the Skilled Worker and Experience categories on hold, many employers are struggling to fill vacancies, according to a recent Business Council of Canada survey.

　　Four-fifths of respondents said they were experiencing labor shortages; immigration processing delays were the biggest barrier to hiring for two-thirds of employers.

　　Prior to the planned suspension, the Department of Immigration invited more than 27,000 economic immigrants to apply for the experience category on February 13, 2021, in the largest draw in the Express Entry system's history.

　　Invitation to Apply (ITA) is issued to those with a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score as low as 75 (the lowest ever).

The composite ranking is a points-based system where eligible candidates are awarded points based on factors such as age, education level, language skills and work experience.

　　In September 2021, the skilled worker and experience category draws came to a halt, with the Provincial Nominee Program being the focal point of all draws, leaving other Express Entry applicants in a bind.

　　The Department of Immigration said that part of the purpose of the fast-track system was to reduce or suspend application invitations to manage the growing inventory, and when the application invitations resumed, the department expected to process the inventory, which will be reduced to within the six-month service standard. new application.

　　When looking at the backlog, Ramana said, the longer it took applicants to gain permanent residency, the more applications they had to submit in order to stay on track.

　　Since January 8, 2020, the Provincial Nominee Program has accounted for 52% of Express Entry draws, and the Experience category has accounted for only 29%.

　　The Department of Immigration said the government had committed $2.1 billion over five years, and announced in Budget 2022 that it would continue to provide more than $300 million in new funding.

With an $85 million grant in 2021, the Department of Immigration aims to reduce the application backlog built up during the pandemic by hiring processing staff, digitizing applications and using technology-based solutions.