Temporary Public Policy to Facilitate Permanent Residence to Certain Foreign Nationals Affected by the Conflict in Sudan with Family in Canada Effective Tuesday, February 27th at 10:00 AM EST, the new Sudanese Permanent Residence pathway will be going live in the Permanent Residence portal. This family-based humanitarian pathway was announced on April 5, 2023, and supports Sudanese and non-Sudanese nationals who [...]

Alberta pauses processing for Alberta Opportunity Stream applications; New Stream for In-demand Tourism and Hospitality Sector As of February 15, the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) has temporarily paused processing applications for the Alberta Opportunity Stream until further notice. The AAIP says the pause will give the province time to “address its current inventory and focus its limited immigration [...]

Changes to Agri-Food Pilot The Agri-Food Pilot provides a pathway to permanent residence for experienced, non-seasonal workers in specific industries and with specific occupations in the agri-food sector that have a labour shortage. Agricultural employers participating in the pilot will be eligible for a 2-year Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). While waiting for a final decision of [...]

  IRCC sets cap on the number of study permit applications it will consider in 2024 Following Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC’s) announcement on the 22nd of January, the department has also set a cap on the number of study permit applications it will consider in 2024. Furthermore, according to ministerial instructions released by IRCC (see Canada [...]

IRCC now accepting Pearson Test of English for Canadian immigration As of January 30th, 2024, the Pearson Test of English (PTE) Core test will now be accepted for all immigration pathways, except for the Student Direct Stream (SDS). Beginning 'late 2023', the PTE will be accepted as a Designated language. This means that Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) candidates, candidates [...]

Express Entry: IRCC invites 7,000 Express Entry candidates in category-based draw for French Language Proficiency On February 1, 2024, Immigration Refugees and Citizenship (IRCC) conducted Express Entry Draw #282, inviting 7000 candidates in category-based  selection draw for candidates with French language proficiency. Invitations were sent to candidates with a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 365, the [...]

Landmark Citizenship Ruling - Canada will not appeal decision that strikes down first generation limit to Canadian citizenship by descent  On January 22, 2024, The Canadian Federal Government announced that it will not challenge a court ruling that struck down a portion of the Citizenship Act which prevented children born abroad to Canadian parents from [...]

Canada to stabilize growth and decrease number of new international student permits issued to approximately 360,000 for 2024 On January 22, 2024, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced that it will set an intake cap on international student permit applications to stabilize new growth for a period of two years. For 2024, the cap [...]

Facilitative Measures to Support Israeli and Palestinian Nationals in Canada Foreign national family members of Canadian citizens or permanent residents who arrived on or after October 7, 2023 will benefit from priority processing for their in-Canada applications for study permits and open work permits. This is to ensure a reduced wait time between arriving, applying [...]