Minister of Immigration

IRCC has unveiled major changes today as it seeks to be more transparent with its clients.

On March 31, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser announced major updates to the government’s online processing times tool.

In the coming years, Canada is on track to welcome the highest numbers of newcomers ever. In 2022, IRCC made more than five million final decisions on applications across all lines of business, double the number of decisions in 2021.

Canada's Immigration Minister, Marc Miller, has approved Manitoba's request to extend work permits for certain Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) candidates. These candidates, mainly Post Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) holders, have work permits expiring in 2024 and are applying for the Manitoba Skilled Worker Program.

Fraser highlighted how Canada is working to improve services at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) by:

Canada is creating a new fast-track immigration program for temporary foreign workers and international students.

Immigration minister Sean Fraser said that temporarily extending work permits to family members of principal applicants in the temporary foreign worker program (TFWP) and International Mobility Program (IMP). This measure will help Canada combat chronic labour shortages

Monte McNaughton talks about his hopes for the future of Ontario immigration.

“When I travelled Ontario, it wasn’t election signs that I was seeing but it was help wanted signs in small business across our province,” McNaughton said, alluding to the recent provincial elections that saw his Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario win a second consecutive majority government. “It’s important the federal government works with us to really be laser-focused on filling labour shortages.”

During the processing of a family class sponsorship application, some sponsored spouses, partners, and their dependent children, will come to Canada as temporary residents to be with their sponsor. Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced at the end of May a temporary public policy allowing these individuals to work in Canada while their application is being processed.

A recent Nanos poll shows that Canadians' support for immigration has declined, with 53% of respondents preferring lower immigration levels than the 2023 target of 465,000 permanent residents. This shift is a stark contrast to the high support seen in a 2022 Environics poll, where 70% expressed support for current immigration levels.

As part of today’s press conference, Minister Miller also made two Post Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) related announcements.

Minister Fraser said to the immigration committee of the parliament that IRCC will aim to return processing times to their standard for the majority of business lines by the end of the calendar year. He said that all processing standards are expected to return to normal by 2023.

Sean Fraser said the biggest change since becoming Canada’s immigration minister has been managing his time as a politician as well as a family man.

Immigration Minister Sean Fraser was given a 120-day deadline to introduce a plan to expand permanent residence pathways for international students and temporary foreign workers.

IRCC recently showcased its plans for updating application management systems to help with processing times and client communication. Find a recap of IRCC’s plans below.

In 2023 Canada introduced temporary changes for Iranian visitors who do not want to return to their country. The main announcement was in March 01, 2023 which authorizes the Iranian visitors to apply for work or study permit from inside Canada without paying any government processing fee. In addition, the minister due to current high rising inflation in Iran did authorized Iranian students to change their study permit to work permit to ease the financial support pressure from Iran.

Today, Mark Miller, Canada's Minister of Immigration, announced new restrictions for the admission of international students:

Bill C-19 is currently in consideration with the Senate. If passed, it will give the minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) the authority to invite Express Entry candidates by occupation, language ability, intended destination, or any other group that supports Canada’s economic goals.

Canada’s aging population is set to benefit Canadian-born and immigrant workers alike.

Canada is enjoying its lowest unemployment rate ever.

On the surface, this may seem strange given the coronavirus pandemic.

The next month will hold announcements for the Parents and Grandparents Program, Immigration Levels Plan 2023-2025, Statistics Canada census data and more.

Service standards and processing times: IRCC has different service standard goal that vary depending on the type of application.