New Delhi: Continuing with its attempts to curb illegal or fake immigration, Canada Monday announced that people who hold job offers would no longer have an advantage when applying for permanent residence through its Express Entry programme.
“We are taking important steps to reduce fraud while continuing to attract the skilled talent our economy needs. Immigration has always been a cornerstone of Canada’s success, and we remain committed to welcoming the best and brightest to Canada so that everyone has access to the quality jobs, homes and supports they need to thrive,” Marc Miller, the Canadian minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship, said in a media statement.
Under the current system, applicants who have received a job offer from a Canadian employer with a labour market impact assessment (LMIA)—a document which indicates that there are no current Canadian workers or permanent residents available to do the job—gains extra points as part of the comprehensive ranking system (CRS). This, in turn, increases their chances of being invited to apply for permanent residence in Canada.
These curbs were first announced by Miller on 17 December as part of Canada’s new policies to strengthen border security, especially to prevent and disrupt the fentanyl trade—a demand of US President-elect Donald Trump. Trump has threatened Ottawa with 25 percent tariffs if it does not stop the flow of undocumented migrants into the United States and if it does not disrupt the flow of fentanyl—an opioid that has led to public health emergencies across the country.
According to Canadian media reports, employers along with immigration agents illegally sell LMIA-approved jobs at extremely high rates between C$10,000 and C$70,000 to foreigners or those already in Canada looking to become permanent residents. A job offer could improve an applicant’s chances by raising their score by anywhere from 50 to 200 points, according to the Financial Post.
A government-commissioned report viewed by Bloomberg indicated that some candidates were even charged up to C$180,000 for job offers.
However, with the changes announced Monday, these extra points will be eliminated, which means the criteria for being invited to apply by the Canadian government for express entry into the country would include age, language skills in English and French, education level, work experience and other factors under the CRS.
The higher an applicant scores out of 1200, the greater the likelihood of them becoming permanent residents in Canada.
The express entry system is Canada’s flagship pathway for permanent residency through the federal skilled worker programme, the federal skilled trades programme, the Canadian experience class and a portion of the provincial nominee programme.
“This temporary measure will reduce fraud by removing the incentive to illegally buy or sell labour market impact assessments to improve a candidate’s chances of being selected to come to Canada as a permanent resident. This change will come into effect in spring 2025,” said the statement released by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
The statement by IRCC added: “Once they take effect, the changes will impact candidates pursuing permanent residence through the Express Entry system, including those currently working in Canada temporarily. The changes will not affect candidates who have already been invited to apply or who have an application in progress.”
Curbs on ‘flagpoling’
Another change in Canadian immigration services, which came into effect Monday, is the elimination of the process of “flagpoling” for work and study permits at the Canadian border.
Flagpoling is the legal practice under which temporary residents of Canada leave the country and immediately re-enter it to avail same-day immigration services.
The Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA) will no longer provide work and study permits to “flagpolers” who leave the country for the US or Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and re-enter the country to access immigration services at the port of entry.
“Immigration services at the border are meant for individuals arriving in Canada, not for those already in Canada. Applications and renewals for work or study permits need to be submitted through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC),” the CBSA said in a statement.
Between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024, a total of 69,300 “flagpolers” were processed by the CBSA across Canada, with most of the requests occurring in the Pacific, Southern Ontario and Quebec regions.
Trudeau’s immigration woes
The recent raft of changes in the Canadian immigration system comes after the loosening of restrictions in 2022 as part of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s vision to open the borders of the country to foreigners post the Covid-19 pandemic.
The population growth has had an impact on infrastructure costs in Canada, leading to a housing crisis due to record levels of population growth post the pandemic.
According to Statistics Canada, the country saw its population grow by 1.27 million people in 2023, a growth of 3.2 percent, its highest annual growth rate since 1957. The boom was due to a number of temporary workers and students being allowed into the country.
Over 8,00,000 residents of Canada were non-permanent in 2023, primarily because of their status as temporary workers and students. In January 2024, the IRCC announced curbs on a number of student visas, announcing that only 3,60,000 students would be allowed in, a 35 percent decrease from 2023 numbers.
In August 2024, Ottawa introduced curbs to the temporary foreign workers programme and in October, it reduced its goals for the number of permanent residents over the next three years. For 2025 and 2026, the revised goals are 3,95,000 and 3,80,000 respectively, while for 2027, it will fall further to 3,65,000.
(Edited by Radifah Kabir)
Excellent news indeed.
With each such step from Canada, the Khalistanis will find it tougher to migrate to Canada.
All along, the Khalistanis have been abusing the system eventually ending up with Canadian citizenship.
Also, India must cancel all OCI and PIO cards and associated privileges for anyone suspected by the security agencies to be involved in Khalistani activities.