Express Entry and Provincial Nominee Program admission targets to rise over the next three years
The latest Immigration Levels Plan 2024-2026, announced on November 1 by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), shows a consistent growth in admissions targets in Canada’s two major economic immigration channels.
This plan is produced annually and describes how many permanent residents Canada intends to admit over the next three years across all immigration categories: economic, family, and refugee/humanitarian.
In this year’s plan, IRCC reiterated that economic immigration programs will continue to spearhead Canada’s permanent resident development initiatives. Express Entry and Canada’s 11* Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) will lead this push.
*PNPs are accessible in every Canadian province and territory, with the exception of Quebec and Nunavut.
From 2024 to 2026, which program will be in charge of permanent resident admissions?
When Canada issued its 2023-2025 Immigration Levels Plan in November 2022, it was reported that PNP immigration targets had surpassed Express Entry targets as Canada’s primary economic immigration option.
Last year, PNPs around the country “invited a total of 83,500 new permanent residents (PRs) to Canada.” According to the 2023-2025 Immigration Levels Plan, IRCC’s PNP objective is expected to rise to 105,000 in 2023. Then, for 2024 and 2025, the targets were established at 110,000 and 117,500, respectively.
According to the most recent Immigration Levels Plan (2024-2026) published by IRCC, Express Entry is poised to recover the top spot among economic immigration paths in Canada, albeit this is only projected in 2024. Current admissions targets place Canada’s PNPs at the top of all economic immigration streams in the country for 2025 and 2026.
Note: Although immigration targets may alter over time, this article refers to data presented when the 2024-2026 ILP was first released.
Breaking down the Express Entry and PNP targets from the 2024-2026 Immigration Levels Plan
According to the 2024-2026 Immigration Levels Plan, the following are the admissions targets for Canada under Express Entry and the country’s PNPs:
2024
Express Entry (Federal High Skilled): 110,770
PNPs: 110,000
2025
PNPs: 120,000
Express Entry (Federal High Skilled): 117,500
2026
PNPs: 120,000
Express Entry (Federal High Skilled): 117,500
What exactly are the Express Entry and Provincial Nominee Programs?
The following is a brief overview of two of Canada’s most popular economic immigration routes.
Express Entry
The Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP), and the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) are the three economic-class immigration programs used by Canada’s federal government to jointly manage immigration applications for permanent residents.
As of late June 2023, Canada has two types of Express Entry draws: “standard” and category-based draws.
“Standard” Express Entry draws, which are primarily concerned with ranking candidates based on their Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score, issue an Invitation To Apply (ITA) for Canadian permanent residency at each draw. Candidates will be sent an ITA if their CRS score is higher than the cut-off score for that round of invites.
It should be noted that an ITA is the sole route for a Canadian immigration candidate to apply for permanent residency in the United States.
Furthermore, on June 28 of this year, IRCC began conducting category-based draws to help bring more immigration candidates with specific job experience or proficiencies to Canada, allowing the country to better address specific labour market concerns.
Here are the six categories prioritized by IRCC for category-based draws in 2023:
· French-language proficiency
· Healthcare industry work experience
· Work experience in STEM professions
· Work experience in Trade occupations
· Work experience in Transport occupations
· Agriculture and Agri-Food industry work experience
PNPs
PNPs allow provincial and territory governments to pick certain immigration candidates they believe will best help their region handle specific local labour market and economic concerns.
In other words, PNPs around Canada help to disseminate the economic, social, and cultural benefits of immigration throughout the country in the hope of increasing immigration to areas of Canada other than Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal.
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