Canadian Immigration Plan For 2016 Announced
On March 8, 2016, the Canadian government announced its 2016 goals for immigration to Canada, which significantly increase the planned number of foreign nationals to be approved for Canadian permanent residency during 2016 to 300,000. Most of the 300,000 people who will be approved for immigration to Canada through various Canadian immigration programs this year will be skilled foreign workers who can contribute to Canada’s economy.
John McCallum, the Canadian immigration minister, declared that the 2016 immigration plan “outlines a significant shift in immigration policy toward reuniting more families, building our economy and upholding Canada's humanitarian tradition to resettle refugees and offer protection to those in need.”
According to the 2016 Canadian immigration plan, 160,600 “economic immigrants” can be issued a Permanent Resident (PR) Visa to Canada through various programs designed for skilled foreign workers, such as the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP), Canadian Experience Class (CEC) Program and Provincial Nominees Program (PNP). Skilled foreign workers who meet the eligibility requirements for the FSWP, FSTP, CEC and PNP Canadian immigration programs may also be able to apply for Express Entry to Canada.
A greater emphasis has been placed on reuniting families in Canada and, therefore, the 2016 Canadian immigration plan authorizes 80,000 foreign nationals to be granted a PR Visa to Canada through the Family Class immigration category. This includes 60,000 Canadian visas for spouses, partners or dependent children and 20,000 permanent resident visas to Canada for parents and grandparents.
The new Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has also increased the number of refugees to be issued a PR Visa to Canada to 55,800 this year, with an additional 3,600 people authorized to immigrate to Canada under the Humanitarian category. As of the end of February 2016, Canada has already welcomed over 25,000 refugees fleeing the civil war in Syria and these new Canadian permanent residents are now in the early stages of starting new lives in one of the world’s most peaceful countries.
Although Canada’s government has increased the overall number of people that it hopes to grant Canadian permanent residency status to during 2016, there is a limit to the number of people who can be issued a PR Visa to Canada through each of the various Canadian immigration programs. Therefore, it is important to begin the Canadian immigration procedure as soon as possible in order to take advantage of this great opportunity now available to people around the world who want to immigrate to Canada.
If you and your family would like to live and work in Canada and want to find out which specific Canadian immigration program you are most likely to qualify for, click here!
