Canada May Resume FSWP and CEC Invitations in 2022

 logo

Cyril Zachariah
Updated on Mar 23, 2022 03:14 PM IST

Canada’s significant jump in the overall immigration numbers has been a major buzz among skilled workers, immigrants and students aspiring to settle down in the country. However, with the pandemic and Canada’s ever-changing immigration policies, the future of certain immigration programmes stay uncertain.

Canada May Resume FSWP and CEC Invitations in 2022

Latest Update: (March 23, 2022)

While significant progress has been made in a bid to reduce the backlogs of Express Entry applications, the IRCC has reported that 1.84 million applicants are yet to receive their decisions. Towards the end of February 2022, IRCC reported an inventryof 453,265 citizenship applications, wherein the same number had been 448,000 as of December 31, 2021.

An increase of 5,000 additional citizenship applicants had been recorded at the end of February, while the TR2PR programme also saw an increase of 5,400 applicants. In an email received by CIC News, a spokesperson stated that the IRCC had received the applications in between May and November 2021, however, these applications had been saved in a cloud environment, waiting to be considered in the inventory. Subsequently, the applications had been transferred to the Global Case Management System, where they were then considered one among the inventory.

Also Read:Canada's Saskatchewan Launches New Tech Immigration Programme to Support Tech Talent Pool

Similar hikes in the number of applications had also been witnessed in the paper-based PNP, the Caring for Children Programme and the Quebec Skilled Worker Programme. CIC News also reported that temporary residency visa applications were also on the rise, alongside work permits, which saw the largest increase by 14,700 between February 1 and March 17. Additionally, study and work permits along with visitor visa records were also witnessed to be on the rise.

Source:CIC News

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

March 22, 2022

As Canada continues to work towards reaching its immigration goal, several steps have been taken by the federal government to ensure that the country is able to bring in more immigrants through the different immigration plans.

An internal memo had been sent over by the IRCC to CIC News, wherein, the organisation revealed the future of the different programmes and how it aims to align the programmes for the needs of the Immigration Levels Plan 2022-24, announced earlier this year.

The memo included several different aspects of the future of the immigration programmes in Canada for prospective immigrants, which have been defined below:

  • The invitation to apply for the Federal Skilled Worker Programme (FSWP), the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and the Federal Skilled Trades Programme (FSTP) should resume operations later this year, i.e. 2022.

  • As a certainty, the pause on FSWP, CEC and FSTP application invitations will continue tillMarch 31, 2022, however, invitations to the Provincial Nominee Programme will continue.

  • The extended pause is intended to allow the IRCC to focus on the inventory backlogs. The report further added that the full length of the pause will need to be determined by IRCCs evolving priorities.

  • In March, the IRCC will be getting in touch with the Deputy Minister with a plan addressing the future of the Express Entry invitations, defining the volume and timeline that maintain the goals and objectives, including processing times, of the Immigration Levels Plan 2022-24.

  • Attributing the cause of the Express Entry application backlogs to the pandemic and Canadas 2021 objective of reaching its 401,000 immigrants in Canada target, the memo highlighted that the average application processing times at the IRCC has exceeded the 6-month service standard for the Express Entry programme.

  • The IRCC is required to cut the backlog half to meet the 6-month service standard. However, the memo also noted that the processing standard mentioned on the website continues to be displayed as 6 months.

  • The memo also noted that the IRCC acknowledges the uncertainty that candidates in the Express Entry pool face in the short term.

Also Read: Canada Recorded Around 40,000 New Permanent Residents in July

In previous reports, it has been noted Express Entry has been the most popular method of welcoming economic class immigrants in Canada. However, in a bid to delicately balance the safety of those within the country while also making decisions that can help in the economic recovery of the country, especially during a pandemic, certain decisions were made that led to the backlogs currently being witnessed in Canada.

Keeping in mind the immigration goals last year, Canada focused on in-Canada applications through the CEC and Temporary to Permanent Resident (TR2PR) programmes. Transitioning immigrants already living in Canada, especially during a pandemic when strict travel restrictions were in place, seemed to be the most effective and logical way to reach the immigration levels for the year.

With an increase in the Express Entry programmes like CEC as well as the TR2PR programme, the backlogs increased multifold, leading to the country pausing invitations to the CEC programme.

However, while the pause on the CEC and FSWP Express Entry programmes raises uncertainty among the applicant, recent IRCC data reveal that a significant dent has been created in the Express Entry backlogs. In fact, CIC predicts that the Express Entry backlog could be cut down to half by May this year.

Also Read: Canada Welcomes 35,000+ Immigrants in January 2022

CIC News reported that IRCC was able to process 4,000 immigrants from among the FSWP backlog within the past 2 weeks, a number that took 7 months to achieve in 2021. At this rate, it is expected that the Express Entry Backlogs can be reduced significantly, however, whether the pause on the FSWP and CEC invitations will be lifted or not, cannot be predicted.

On the other hand, reports suggest that just over 10,000 people are left among the CEC backlogs. CIC reported that in the past two weeks, around 2,000 people had been processed, leading experts to expect the backlog to disappear soon.

Nevertheless, while no solid response on whether CEC and FSWP draws were received, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser, stated that the pause will soon be lifted in the near term.

Source: CIC News

Get Expert Guidance on Studying in Canada Here!

You can share this post!

Admission Open 2024

Related Articles

Aug 18, 2023 04:28 PM IST

How to Apply for Masters in USA?

Aug 03, 2023 01:18 PM IST

Documents Required for TOEFL

Our Study Abroad Offerings

Related Institutes

Planning to study abroad?

Interested in Studying Overseas?

Connect with us and kickstart your learning journey for a rewarding experience!

By proceeding ahead you expressly agree to the CollegeDekhoAbroad Terms of Use & Privacy Policy.