By Catherine Sas, K.C.
Special to The Post

In my 30+ years as an immigration lawyer, there is no single year that I can recall that has heralded the unprecedented level of change to Canada’s immigration program as 2024! Virtually every aspect of Canada’s economic immigration program has been altered and in many cases dramatically. Economic immigrants are what drive Canada’s immigration program: international students, workers, business immigrants, Express Entry and PNP applicants for permanent residence, are what form the majority of Canada’s immigration program (60-65% annually). But the rules of the game have changed and it is incumbent on aspiring immigrants to be not only aware of the changes but also to adapt to be able to achieve their desired immigration outcome.

Just to put things in perspective, here is a list of the major changes that were introduced in 2024:

• Levels announcements - for both permanent and temporary - First time ever!
• Reduction in PRs by 21% and reduction to temporary by 5%
• Business program shut down in April - to end of 2026 for SE program
• Express Entry qualifying CRS scores high with an emphasis on targeted categories
• In-Canada Focus for persons in Canada - CEC + PNP
• Caps on foreign workers and international students
• Multiple changes to the student program- PGWPS, OSWPs, eligible DLIs
• No more “flagpoling” for international students
• PNP - general changes to programs, Post Graduate Program Changes
• TFW/LMIA changes - low skilled limits and restrictions for employers

These are simply bullet points to highlight the more significant of the many changes that 2024 has brought.

NOT EVERYONE WILL QUALIFY

January 1, 2025, will mark the ten-year anniversary of Canada’s Express Entry immigration selection program. At the introduction of this new program, Immigration officials made it clear that not everyone would qualify for permanent residence however it took a long time for this reality to trickle down. In previous years, international students who completed two years of study and one year of work experience in Canada were virtually guaranteed permanent residence. Many, if not most international students, expected this outcome in exchange for paying higher tuition fees.  All aspects of Canada’s immigration program are presently highly competitive, and the truth is that not everyone will qualify to become a permanent resident (PR). There is a “sweet spot” to qualify for PR - a combination of foreign education, foreign work experience, Canadian education, Canadian work experience AND language proficiency. Understand this reality and prepare accordingly!

LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY IS ESSENTIAL - IN BOTH OFFICIAL LANGUAGES

Going back more than twenty years to June 28, 2002, with the introduction of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) this new legislation made clear that language proficiency in either or both of Canada’s official languages was vital to obtain permanent residence. The stakes are even higher in today’s competitive reality. Intrepid seekers of PR should seriously contemplate studying (and becoming proficient) in BOTH English and French. Express Entry has evolved to establish preferred streams for immigration and the Francophone Mobility programs for obtaining work permits AND Canadian permanent residence is significantly enhanced for francophone applicants outside of Quebec. Fully embrace Canada’s two official languages! I am routinely struck by how individuals are content to have CLB scores of 7. (If you don’t know what a CLB score is then you are not ready to apply for PR!). In today’s competitive PR marketplace, you should be striving for CLB 10 or higher. Take language tests often - not just every two years - to be aware of where you can and should improve. If you are truly seeking to obtain Canadian PR, do not speak your native language in Canada while working or studying. Fully immerse yourself in Canada’s two office languages to enhance your chances of achieving your immigration goals.

EMBRACE BUSINESS IMMIGRATION ALTERNATIVES

The prospects for prospective business immigrants have been bleak for over ten years with the suspension (2012) and then cancellation (2014) of our Entrepreneur and Investor programs for aspiring business immigrants. In 2013 a new pilot program for business immigration, the Start Up Visa (SUV) category was introduced essentially as a replacement for these previous streams. While the SUV category was slow to take off, it started to pick up steam in 2018 and was made a permanent program in the spring of that year. Then COVID-19 created a perfect storm where government officers were working extremely reduced hours, but eager business immigrants filed applications unabated. Fast forward to today and IRCC has a backlog of 15,000+ business applications comprised of both SUV and Self-Employed (SE) applicants. To contend with this oversupply of prospective business immigrants, in April 2024, Canada’s Immigration Minister, Marc Miller, drastically limited the SUV program and froze the SE program until the end of 2026. There are presently very limited options for business immigrants and working with experienced immigration professionals is key to learning the best way to navigate a business application such as provincial and territorial PNP Entrepreneur options.

PREPARE A LONG TERM STRATEGY

Canada’s Express Entry program has emphasized both Canadian work experience and language proficiency in either or both of Canada’s two official languages - English and French. Given the challenges of securing Canadian employment from abroad, many seeking PR came to Canada as international students knowing that upon graduation from an eligible Canadian school, they would obtain a post-graduate work permit (PGWP) of 1 to 3 years duration enabling them to acquire that essential Canadian work experience. Pre-COVID, the combination of studies and working in Canada provided an opportunity to apply for PR within 5 years or so. That is no longer the case. Merely having a college diploma or bachelor’s degree will not lead to PR. Also, an applicant can only garner ONE PGWP so obtaining your initial Canadian degree and returning to your home country to obtain 2-3 years of work experience is to be recommended. Return to Canada for a graduate education and THEN apply for your PGWP. It is a completely different way of thinking with a much longer timeline of 10/12+ years in order to qualify for PR. Recognize this new reality.

In the mid-19th century, English scientist Charles Darwin studied animal life on the Galápagos Islands and came up with a remarkable observation - in the animal kingdom only the strongest survive. Darwin’s theory of “survival of the fittest” is equally applicable to Canada’s current immigration program.  Simply put, those who adapt to the harshness of Canada’s immigration “elements” are most likely to succeed.

It has been our practice as immigration lawyers for many years to endeavour to write two articles a month which are published locally in multicultural press. We then post these pieces on our firm website as “blogs”. This year we will have written 23 such articles/blogs: 16 of which are on topics of change to Canada’s immigration program! The Canadian immigration world has been turned inside-out and for an aspiring immigrant - either permanent or temporary - it is necessary to grapple with this new world order. In the spirit of Darwinian theory - only the strongest and those who adapt - will survive to achieve their Canadian immigration goals.

For a complete list of Sas and Ing blogs about changes to Canada's immigration program for 2024, please refer here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/10ZQ-MFuFQLyNykgnUnAxqCZyw7W-7nPW/view?usp=sharing