“The launch of the Hong Kong immigration pathway is a historic initiative that will attract young, talented and experienced graduates who will help to drive Canada’s economy forward. With flexible open work permits and a fast-track to permanent residency, skilled Hong Kong residents will have a unique opportunity to develop their careers and help accelerate…
Canada’s Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino appeared on Canadian talk show the Agenda to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on Canada’s immigration system as well as the economy, and the IRCC’s plan for recovery. Canada on track to welcome more newcomers than ever More growth is on the horizon for Canadian immigration, according to Canada’s Immigration…
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that immigration will remain a top priority and a central component of Canada’s COVID-19 recovery plan. In a new mandate letter presented to Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino, Trudeau outlines the priorities for the department and fleshes out what the future of Canadian immigration looks like over the next…
Effective Jan. 7, all travellers to Canada will require the results of a negative COVID-19 test, taken within 72 hours from their departure. The Dec. 31 Transport Canada news release clarifies that the test results must be a COVID-19 molecular polymerase chain reaction (or PCR) test. The rule will come into force on Jan. 7…
Between March 31 and Nov. 12, Canada had 6.5 million arrivals. Of those, approximately 5 million were exempt from the mandatory 14-day isolation requirement. In late March of this year, Canada put in place travel restrictions. These restrictions forbid any non-essential travel to Canada. Essential workers, some students, and only some classes of new permanent…
Effective December 14, refugee claimants working as frontline healthcare workers in Canada will be able to submit applications for residency. The temporary program, initially unveiled in August, will be effective from December 14, 2020, to August 31, 2021. It allows frontline healthcare workers, with either pending or failed refugee claims, to apply for Canadian permanent…
The Canadian international travel restrictions have been in place since March in an effort to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The government of Canada has chosen to extend the ban on recreational travel to Canada until at least Jan. 21, 2021. The decision to extend the current restrictions are made monthly by government…
After eight months of waiting, IRCC is resuming Canadian citizenship tests and for the first time ever, they will be conducting them online. After facing indefinite delays for citizenship tests to resume, IRCC is launching a new platform to deliver the test online. Online Canadian citizenship tests The Nov. 26 IRCC announcement will be welcome…
The Visa Application Centres (VACs) will be open for one year, effective today, and will only offer biometric collection services for Canadian visas. According to the IRCC news release on Nov. 23, the new VACs are located on the Westcoast in Seattle, Washington and San Francisco, California. Like the recent announcement of VACs reopening in…
As COVID-19 cases in both countries are on the rise, the Canada-U.S. border will remain closed for another month. CTV News is reporting that the current travel restrictions at the Canada-U.S. border that are set to expire on Nov. 21 will be extended until at least Dec. 21. With new coronavirus cases in the U.S….
Rebecca Major
Anya Leibovitch
Adam Pinsky