Blue Bird Blog

Minister Miller to reveal strategy to improve Canada’s immigration system today

Canada’s Immigration Minister Marc Miller will announce plans to improve Canada’s immigration system today.
Note: This is a developing story. CIC News will update it following Minister Miller’s announcement at 1:15 PM Eastern Time.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has released a media advisory stating the minister will “unveil the Strategic Immigration Review report and the plan to improve Canada’s immigration system” beginning at 1:15 PM Eastern Time today.

Earlier this year, IRCC commissioned a report from former immigration Deputy Minister Neil Yeates to evaluate IRCC’s current structure and if it is effective in helping IRCC achieve its mandate. As a former Deputy Minister, Yeates was at one time the most senior civil servant in the department and knowledgeable about how IRCC is managed.

Yeates’ report contained several recommendations related to reorganizing the department to a business line-based structure, reforming the governance system, introducing a stronger system for planning, and reporting and developing a supportive culture within IRCC.

Current Deputy Minister Christiane Fox was interviewed by journalist Paul Wells about the report and said that starting in June 2023 she began to gradually make changes within the department.

She said IRCC is following some of the recommendations. For example, it is now being organized across lines of business. This means IRCC employees will be divided across the various clients that the department services and in such a way as to be more responsive to world events.

Further, a recent audit from Canada’s Office of the Auditor General (OAG) found that in 2022, IRCC’s backlog of permanent resident applications was not acceptable and made recommendations to process applications more effectively to stay within service standards.

These recommendations included reviewing service standards (the amount of time IRCC says an application should take to process) and adjusting the workload in regional offices.

Immigration Levels Plan to be released by November 1

Today's announcement is ahead of the unveiling of the Immigration Levels Plan 2024-2026.

The plan is released on or by November 1st each non-election year and outlines the number of permanent residents that Canada aims to admit over the next three years from across all lines classes and further breaks it down by program.

Minister Miller recently told the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration that he believes Canada’s high immigration targets need to be maintained. This means IRCC will likely continue to have a large workload while undergoing structural changes.

Source: cicnews.com

Canada

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Eligible newcomers can take advantage of Canada Connects—a service that provides them with a local mentor—to make their transition to life in Canada quicker and easier.

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Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Marc Miller confirmed that the new regulations have taken effect as of November 15.

Visitors no longer allowed to apply for work permits from within Canada

As of August 28, temporary residents in Canada on a visitor visa are no longer permitted to apply for a job-supported work permit from within Canada.
The temporary policy allowing visitors to apply for these work permits was introduced in August 2020 to assist some visitors in Canada who were unable to return home because of border closures related to the COVID-19 pandemic—with the further aim of aiding employers to fill key labour gaps, by allowing some visitors who met certain conditions to apply for an job-supported work permit from inside Canada.

Is it worth applying for Express Entry after you turn 35?

Prospective Canadian immigrants are sometimes discouraged from applying for Express Entry after they turn 35 years of age.
This is largely due to points lost on their Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score.
The Express Entry application management system uses the CRS to rank and order eligible Express Entry candidates based on their human capital factors before they can receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for Canadian permanent residence from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).