IRCC updated program delivery instructions for the Yukon Community Pilot (YCP)
On June 22, 2020, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) updated the instructions for the work permit component of the Yukon Community Pilot (YCP). This program was launched in January 2020 and it is a part of the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). YCP is aimed at attracting immigrants in Yukon communities. YCP applicants will be able to get a location-specific Open Work Permit under the International Mobility Program (IMP) without requiring an LMIA if they were nominated by Yukon and possess 2 or 3 job offers from up to 3 local employers.
#Yukon, #YCP, #IRCC, #LMIA, #job_offer, #work_in_Canada, #work_permit, #OWP
IRCC considering creating a new stream to provide asylum for human rights advocates from Hong Kong
On June 18, 2020, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration convened an emergency meeting. At the meeting, MPs raised various questions about immigration policy to Minister Marco Mendicino, including a question on whether the Canadian government will set up a new immigration or refugee stream for asylum seekers from Hong Kong. Mendicino responded that the federal government is considering setting up a new stream that will provide asylum for human rights advocates from Hong Kong. Furthermore, MP Jenny Kwan raised questions to Mendicino, about among other things the long wait times for processing spousal sponsorship and parent and grandparent reunification applications. Mendicino said that the federal government is working hard to resolve the problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and studying ways to enhance the scale of processing applications.
#COVID_19, #IRCC, #Hong_Kong, #refugees #spousal_sponsorship, #parents_sponsorship, #PGP
Canada accepted fewer refugees this year due to COVID-19
The number of immigrants to Canada has gone down significantly due to the travel restrictions and the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, Canada only accepted 170 refugees in April this year compared to 3,980 in the same month last year. Canada accepted 8,555 refugees in the first quarter this year, which is 1,285 fewer than the same time period last year. In 2019, Canada granted permanent residence to 48,510 refugees and protected persons.
#Refugees, #PR, #COVID_19, #IRCC
Online education does not affect the recruitment of international students
Despite the worst forecasts, the Ontario universities and colleges report that admission offers to new students remain at the same rate as before the COVID-19 crisis. This also means that the shift to online education did not reduce the number of students. In total, 103,426 offers of admission have been confirmed, both for domestic and international students. Last year, this number was 102,289. Many of Ontario education institutions focused on domestic high school graduates. Nevertheless, travel restriction did not affect the level of international students’ interest to study in Canada. For instance, at the University of Toronto, confirmations from Ontario high-school students are down about 9%, but its international student numbers increased by nearly 20%.
#international_students, #study_in_Canada
