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Published by Programme B
Last year, Canada saw record numbers of immigrants coming into the country. The country has long had a reputation for being immigrant friendly, but recent numbers are surpassing even the high records set in recent years. In fact, over one million immigrants entered Canada last year, which surpassed the previous record from 1913.
Among the people coming included over 437,000 new permanent residents. Canada actually has a precise immigration target of 431,000 new permanent residents per year, and this is the second year in a row that it has exceeded the quota. The number has been more or less steadily rising in recent years, and 2020 was an exception because of Covid, seeing a temporary dip in numbers before going back up again in 2021.
If you’re interested in moving to Canada, you should look into talking to a LIVIN immigration consultant in Edmonton. They can help advise you on all aspects of the immigration process.
Let’s take a look at what the specific trends were last year and the direction that immigration seems to be moving in.
How do immigrants reach the necessary criteria for residence?
New immigrants are coming in for various reasons: over 200,000 of the new permanent residents last year came in through “economic-class integration programs.” These programs are intended for people with particular skills and experience that are needed by the labor market in Canada. The biggest of these is the Federal Skilled Worker Program. This program is intended for people who meet six selection criteria related to language, education, work experience, age, pre-arrangement of employment in Canada, and “adaptability,” or the likely ease with which a given candidate would be able to integrate into Canadian society.
What nationalities are the most highly represented among immigrants?
The top countries represented in Canada’s immigrant influx are the following:
- India. In 2022, 119,000 immigrants came into the country from India. The Canadian worker program is very suitable for Indian professionals as they can easily meet the necessary criteria to enter through it.
Many Indians in the IT sector and related areas are able to secure visas this way. This is particularly true in comparison to immigrating to the US, because the US’s H1-B program only includes limited numbers of entries, which increased under the Trump administration. In addition, Indians meet the English language requirements easily as English is the language of higher education in many parts of the country.
In fact, the number of Indians coming into Canada is so great that many companies are opening affiliate offices of their India-headquartered companies in Canada.
In addition, because of the large number of Indian students that manage to secure places in Canadian universities, these students are able to integrate into the Canadian workforce easily.
2. China. Almost 32,000 immigrants came to Canada for permanent residency from China in 2022. Although the circumstances for Chinese immigrants were slightly different from those of most Indians’, the patterns were similar.
Many Chinese have mentioned having already had connections in Canada, either family members or friends. Many Chinese are choosing to enter through the Family Sponsorship Program. This program applies to people who have residents that are already permanent residents of the country, so it is easy for many Chinese to utilize.
China also receives a very large number of student visas for Canada. In 2022, over 52,000 Chinese citizens received student visas to study in the country. While the percentage of students that stay to work upon graduation is not as high as it once was, there are still a fair number that remain in the country.
3. Afghanistan. The country with the third largest number of permanent residents settling in Canada is Afghanistan. Last year, there were almost 24,000 people that obtained residency from there, and the number is expected to climb to 40,000 this year.
Afghans are coming to Canada for entirely different reasons. Most are coming through Canada’s resettlement program, which is one of the largest resettlement programs in the world. There are different criteria for coming through the resettlement program. One of them is having worked for a Canadian agency or a Canadian-based non-profit in Afghanistan. Over 10,000 of the people that immigrated last year did so through meeting this criterion.
The resettlement program also allows for a certain number of people to come due to “humanitarian considerations.” Another 16,000 of the people that came through the program last year were eligible for this reason.
Conclusion
Canada has always been a very immigrant-friendly country, and these trends are continuing. While you definitely need to meet specific criteria to enter the country and obtain permanent residency, it’s certainly not impossible. Look into getting expert consultation to see what the possibilities are for you.