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BUSINESS IMMIGRATION – CANADA AND U.S. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW RIGHT NOW Canadian Immigration update 2024-2026 Immigration Levels Plan
MELISSA BABEL
B.A. (Hons) LL.B, Barrister and Solicitor Babel Immigration Law
The IRCC Immigration Levels Plan for 20242026 aims to welcome growing numbers of new permanent residents: 485,000 in 2024, 500,000 in 2025, and the same level in 2026. The plan is focused on promoting economic growth, family reunification, and responding to humanitarian crises. A notable increase are the targets for Francophone immigration outside of Quebec, which are planned to rise to 8% of economic immigrants by 2026. To qualify for the new program, Ukrainian nationals must be present in Canada with a temporary resident status and have a Canadian citizen or permanent resident family member in Canada. Starting January 1, 2024, employers are mandated to annually review wages of temporary foreign workers, to ensure alignment with prevailing wages for their occupation and region. Clarity has now been provided that employers are to review the wages offered to a foreign worker at the beginning of the foreign worker’s period of employment and subsequent reviews by January 1 of each year of employment. Canadian employers should take note of changes to the prevailing wage for a number of occupations. Prevailing wage is relevant to many employers’ who employ foreign workers under the International
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Mobility Program and the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (LMIA).
No Express Entry Draws in November 2023 There have been no draws from the Express Entry pool in the month of November. We understand that there are technical issues with the pool that are impacting IRCC’s action on issuing invitations. We are hopeful that these issues will be resolved and that we will return to regular rounds of invitation shortly. It is expected that CategoryBased selection (where IRCC invites applicants with specific occupational experience) will continue to form a significant part of the rounds of invitation under Express Entry.
Changes to the International Student Program The Canadian government is taking steps to enhance its International Student Program and protect genuine students from fraud. The measures include: 1. Starting on December 1, 2023, post-secondary Designated Learning Institutions (DLI) must verify every applicant’s letter of acceptance directly with IRCC to prevent fraud and ensure study permits are based on genuine acceptance letters.
CONNECT | 2024 ISSUE 1
