Last Updated On 1 December 2023, 9:56 AM EST (Toronto Time)
We have now entered the last month of 2023, and Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is still silent on the important imminent immigration matters.
The Canadian immigration department has always been criticized for a lack of communication regarding the upcoming changes and often delayed announcements to cover the tracks.
However, the department has been lagging behind lately more than ever on imminent immigration matters and for not conducting the ‘flagship’ permanent residency rounds of invitation via the Express Entry system.
In this article, we outline six ongoing issues that Canadian immigration applicants are facing, as well as the anticipated new changes that are awaited to be announced by the end of 2023.
No Express Entry Draws Since October 26
Canada usually announces express entry draws on a biweekly basis. Occasionally, they would miss out on a draw, but now it has been 5 weeks without any rounds of invitations.
Initially, there was a technical glitch in the profile builder, which was expected to be the reason for the absence of biweekly draws, but on November 16, it was officially reported that the glitch had been resolved.
However, the immigration department again tweeted that the glitch with the profile builder continues on November 28.
The absence of Express Entry rounds of invitations has created uncertainty among the candidates who have an active profile and are awaiting the next round of invitations.
The CRS cutoff score is expected to jump to its highest level ever if there is no large-sized draw in the upcoming weeks.
New English Language Proficiency Test for Immigration and Citizenship
In February and May 2023, the department confirmed that they are expected to start accepting PTE Core English proficiency tests in late 2023 for Canadian immigration and citizenship applications.
We believe it cannot be more late in 2023 as we have entered the last month of the year, but there has been no update on the effective date for inclusion of this new English test for Canadian permanent residency programs other than “late 2023.”
Neither did the department share what the PTE score equivalency would be with the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) levels.
Currently, only IELTS and CELPIP are the two designated English tests approved for Canadian immigration.
Click here for the PTE Core equivalency chart with CLB levels as per our expectations.
The new IRCC Client Experience Platform
The Global Case Management System (GCMS), the current IT processing platform, was first created two decades ago on the basis of process flows originally meant for paper applications.
A contract for a new client experience platform, which will alter how clients engage with the department online, was awarded on July 14, 2023.
This new client experience was expected to begin rolling out to a subset of clients by the end of 2023 and eventually provide all clients with a single window for immigration programs and services.
As per the November 23 update, “transformation is underway,” and still, there is little known to immigration consultations, lawyers, and applicants as to what exactly to expect going forward.
No Update on PGWP Extension 2024
The Canadian immigration department has been providing PGWP extensions since the COVID pandemic to international graduates in Canada.
PGWP is the post-graduation work permit that is offered only once in the lifetime of an international student after completing their study in Canada.
However, it has been extended for existing PGWP holders 3 times now because of limited permanent residency prospects for them and also to help Canadian employers have access to workforce.
International graduates on PGWPs are now uncertain whether they will get another extension for 2024 or not.
There is still no official communication from the immigration minister or the department on whether they will provide another extension or not.
No update on full-time work policy for International Students
International students and an advocacy organization are pushing the Canadian government not to reinstate the 20-hour per week ban on full-time employment.
The existing interim arrangement that allows international students to work full-time will be phased out on December 31, 2023.
Tens of thousands of Canadian students are waiting for a decision on the 20-hour work limit.
There is no update from IRCC other than the department’s spokesperson saying, “The program is currently under review, and decisions to extend or expand will be communicated publicly.”
Express Entry Category-Based Selection Criteria For 2024
IRCC is yet to open 2023–2024 consultations for determining Express Entry categories through category-based selection next year.
2022-2023 consultations were opened between November 29, 2022, and January 16, 2023.
A website page with information on enhancements being considered was made public, which linked to an online questionnaire.
With last year’s consultations opening between November 2022 and January 2023, IRCC was eventually able to announce actual category-based selection criteria on May 31, 2023.
The first category-based round of invitations was not announced until June 28, 2023.
So this is also going past the due date for IRCC if they would like to follow the same consultation process in determining the new categories or even keeping the same categories.
Summarizing the IRCC matters listed above
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