Canadian immigration backlog reached 1.8 million

In December 2021, the immigration backlog reached 1,813,144 applications.

It is 21,208 more than it was in October.

As of December 15, 2021, there was a total backlog of 525,270 in permanent residence (PR) applications, 819,874 in temporary residence applications, 234,770 in economic, and 105,298 in family class applications.

In addition, there were 157,658 protected persons waiting for their applications to be processed, as well as 27,520 applicants waiting under Humanitarian and Compassionate grounds.

Permit Holders Class had only a backlog of 24 applications.

#Immigration_backlog, #processing_times, #PR, #TR

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/delays-across-immigration-streams-leave-many-in-limbo-in-canada-and-overseas-1.6275084#:~:text=Canada%20had%20a%20backlog%20of%20nearly%201.8%20million,toward%20reducing%20processing%20times.%20%28Sean%20Kilpatrick%2FThe%20Canadian%20Press%29

Quebec offers merit scholarships for international students

The Government of Quebec offers the Merit Scholarship program for foreign students at the university level, in technical training at the college level as well as in vocational training.

The Merit Scholarship program aims to encourage recruitment of the best international students into programs in the province,

with a good job and research prospects and allows candidates to benefit from a scholarship, from an exemption from the differential tuition fees paid by international students, and from health insurance and hospitalization coverage.

#Quebec, #scholarships, #Merit_Scholarship_Program, #international_students

https://leverageedu.com/blog/government-of-quebec-merit-scholarship/#:~:text=The%20Government%20of%20Quebec%20Merit%20Scholarship%20is%20opened,college%20level%2C%20or%20studies%20at%20the%20university%20level.

Canada introduced new instructions for Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program

On December 31, 2021, the Government of Canada introduced new instructions regarding the transition of the Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program (AIPP).

The AIPP closed on December 31, 2021, with the expiration of the pilot bilateral agreements.

However, the Ministerial Instructions (MIs) for the pilot will expire on March 5, 2022, which allow IRCC to continue to intake pilot applications until March 5, 2022, and process the applications beyond this date, as long as the complete applications were received by March 5, 2022.

As of March 6, 2022, the Government will accept PR applications under the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP).

#AIPP, #AIP, #PR, #Atlantic_Immigration

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/updates/2021-aaip-transition.html

Ottawa updated the list of programs exempted from the in-Canada mandatory electronic application requirement

On December 31, 2021, the Government of Canada updated the list of programs exempted from the in-Canada mandatory electronic application (e-application) requirement for temporary residents.

As of now, live-in caregiver applications for permanent residence (A71), start-up visa work permit applications (A75), and Guatemalan workers’ applications for non-Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) can be submitted online.

These work permit applications are no longer part of the list of exemptions.

In addition, the Government added 2 groups of applicants to the list of exemptions.

These are applicants with the following travel documents from a visa-exempt country: alien’s passport for stateless persons and other refugee travel documents for non-citizens.

#SAWP, #e_application, #online_applications, #exemptions

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/updates/2021-programs-exempt.html