Weekly Digest | May 5, 2024

Key Highlights:

Recent Immigration Case Law
Parent and Grandparent Sponsorship Program
Canada’s Electric Vehicle Supply Chain Investment
Off-Campus Work for International Students
Start-up Visa and Self-Employed Persons Program
Online Processing Times Tool
RPCD Renewal/Replacement
Quebec Investors
Permanent Residence Fee Increase
Refugee Sponsorship Policy Update
Extension of Support for Sudanese Family Members
Québec Experience Program
Ontario Strengthens Jobseeker Protections
New Brunswick Internationally Educated Nurses
Alberta Voting Rights
Newfoundland and Labrador Immigration Accelerator Portal
Latest PNP Draws

Recent Case Law

Temporary Resident Permit: In Alohan, 2024 FC 659, the Federal Court dismissed the judicial review for the applicant’s rejected permanent resident (PR) application. The applicant failed to meet the continuous five-year residence requirement with a valid Temporary Resident Permit (TRP), essential for the Permit Holder Class application. His TRP renewal was submitted one day after expiry and was eventually refused, leaving him short of the required residency duration with a valid TRP. The court found the decision to refuse the PR application reasonable, as Alohan did not maintain continuous status due to the lapse in his TRP. Read more

IRCC News Updates

Parent and Grandparent Sponsorship Program: Starting May 21, 2024, IRCC will randomly invite potential sponsors who submitted an interest to sponsor form in 2020 for the 2024 intake. Over approximately two weeks, 35,700 invitations will be sent out with the aim of accepting up to 20,500 complete applications. The program remains closed and by invitation only. Read more Canada Gazette, Part I, Volume 158, Number 18: Read more

Canada’s Electric Vehicle Supply Chain Investment: In Budget 2024, Canada introduces a new 10% Electric Vehicle Supply Chain investment tax credit to boost the domestic manufacturing of electric vehicles and their components. This initiative, targeting key segments like cathode material production, battery manufacturing, and vehicle assembly, aims to reinforce Canada as a leading hub in the global EV market, promising significant job creation and investment opportunities. Read more

Off-Campus Work for International Students: Starting April 30, 2024, the temporary policy allowing international students to work more than 20 hours per week off-campus will end. From this fall, a new policy will permit students to work up to 24 hours per week. Students can still work unlimited hours during scheduled academic breaks. Read more Speaking Notes: Read more

Start-up Visa and Self-Employed Persons Program: Starting April 30, 2024, the Start-up Visa Program will limit annual applications to 10 per designated organization and offer priority processing for startups backed by Canadian investors associated with Canada’s Tech Network. Concurrently, the Self-Employed Persons Program will suspend new applications until 2026 to process existing ones, aiming to clear the four-year backlog. Read more Canada Gazette, Part I, Volume 158, Number 18: Read more Start-Up Visa PDI: Read more

Online Processing Times Tool: As of May 2, 2024, IRCC has updated its online tool to provide forward-looking processing times for various immigration applications, including Canadian Experience Class, Provincial Nominees, Federal Skilled Workers, Quebec Skilled Workers, and various family sponsorship programs. These new estimates, updated monthly, aim to give applicants more accurate and realistic timelines. Read more

Program Delivery Updates

RPCD Renewal/Replacement: Starting February 15, 2024, requests for renewing or replacing expired, lost, stolen, or damaged Refugee Protection Claimant Documents (RPCDs) can now be submitted using an IRCC web form. The corresponding instructions have been updated to reflect this expanded service availability. Read more

Quebec Investors – LMIA Exemption Codes: Effective May 1, 2024, the Temporary Workers Program includes new Quebec investors instructions, adding links and an internal “Quebec notice of intent to select template” to the LMIA exemption codes and Table of Contents on the IRCC website. These updates streamline open work permit issuance under [R204(c) – T10] in the International Mobility Program (IMP) and improve navigation by ensuring links are functional and guidance is up-to-date. Read more

Permanent Residence Fee Increase: Effective April 30, 2024, IRCC has increased fees for all permanent residence applications, including family class and spouse or common-law partner in Canada class programs. Read more Right of Permanent Residence Fee (RPRF): Read more

Temporary Public Policies

Refugee Sponsorship Policy: This policy supports refugees whose Sponsorship Agreement Holder (SAH) has been canceled. Affected applicants receive a Procedural Fairness Letter and have 90 days to secure a new sponsor. To streamline new sponsorships, the policy waives the Refugee Status Determination (RSD) document requirement for Groups of Five (G5) and Community Sponsor (CS) groups, facilitating quicker sponsorship processes. Read more

Extension of Support for Sudanese Family Members: Effective May 1, 2024, to October 27, 2024, this policy aids family members of Canadian citizens and permanent residents who fled Sudan due to conflict since April 15, 2023. Eligible individuals, who exited Sudan on or after April 15, 2023, and are outside Sudan or already in Canada, can access exemptions from fees for Temporary Resident Visas, Temporary Resident Permits, work permits, study permits, and permanent residence applications under the family class. Read more

Provincial Government News

Québec Experience Program: Starting November 23, 2024, Québec graduates aiming for permanent selection must meet new French language criteria. Eligibility requires completing a program with 75% of courses in French or three years of full-time secondary or post-secondary education in French, in Québec or abroad. Read more

Ontario Strengthens Jobseeker Protections: On May 3, 2024, Ontario announced plans to toughen penalties for employers breaking the Employment Standards Act, increasing fines and boosting penalties for repeat violations. The proposed changes also require larger employers to clearly state job vacancies in ads and respond to interviewed candidates, a first in Canada. Read more

New Brunswick Internationally Educated Nurses: Health Minister Bruce Fitch acknowledged the arrival of internationally educated nurses, highlighting their role in strengthening the healthcare system. A focused recruitment from Belgium and Morocco brought 140 nurses, enhancing long-term care services. Since 2019, nearly 1,400 international nurses have been recruited, with supportive measures including funded assessments and an expedited licensing process for nurses from selected countries. Read more

Alberta Voting Rights: Minister of Municipal Affairs Ric McIver reaffirmed that only Canadian citizens could vote in civic elections, following Calgary City Council’s motion to extend voting rights to permanent residents. He emphasized that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and Alberta’s Local Authorities Elections Act both restrict this right to Canadian citizens. Read more

Newfoundland and Labrador Immigration Accelerator Portal: The Immigration Accelerator portal, including the Provincial Nominee Program and Job Vacancy Assessment system, will be temporarily closed to new applications starting May 3, 2024. The upgraded system will reopen on May 8, 2024. Active applications will not be affected by this upgrade. There may be intermittent disruptions to applications under the Atlantic Immigration Program during this transition. Read more

Provincial Nominee Program Draws

Important Upcoming Dates

May 7, 2024: Forms for the undertaking applications (Step 1) of Quebec’s Program for Refugees Abroad (Collective Sponsorship) become available online, targeting groups of 2 to 5 individuals and organizations preparing applications. Read more

May 15, 2024: International students at private colleges with curriculum licensing agreements with public colleges will no longer be eligible for Post-Graduate Work Permits. Read more

May 20, 2024: The Canadian Architectural Certification Board (CACB) will start issuing Educational Credential Assessments (ECAs) for architects, designated by IRCC. Read more

May 20, 2024: The 30-day public consultation period for feedback on the proposed amendments to the Ministerial Relief (MR) process concludes. Canada Gazette, Part I, Volume 158, Number 16: Read more