Refugee and asylum advocates are criticizing Canada’s decision to resume deportations during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Canada’s decision to resume deportations is concerning to refugee advocates because the complete details of a program to grant residency to essential workers have not been publicly released. The deportations have already started, effective Nov. 30, after a temporary…
Calls to expand the residency program to all asylum-seeking essential workers are falling on deaf ears from Quebec’s immigration minister. In August, the government unveiled a new residency program for asylum-seeking frontline healthcare workers who provide direct care to patients. The program would likely apply to approximately 1000 asylum seekers across the country but leaves…
The Canadian international travel restrictions have been in place since March in an effort to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The government of Canada has chosen to extend the ban on recreational travel to Canada until at least Jan. 21, 2021. The decision to extend the current restrictions are made monthly by government…
After eight months of waiting, IRCC is resuming Canadian citizenship tests and for the first time ever, they will be conducting them online. After facing indefinite delays for citizenship tests to resume, IRCC is launching a new platform to deliver the test online. Online Canadian citizenship tests The Nov. 26 IRCC announcement will be welcome…
As COVID-19 cases in both countries are on the rise, the Canada-U.S. border will remain closed for another month. CTV News is reporting that the current travel restrictions at the Canada-U.S. border that are set to expire on Nov. 21 will be extended until at least Dec. 21. With new coronavirus cases in the U.S….
According to a new survey by WES, interest in Canadian immigration is increasing during the global COVID-19 pandemic. World Education Services (WES) is an academic credential evaluation service. Thousands of applicants will use their services to evaluate their higher education credentials to compare to Canadian standards. Because of this, they are in a unique position…
Can Canada’s generous permanent residency programs & services survive the COVID-19 pandemic? The Canadian government has made great efforts in the face of the coronavirus pandemic to accommodate and improve immigration services for a select few. These efforts often focus on temporary workers or international students—two things that have an immediate economic benefit to Canada. …
The economy added 84,000 new Canadian jobs in October, surpassing economist’s expectations — but there are signs of an economic slowdown on the horizon. Strong gains in the education and retail sectors, as well as professional and scientific services, offset major losses in the tourism industry. Economists were expecting the creation of approximately 75,000 new…
ArriveCAN is a free application that allows travellers to Canada to securely provide their contact information and quarantine plan to the government. Effective Nov. 21, the use of this service will be mandatory for everyone entering Canada by land, air, or sea. Exceptions will be made for travellers who are unable to use the service…
On Oct. 31, Canada’s Minister of Public Safety Bill Blair announced that Canada’s international travel restrictions would be renewed until Nov. 30. Canada’s current travel restrictions The news of the extension of travel restrictions on non-essential international travel to Canada came the same day Canada unveiled it’s ambitious plan to welcome 1.2 million new Canadians…
Adam Pinsky