ABIC Immigration

IRCC 2025August19
Latest Round:
Healthcare and social services occupations (Version 2)
CRS score of lowest-ranked candidate invited: 470
Number of invitations issued: 2,500
Rank needed: 2,500 or above

Canada announces 2025 Express Entry category-based draws, plans for more in-Canada draws

News release
February 27, 2025—Ottawa—Immigration is essential to supporting Canada’s economic growth. As labour requirements in key sectors continue to evolve, it’s important that Canada’s immigration system is nimble and responsive to our country’s needs.

Today, the Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship announced the 2025 Express Entry categories, which include a new education category, to align the selection of federal economic immigrants with Canada’s long-term labour shortages.

For 2025, the focus of the federal economic class draws will be to invite candidates with experience working in Canada (Canadian Experience Class) to apply for permanent residence.

Additionally, to meet Francophone immigration targets and meet the acute needs in health, trades and education, IRCC will conduct category-based invitation rounds in the following categories:

strong French language skills, or

work experience in the following fields:

health care and social services, such as family physicians, nurse practitioners, dentists, pharmacists, psychologists and chiropractors
trades, such as carpenters, plumbers and contractors
education, such as teachers, child care educators and instructors of persons with disabilities。

As Canada makes adjustments to achieve well-managed, sustainable growth and economic prosperity for the long term, IRCC continues to focus economic immigrant selection efforts on priority sectors, such as health care, construction and education. This allows us to issue invitations to apply to prospective permanent residents who have specific skills, training or language abilities in order to bring those in-demand professionals to Canada.

Strengthening temporary residence programs for sustainable volumes from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

September 18, 2024—Ottawa

IRCC:

announcing a further reduction in the intake cap on international student study permits for 2025 based on a 10% reduction from the 2024 target of 485,000 new study permits issued, and then stabilizing the intake cap for 2026 such that the number of study permits issued remains the same as 2025

For 2025, this means reducing study permits issued to 437,000

updating the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program this fall to better align with immigration goals and labour market needs

limiting work permit eligibility, later this year, to spouses of master’s degree students to only those whose program is at least 16 months in duration

limiting work permit eligibility later this year to spouses of foreign workers in management or professional occupations or in sectors with labour shortages—under Canada’s work permit programs (TFWP and IMP)

Quick facts

The proposed reduction of temporary residents from 6.5% of Canada’s total population to 5% will be reflected in the 2025–2027 Immigration Levels Plan, which will be released by November 1, 2024.

Graduates from programs at public colleges will remain eligible for a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) of up to three years if they graduate from a field of study linked to occupations in long-term shortage.

As part of changes to the PGWP Program, all applicants will be required to demonstrate a minimum language proficiency in French or English. This will increase their ability to transition to permanent residence and adapt to changing economic conditions. A Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level 7 for university graduates and CLB 5 for college graduates will be required for anyone applying for a post-graduation work permit on or after November 1, 2024.

The 2025–2026 study permit intake cap will include master’s and doctoral students who will now have to submit a provincial or territorial attestation letter. We will be reserving approximately 12% of allocation spaces for these students in recognition of the benefits they bring to the Canadian labour market.

On January 1, 2024, the cost-of-living requirement for study permit applicants was updated to better reflect the true cost of living in Canada and help prevent student vulnerability and exploitation.

Budget 2024 proposes $743.5 million over 5 years, starting in 2024–2025, and $159.5 million ongoing to support the stability and integrity of Canada’s asylum system.

Further information on the measures announced today will be available on our website in the near future.

Ottawa, September 8, 2023
Parents and Grandparents Program re-opens this fall

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will continue to reunite families by accepting up to 15,000 complete applications for sponsorship under the Parents and Grandparents Program this year. On October 10, 2023, IRCC will begin sending invitations to apply to 24,200 interested potential sponsors, aiming to receive up to 15,000 complete applications. Invitations will be sent over the course of 2 weeks.

Due to the number of forms remaining in the pool of submissions from 2020, IRCC will send invitations to apply to randomly selected potential sponsors from that pool instead of opening a new interest to sponsor form. This is the same approach taken for the 2021 and 2022 intakes. Anyone who submitted an interest to sponsor form in 2020, but did not receive an invitation to apply in 2021 or 2022, is encouraged to check the email account they provided in 2020 when they submitted their interest to sponsor form.

March 17, 2023 Canada announces extension of post-graduation work permits for up to 18 months to retain high-skilled talent

Foreign nationals with expired or expiring post-graduation work permits will qualify to work in Canada longer.

Starting April 6, 2023, these measures will allow PGWP holders who wish to stay longer to opt in to a facilitative process to extend their work permit and will allow Canada to retain high-skilled talent.

Foreign nationals whose PGWP has already expired in 2023 and those who were eligible for the 2022 PGWP facilitative measure will also have the opportunity to apply for an additional 18-month work permit. Those with expired work permits will be able to restore their status, even if they are beyond the 90-day restoration period, and will receive an interim work authorization while awaiting processing of their new work permit application.