Canada’s immigration system is witnessing some big changes to further recalibrate international students, foreign worker and permanent resident volumes. Canada has seen a sharp increase in the volume of temporary residents in recent years, driven by a rise in international students, and temporary foreign workers.
By November 1, the government of Canada will announce its newest Immigration Levels Plan for the next three years.
The first big change in Canada’s work permit rules will be the introduction of the requirement to demonstrate a minimum language proficiency in French or English. As part of changes to the Post-Graduation Work Permit 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.
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Another new Canada work permit rule to be implemented on or after November 1, 2024, will be the introduction of a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level 7 for university graduates and CLB 5 for college graduates for anyone applying for a post-graduation work permit.
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.
Over the next three years, Canada expects these changes to yield approximately 175000 fewer post-graduation work permits.
Going forward, Canada also intends to take further measures to restrict eligibility for spousal open work permits and limit work permit eligibility for spouses of students in doctoral and certain master’s programs, select professional programs, and certain pilot programs.
Over the next three years, Canada expects these changes to yield approximately 50,000 fewer work permits for the spouses of student groups.
Canada will also be limiting work permit eligibility to include only spouses of highly skilled, specialized workers such as C-suite executives, scientists, engineers, lawyers, professors and technicians, or of workers in sectors where there are key labour shortages.
However, spouses of workers in critical sectors, like health care and construction, will continue to be eligible for work permits.
Over the next three years, Canada expects these changes to yield approximately 100,000 fewer work permits for this group of spouses.
By November 1, Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship will table the annual immigration levels plan for 2025 to 2027 that will throw more light on the future of Canada’s immigration strategy.