A summary of the most important headlines from this week
- Saskatchewan and Manitoba PNP draws invite 535 and 189 candidates respectively
- Nova Scotia holds draw inviting automotive industry workers
- Canada will now process spousal sponsorship applications faster
- Biometrics requirement no longer needed for some applicants
Manitoba invites 189 immigration candidates in latest PNP draw
The Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP) invited 189 immigration candidates to apply for a provincial nomination for permanent residence in its latest provincial draw. The province invited skilled workers and international graduates through three immigration streams: the Skilled Workers in Manitoba stream, the International Education stream and the Skilled Workers Overseas stream.
The invitations, known as Letters of Advice to Apply (LAAs), were distributed as follows:
- Skilled Workers in Manitoba - 160 LAA’s, minimum Expression of Interest (EOI) score of 464.
- Skilled Workers Overseas - 4 LAA’s, minimum EOI score of 847
- International Education stream - 25 LAA’s, no minimum score.
Nova Scotia invites workers in the automotive industry
The Nova Scotia Nominee Program (NSNP) invited automotive industry workers in its latest provincial draw. Invited candidates had Express Entry profiles with one of two primary occupations according to the National Occupational Classification (NOC): motor vehicle body repairs (NOC 7322) or automotive service technicians, truck and bus mechanics and mechanical repairers (NOC 7321).
The candidates also needed to have two years of full-time work experience in the last five years and a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) of at least five in all English language abilities. In addition, they must include proof of education with their application for provincial nomination. If the educational credential was obtained outside of Canada, then they must also include an Educational Credential Assessment.
Saskatchewan PNP invites 535 immigration candidates
The Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP) invited 535 immigration candidates to apply for a provincial nomination for permanent residence. Invitations were sent out to candidates in the Express Entry and Occupations In-Demand categories. The minimum score required for the draws was 82 for both sub-categories. In order to be selected, candidates needed to have submitted an Expression of Interest (EOI) profile with the SINP.
278 of the invitations were issued to candidates who had profiles in the federal Express Entry pool and 257 invitations were issued to Occupations In-Demand candidates. Saskatchewan has invited just under 5,000 candidates to apply for a provincial nomination so far this year.
Spousal sponsorship application processing now faster
Canada is looking to finalize 6,000 spousal sponsorship applications each month until December 2020. This is because Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has increased the number of staff that will review spousal sponsorship applications by 66 per cent. This means that applications will now be processed more quickly.
In addition, IRCC will now use new technology to digitize paper applications, allowing employees who are working remotely to be able to process applications quickly.
No biometrics needed for some immigration applicants
Canada will no longer require biometrics for permanent residence applicants who had submitted biometrics in the last 10 years. It is unclear when biometric collection service points in Canada and abroad will continue their operations as normal. These closures have affected thousands of permanent residence applicants. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said in a statement that Canada has a growing number of applications that cannot be processed because of the biometrics requirement. This change will now allow IRCC to begin processing these applications.