Understand why Canadian experience must be considered while selecting immigrants

Since the coronavirus crisis started, IRCC has been selecting immigration candidates who have Canadian work experience for the following reasons

Canadian experience

Since the Federal Government of Canada announced travel restrictions to contain the spread of coronavirus, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has been holding Express Entry draws at an increased frequency.

Before the travel restrictions were imposed, IRCC usually used to hold Express Entry draws every 2 weeks, often on a Wednesday.

Since the travel restrictions were imposed, IRCC have held 6 draws, including 2 draws on the same day, and 4 draws within a week.

Another notable change is – candidates who have a provincial nomination and are eligible under the Canadian Experience Class, have been the focus of these draws.  

IRCC has stated candidates already living in Canada are meant to benefit from these program-specific draws.

Each CEC-specific draw has been large, with the total of 10,308 invitations to apply (ITAs) for permanent residence issued over 3 draws, including the last draw, which was the largest CEC-specific draw since the start of the travel restrictions.

In the short run, it also makes sense for IRCC to be  inviting more candidates with Canadian work experience for permanent residence because these candidates are already in Canada, and will be less affected by coronavirus-related disruptions than the Express Entry candidates who are abroad currently.

In addition, issuing invitations to apply (ITAs) to as many candidates as possible from inside Canada during this crisis can assist IRCC come closer to the intake targets that it set in its immigration levels plan.

However, there are important and long-term reasons also as to why the federal and provincial governments are looking to target candidates with Canadian work experience.

The recent draws held by IRCC must be seen in a broader perspective.

Discover your Canada immigration options

Growing importance of Canadian experience

IRCC launched the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) in the year 2008 to help more international students and temporary foreign workers to gain permanent residence.

The CEC has since gained importance as Canada’s student and worker population has increased rapidly.

A number of provinces and territories also encouraged candidates who had Canadian work experience to apply for permanent residence through their respective Provincial Nominee Programs (PNOs) even before the launch of the CEC. Since the CEC was launched, they have also increased the number of immigration streams for students and workers

.

Even IRCC’s newer immigration programs such as the Atlantic Immigration Pilot and Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot have dedicated streams for candidates with Canadian work experience.

Important to mention here that in the Express Entry’s Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS),  candidates with Canadian work experience earn extra CRS points.

Short- and long-term benefits of Canadian experience

The reason why Canadian experience has assumed so much importance in the federal and provincial immigration programs is because a research by the Canadian government shows that such experience is a good indicator that an immigration candidate is likely to integrate quickly into the Canadian labour market, also perform well in the long run.

The research establishes that immigration candidates who have the following characteristics are most likely to have good economic outcomes:

• Young in age
• High level of education
• High proficiency in English and/or French
• Canadian work experience
• Canadian job offer and/or a provincial nomination

Canadian experience is important for a number of reasons. It is helpful to immigration candidates in improving their language proficiency, which is one of the main components of the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). In addition, candidates who are able to gain Canadian work experience or education can show to Canadian employers that they have the knowledge and skills that employers are looking for. Apart from that, living in Canada helps immigrants create social and professional networks which are instrumental in finding work as per their skills.

Please note that Canadian experience is not considered superior to foreign study and work experience. However, comfort has a great influence over the hiring of workers. The employers, irrespective of whether they’re in Canada or anywhere else in the world—are always more comfortable in hiring candidates who have local work experience.

The good thing even if you don’t have Canadian work experience

A high number of Express Entry candidates are invited to apply for permanent residence despite not having Canadian experience.

This is because a research by the Canadian government establishes that even those candidates who don’t have Canadian work experience, also integrate quickly into the Canadian labour market, for the reason that they also have the  characteristics mentioned earlier such as high education levels, language proficiency, along with a job offer or a provincial nomination.

However, remember that Canada still welcomes your immigration application, irrespective of whether you have Canadian work experience or not.

This is the best time to apply for Canada PR when the CRS score requirement is going down. Check your eligibility for Express Entry program using our updated CRS calculator.

Call Nationwide Visas at +91 92 92 92 92 81 to start your Canada PR application process without a delay. You can also write to us at info@natiowidevisas.com and get a guaranteed response within 24 working hours.