Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced plans to hire 62 additional employees in order to expedite the processing of family class immigration applications. IRCC's expanded offices in Nova Scotia should be able to process more applications and shorten the processing times that have grown longer during the pandemic and will be primarily dedicated to family class overseas applications.
COVID-19 restrictions have limited the Sydney, Nova Scotia Case Processing Centre to 30% occupancy. In announcing the expedited processing Canada's Minister of Immigration, The Honourable Marco E. L. Mendicino, P.C., said:
“Expanding the Case Processing Center in Sydney will help us reunite families and process more applications, while creating good local jobs for Cape Bretoners. Most notably, the extra space and increased capacity will speed up processing times and help us return to the 1-year standard for spousal applications. I’m proud of the work of our Sydney office, which will continue to play a vital role in our efforts to strengthen Canada through immigration.”
On September 24, 2020, Canada committed to faster processing of Spousal Sponsorship immigration applications through the remainder of 2020 due to the backlog caused by the COVID restrictions.
Family Class Immigration
Canada places a high priority on family reunification immigration. The Family Class Application (Spousal Sponsorship path) is a way for a permanent resident or citizen of Canada to sponsor their spouse or common-law partner (including same-sex partner), parents, grandparents and dependent children to immigrate to Canada.
Family Sponsorship Immigration Programs:
Immigration Levels Plan 2021-2023
On October 30, Canada announced their Immigration Levels Plan 2021-2023 and how many newcomers Canada plans to welcome over the coming three years.
IRCC will welcome over 400,000 immigrant newcomers per year beginning in 2021:
- 2021: 401,000
- 2022: 411,000
- 2023: 421,000
More than 9 million Canadians will reach retirement age in the next decade. With an aging workforce and a need for skilled talent, by 2031 immigration is expected to account for 80% of Canada’s population growth, up from the current 75%.
How To Sponsor Your Family To Move To Canada
An experienced immigration professional can save you time, money and stress if you are trying to sponsor your family to move to Canada. Contact Ackah Law today at 403-452‑9515 or email us directly.
