Shortly before the pandemic hit Canada, the Minister of immigration announced Canada’s immigration plan and reiterated the pledge to welcome over one million immigrants by 2021. In February 2020, we saw the biggest Express Entry draw ever when Canada invited 4900 applicants to apply for permanent residence in Canada in a single draw. Then there came the pandemic and borders were closed. Surprisingly, the Canadian immigration department continued to select immigrants from it’s online Express Entry pool, albeit with a slightly modified strategy whereby they shifted their focus toward provincial nominee and Canada Experience class candidates. This was considered a smart move as most of the applicants under the provincial nominee and Canada Experience Class are believed to be already residing in Canada and do not require to enter the country from overseas. This strategy ensured that Canada continue to get the very vital supply of qualified immigrants and help it achieve its goal welcoming

IRCC has just announced new measures to help international students start a new program online from outside Canada.  Canada has announced changes to facilitate online learning for international students. International students can now include the time they apply for a study permit, rather than when they were approved for one, towards a future post-graduation work permit.  Students must eventually be approved for a study permit, and complete more than 50% of their program in Canada. IRCC is also providing priority processing for students who have submitted a complete study permit application. The biggest change, however, is that the Study permit applications will now be approved in 2 stages: These stages are: Eligibility, and Admissibility To pass the eligibility stage, students must show that they have been accepted in a Canadian institute, have available funds and are otherwise eligible for the study permit. Applicants passing eligibility will be notified of a 1st stage approval. At t