The Canadian-American border might be opened by late summer or early fall

Since March 2020, the Canadian-American border has been closed to all non-essential travel, such as tourism and overseas recreation. Restricted non-essential travel across the US-Canada land borders will remain in effect until 11:59 p.m. EDT on May 21, 2021, which is expected to be extended on May 21. Only people who have “humanitarian and compassionate reasons,” such as attending a funeral or applying for refugee status can cross the border. However, the border might be opened by late summer or early fall, since both countries will probably achieve a certain number of vaccinations and the required level of protection by that time. Public Health Canada said in an email that the federal government is "continually assessing the relevance of current border measures." #Covid_19, #Restrictions, #Canadian_American_border

May 11, 2021

The Government of Quebec released an update regarding study permit applications for the Fall 2021 term

The Government of Quebec followed the Federal government and also committed to quickly process applications of the international students. Ottawa announced that international students who submit a complete study permit application by May 15, 2021, will get a decision by August 6, 2021, before the Fall term starts. Foreign students who are planning to study in Quebec in Fall 2021, can submit their study permit application even if they have not yet obtained their Certificat d’acceptation du Québec (CAQ). The proof of receipt of their online application for CAQ must be submitted to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). In this case, the study permit application will be processed but put on hold pending a decision, until the CAQ has been issued. Quebec Ministry of Immigration (MIFI) is committed to processing complete CAQ applications in 20 business days if all supporting documents were successfully uploaded to clients' profiles on Arrima. #international_students, #study_in_Canada, #study_permit, #COVID_19, #SP_admissions, #CAQ

May 10, 2021

TR2PR International Graduate stream for English-speakers has reached its limit in 25 hours

On May 7, 2021, at 1:01 PM Eastern Standard Time, Canada’s new International Graduate stream for English speakers reached its cap of 40,000 applications. The International Graduate stream and two other streams for essential workers, as well as three streams for French-speaking candidates, were launched on May 6, at 12:00 PM EST. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) plans to admit 90,000 individuals through the English streams. As of May 10, 1:30 AM EST the number of applications for other streams is 1,062 applications out of 20,000 slots for healthcare workers and 6,994 applications out of 30,000 slots for essential non-healthcare workers. As for the French streams, IRCC accepted 11 healthcare worker applications, 281 other essential worker applications, and 96 international graduate applications. #TR2PR, #IRCC, #PR, #healthcare, #essential_occupations, #French, #Francophones, #international_students, #international-graduates, #immigration_levels, #immigration_policy

May 10, 2021

Ottawa will create a new system to solve delays in processing immigration applications

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is going to create a new digital platform to improve the procession of immigration applications more quickly. According to the 2021 budget of the federal government, Canada will spend $428.9 million on the development of a platform that will replace the existing case management system. The new system will be launched in 2023 and will improve application processing and help to handle the increasing number of applications. This system will be a part of a wider change towards digital platforms across the department and the government. #Applications_processing, #case_mangement, #IRCC

May 10, 2021