Canada will grant permanent residency to international students

On Wednesday, Canada’s Immigration Minister announced that Canada will grant permanent residency status to 90,000 foreign students and workers in the country who have helped care for patients during the pandemic. For this opportunity, various countries may apply, including Colombia.

Colombians are the largest group of immigrants from South America in Canada and the second largest group of immigrants of Hispanic origin after Mexicans, in total, the Colombian community in Canada has 167,000 people across the country, according to Migración Colombia.

The program targets workers who have at least one year of experience in Canada in the field of health or in a profession considered essential, as well as foreign students who have obtained a higher education degree in the past four years, the minister said. Marco Mendicino at a press conference.

It will enhance their job security, broaden their professional horizons, and encourage them to delve deeper into our communities where they contribute a lot, Most notable Federal Immigration Minister Marco Mendesino.

The measure aims to help Canada achieve its goal of receiving more than 400,000 immigrants in 2021 and offset the decrease in the number of people hosted in 2020, due to the pandemic and border closures. Last year, Canada set a target of accepting 341,000 immigrants, but the health emergency caused only 184,000 people to arrive in the country.

The pandemic has revealed an incredible contribution to the newcomers. These new policies will allow temporary status holders to plan for their future in Canada, play a major role in our economic recovery, and help us rebuild better, “ The Minister stated.

Starting May 6, Canadian authorities will begin accepting applications for 20,000 temporary workers in the healthcare sector, 30,000 in other essential occupations and 40,000 international students.

During the press conference, Mendicino pointed to immigration as a vital component of the country’s short-term economic recovery after the economic downturn that had occurred in many countries.

“Today’s announcement opens a window in the short term for thousands of immigrants who are able to meet restrictive standards, but preserve the basic principles of the immigration system through which hundreds of thousands are exploited,” Noted in a statement.

Despite the announcement, the Immigrant Rights Network, an organization that has long demanded that seasonal workers who come to Canada every year obtain permanent residency, deemed the measure inadequate.

According to Al-Shabaka CEO Syed Hassan, “It is a principle, but without fundamental changes to grant full immigration status to everyone, it is simply not enough.”

According to the organization, in 2020 Canada allowed 650,000 temporary workers and international students to enter the country and that there are more than 1.6 million immigrants and illegal immigrants in the country.

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