Suddenly! LMIA confirms cancellation of bonus points! What other options do immigrants have?

On December 17th, Immigration Minister Marco Miller announced in a television interview that the cancellation of the Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) would be an additional bonus for fast track candidates, and the specific effective date has not been determined yet. Previously, LMIA could add 50 points to the comprehensive ranking system (CRS) for fast track candidates.

Comprehensive ranking system

The Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) is a system used by the Canadian federal government to rate fast track candidates. The higher the score of the candidate, the greater their likelihood of obtaining an invitation to apply for permanent residency (ITA) through the fast track lottery.

Once a candidate creates a profile in the 'Fast Track' system and is eligible to participate in one of the three 'Fast Track' managed immigration programs, their profile will receive a maximum score of 1200 based on various factors, including:

Age;

education

Language proficiency;

hands-on background.

The rating of these 'core human capital' factors varies depending on whether the candidate created a profile as a single candidate or created a profile that includes their spouse.

Candidates can earn up to 600 points in core human capital factors.

Candidates can also earn up to 600 additional points on their personal profile through the following methods:

Have brothers and sisters living in Canada as Canadian citizens or permanent residents;

French language skills;

Higher education in Canada;

Arrange employment;

Nomination by province/region.

Throughout 2024, the score lines for many "fast track" regular categories and Canadian Experience (CEC) lotteries have exceeded 500 points.

Only career oriented lottery usually has a CRS score line below 500.

Candidates can compare their CRS scores with the current score distribution of other candidates in the "fast track" pool to understand their likelihood of obtaining an ITA.

Temporary Foreign Worker Program

The Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) is one of the main ways that Canadian employers employ foreigners with work permits. In order for foreigners to work with TFWP work permits, employers must receive a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) and the results are positive or neutral, which indicates that the Employment and Social Development Canada (ESD C) has determined that hiring foreign workers for this position will not have a negative impact on the Canadian labour market of Canadian citizens and permanent residents.

Recent changes in TFWP

In September of this year, the federal government suspended the processing of low wage LMIA under TFWP. The government has also raised the salary requirements for high paying categories, which will take effect from November this year. The high salary category now requires workers hired under TFWP to have a wage 20% higher than the median wage for that profession in the region. Previously, workers in the high salary category only needed to earn an amount equal to or higher than the median wage.

These modifications to temporary immigrant work permits are in line with the immigration policy changes proposed by the government in the latest immigration level plan. This year's plan includes for the first time a target for temporary residents, including a net increase in temporary immigrant work permits.

The government has set a net increase target of 82000 TFWP work permits by 2025.

Reason for change

Miller said, "We will implement further measures to strengthen the program and reduce the likelihood of LMIA fraud." Miller stated that IRCC is working to reduce fraudulent behavior and strengthen the integrity of Canada's immigration system by canceling additional points earned by candidates for job opportunities in the "fast track" program.

Miller said, "This measure is expected to eliminate candidates' motivation to purchase LMIA, thereby improving the fairness and integrity of the fast track

The impact on immigrants

Previously, LMIA bonus points and fast track immigration have become a common way of immigration. After cancellation, it will inevitably have an impact on many people, and the score line for the fast track will definitely decrease to some extent. What should I do if I don't have enough scores for immigration due to the new regulations? We also offer several different alternative solutions.

French

The best alternative may be to earn extra points by learning French. The scores in the French category of the fast track have been consistently improving, indicating that more and more people are choosing to use French to improve their CRS scores. Although the score line has been repeatedly raised, it is still much lower than the regular CEC score. In 2025, the fast track targeted invitations will reduce three professions, but French language classes will remain within the invitation scope. In addition, there is also a French channel for provincial nominations, so it is necessary to learn French as early as possible to achieve immigration goals. Even if you cannot meet the French language requirements for immigration, you can still meet the basic French language requirements first, complete the work visa application without LMIA, and land in Canada as soon as possible.

Nursing and nursing workers

Nursing care workers are similar to French and are also suitable for multiple immigration programs. In the fast track, nursing workers are one of the latest three career oriented invitation scopes. There is also a nursing worker project in the provincial nomination. In addition, the upcoming nursing worker immigration policy is also a very easy immigration project. If you already have experience as a nursing worker, you may even be able to obtain permanent residency directly upon landing in Canada! Nursing has always been a scarce position in Canada, and the salary is also very objective. After landing in Canada, there is no need to worry about finding a job, making it a very cost-effective choice.

Other immigration projects

In addition to the above options, other popular projects include federal entrepreneurial immigration and provincial nominations. The advantage of federal entrepreneurial immigration is that the entire process is very simple and the requirements are very low, but the quota is limited on a first come, first served basis. There are many programs that are suitable for various groups of people nominated by each province, and currently the most cost-effective may be the New Brunswick Provincial Nominee (NB PNP), which only requires completing 10 months of vocational college courses in the province and has the opportunity to directly apply for immigration after graduation. According to the information released by the province of New Brunswick, if the number of applicants meets the standard, the project will be suspended in that year, so interested applicants also need to make a decision as soon as possible.