Permanent Resident Immigration Levels for 2016 Announced

Canada

The Minister for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has announced the projections for permanent residents in various categories in 2016. The projection includes an overall number of between 280,000 and 305,000 (target 300,000) new permanent residents in 2016, as opposed to the projected number for 2015, which was between 260,000 and 285,000 new permanent residents.

Key Projected Amounts

The projected admission ranges include the following key categories of foreign nationals:

• Spouses, partners and children: Low 57,000; High 62,000; Target 60,000 (greater than the high-end projection of 48,000 in 2015);
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• Parents and grandparents: Low 18,000; High 20,000; Target 20,000 (the same as in 2015);
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• Federal Economic Highly-Skilled worker category: Low 54,000; High 59,000; Target 58,400 (greater than the high-end projection of 51,000 in 2015);
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• Federal Economic Business category: Low 500; High 900; Target 800 (lower than the high-end projection of 1,700 in 2015);
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• Provincial Nominee Programs: Low 46,000; High 48,000; Target 47,800 (the same as in 2015); and
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• Quebec Skilled Worker: Low 25,500; High 27,000; Target 26,200 (the same high-end projection as 2015).

What This Means for Foreign Nationals

Permanent residence applicants in Canada should benefit from an overall larger estimated pool of applications available in 2016. However, the overall projected ranges under all economic categories (151,000 – 162,000) is substantially lower than the amount projected in 2015, which was 172,100 – 186,700. This announcement confirms the Liberal government’s prioritization of family and humanitarian-based immigration streams.

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to [email protected].

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