Following on from Part I of How COVID-19 Has Affected Canadian Immigration, here is Part II. If you missed the earlier update, click here to read it now.
The pandemic has been responsible for a lot of changes in almost every sector globally, with employment and communication, almost unrecognizable. While many of the changes are going to revert as soon as the situation relating to COVID gets better, other changes might be here to stay.
Over the next six months, we foresee continuing online client meetings via Zoom and Google Meet. We will continue submitting applications to the Canadian Government online (no paper applications accepted for now), and we will continue to implement paperless file-sharing with our clients from all parts of the world (although we have always been using online methods even pre-pandemic to cater to our clients from different countries).
The pandemic has changed the way things are done. Being an immigration company and working with immigration authorities, we are experiencing delays in processing times from the Canadian Government for all immigration programs (except for those occupations deemed essential as these are prioritized). Additionally, we expect delays from our clients in gathering their requirements like police clearances, passport renewals, transcript of records, etc. needed for their applications from their respective home countries due to skeletal workforce, lockdown procedures, mandatory COVID testing, closure of some establishments and so on.
To get back on track with Canada’s projection of admitting 341,000 immigrants as per Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Marco Mendicino, the Canadian Government has now been releasing their decisions on applications, which were on hold at the height of the pandemic. Express Entry draws have been consistent and have been releasing Invitations to Apply (ITA) for applicants that meet the minimum number of points. More immigration programs have also re-opened like the sponsorship of parents and grandparents, travel of the immediate family members of permanent residents and Canadian citizens to Canada (quarantine still mandatory). Currently, traveling for pleasure is closed in Canada. The Government continues to approve study permits and student visas while relaxing guidelines so that students do not need to be physically present and online classes are valid and accepted and will count towards work permit applications in the future.
One of the challenges that we had to go through during the pandemic was not having the ability to meet our clients, who are already in Canada, in person. We had gotten used to having regular meetings and catching up with them pre-pandemic in our office, and now we had to switch to Zoom, Google Meet and WhatsApp, apart from phone calls.
We spend most of our time working remotely, but we do have appointments with our clients in the office whenever they are open to them, by appointment only. We make sure to only have a fixed number of meetings in a day. Furthermore, the clients coming to our office have to be sure that they are wearing masks. Additionally, we provide disinfectants and sanitizers.
Most of our clients have been worried about delays in their applications and if it is still a smart idea to immigrate. We are consistently in touch with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), and even during the pandemic, our success rate is at 100%. Canada has handled the crisis relatively well and continues to be the best country to immigrate to. However, the processing takes time, we advise everyone interested to start the application process and sign up with us NOW so you can be in Canada within the next six to twelve months.
If you require an Immigration Consultant, wherever you may be, we are based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and will be able to assist with the process of making your way into the country.
As there are a wide variety of visa options and various applications, we help our clients navigate through the complex process of immigration, maximizing their chances of success by creating an immigration plan. Furthermore, we are open to providing our clients with a 45-minute free consultation so they can get in touch with us at the earliest by clicking here. If you are looking for a better understanding of the services that we provide, please click here.