Coronavirus: Canada seeks Immigrants; Australia reduces intake

Immigration is essential to spur economic growth in countries like Canada and Australia. Both countries are dependent on immigrants (foreign workers, international students, temporary residents, and new permanent residents) to sustain population growth, labor workforce, and economic development. The coronavirus crisis has affected immigration policies and programs worldwide. Several countries have adopted different measures. Many countries have closed their borders for immigration. For instance, the U.S. has discarded the entry of immigrants for some time.

Similarities in Canada and Australia Immigration

International students provide several economic benefits of immigration in both Canada and Australia. They contribute around $22 billion to the economy of Canada every year and support as many as 170,000 jobs. In Australia too, they have a share of $39 billion in the economy, thereby supporting 240,000 jobs. Also Read: How to get Canada PR visa? Step by step guide. Canada has a population of 38 million, out of which 22 percent are immigrants. Likewise, immigrants comprise 30 percent of the 25.5 million population in Australia. Moreover, 8 million immigrants impact the economic growth and creation of jobs in both countries. Nonetheless, Canada and Australia have different policies for immigration and follow diverse approaches.

Distinct Immigration Plans

Despite having similar immigration situations, both Canada and Australia have diverse immigration plans. Since the 1980s, Canada has been trying to increase its immigration levels. And in recent years, it is becoming aggressive while pursuing its immigration targets. Australia also increased its immigration during the late 1990s. But in the last few years, we have seen a different immigration trend. A few days before the increased spread of coronavirus, Canada announced to welcome 340,000 new permanent residents in 2020. And much higher levels in the next two years. Before 2016, Canada had a target of inviting 260,000 permanent residents. After that, it aimed at welcoming at least 300,000 new arrivals every year. Also Read: How to Move to Canada through Express Entry? Canada has distributed the share of immigration classes as it targets to have 58 percent economic class immigrants, 27 percent from the family class, and 15 percent refugees. In parallel, Australia has set the target last year to reduce the intake of permanent resident immigrants. For eight years, the country used to welcome 190,000 immigrants. Cutting down the intake by 30,000, Australia decided to welcome only 160,000 immigrants every year until 2023. As per the current Immigration plan, Australia will take 70 percent economic class immigrants and 30 percent family class.

Canada increased immigration during coronavirus

The coronavirus pandemic has affected the immigration systems of both Canada and Australia. However, Canada is trying to achieve its immigration levels plan’s target by holding draws consistently. Interestingly, Canada issued 11,700 invitations under the Express Entry system to apply for permanent residence in April. While in February and March, it issued 8,000 and 7,800 invitations respectively. This shows that even during the travel restrictions, Canada managed to issue a large number of invitations. So, Canada is actively pursuing its target outlined in the 2020-2022 Immigration Levels Plan. On the other side, the coronavirus pandemic has significantly reduced immigration in Australia. It cut down the invitations issued through the economic class. A drastic reduction can be seen as Australia issued only 100 invitations in April through its Skill Select expression of interest system. In the previous months, the country issued much higher invitations – 1,500 in February, and 2,050 in March.

What will be the Immigration strategy of Canada and Australia post-coronavirus?

Political leaders in Australia are demanding for reducing immigration levels further due to the coronavirus crisis. They believe that if Australia does not lower the immigration levels, it would affect the jobs of Australian workers. Thus, Australia has considerably reduced the intake of immigrants. Canada, on the contrary, is committed to welcoming new arrivals as Canada’s immigration minister himself states that immigration will lead to economic recovery post-coronavirus. Canada has always followed the policy of inviting more immigrants during the crisis as it helps in economic revival. Hence, we can expect that Canada will maintain its high levels of immigration and will continue accepting immigration applications.