Canada has highlighted 24 occupations that it would need from other countries including Nigeria, to qualify for its express entry draw on July 5, 2023.
This comes after the country invited 500 healthcare workers from other countries on Wednesday.
The professions which are in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields may help fast track skilled immigrants’ path to becoming permanent residents in Canada.
“Canada’s ability to remain at the cutting edge of science, technology, engineering and mathematics depends largely on our country’s ability to recruit top talent from around the world,” Sean Fraser, Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, said.
He said the STEM category-based selection round, emphasising its potential to enhance access to permanent residency for skilled workers with STEM backgrounds.
According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the occupations eligible for the STEM category based draw are architects, architecture and science managers, business systems specialists, civil engineers, computer and information systems managers, computer engineers (except software engineers and designers).
Others are computer systems developers and programmers, cybersecurity specialists, data scientists, database analysts and data administrators, electrical and electronics engineers and engineering managers, industrial and manufacturing engineers and information systems specialists.
The rest are land surveyors, landscape architects, mathematicians, statisticians and actuaries, metallurgical and materials engineers, natural and applied science policy researchers, consultants and program officers.
Software developers and programmers, software engineers and designers, urban and land use planners, web designers, web developers and programmers.
“In order to be eligible, you must have accumulated, within the past three years, at least six months of continuous work experience (in Canada or abroad) in a single occupation listed,” the IRCC said.
Canada’s express entry is an online system used by the Canadian government to provide permanent residence to skilled workers. It’s the country’s main system for managing skilled worker applications for Canadian immigration.
There are many different ways for professionals and workers to qualify for a Canada immigration permanent resident visa, according to lawyers at First Immigration Law Firm based in Canada.
“The most prominent option is through Express Entry, which is Canada’s main pathway for economic class skilled workers. Your best bet to be eligible under the entry is to meet the requirements of either the Federal Skilled Worker Program or Canadian Experience Class,” they said.
Canada’s aging population and lower birth rate has been shrinking its labour force, forcing the country to intensify its efforts to attract large, young and vibrant immigrants by offering immigration-friendly policies.
Last year, the Canadian federal government announced an aggressive plan to take in 500,000 immigrants a year by 2025, with almost 1.5 million new immigrants coming to the country over the next three years.
The country landed 437,120 Permanent Residents in 2022, a nearly eight percent increase from the total number of PRs in 2021, according to IRCC.
For Nigeria, it grew by 41.9 percent to 22,130 last year from 15,595 in the previous year.
