International Students for long-term prosperity in Canadian economy: Expanding pathways to permanence for international students in Canada

Abstract

On January 1, 2015, Canada launched its Express Entry system in Canada, requiring foreign nationals to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) and wait for an invitation before being allowed to apply for permanent residence. The intentions behind this system were to speed up the processing of immigration applications to avoid a backlog. However, these modifications created several barriers to the permanency of international students because not many international students qualify under the Express Entry system’s comprehensive ranking criteria. Recognizing, politics and policy fail to develop efficient pathways for graduating international students to acquire permanent residency. This policy brief will provide suggestions regarding work experience, increased allowable hours, and other improvements to the current immigration system, to make it accessible for graduating international students to compete in the Express Entry system, increasing their chances for permanent residence.