In 2021, Canada set a record by welcoming more than 4,05,000 permanent residents, and it is aiming to achieve higher targets now.
Over the last two decades, Canada has come up as one of the most welcoming countries for immigrants. More importantly, the North American country has welcomed an increasing number of international students and has been motivating them to stay back in Canada after their graduation.
Attracting international students
As per data collected by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), from January to October 2021, 97.5 per cent of international graduates who applied for permanent residency in Canada have been successful and have been awarded legal permission to stay and work in the country. For all other permanent residency applicants, that rate was 91.5 per cent.
Even as per data released by CIC News, international student graduates who worked during their period of study or after graduation were more likely (60 per cent) to become permanent residents. In addition, those with higher-paying jobs were more likely to become permanent residents.
The data from the IRCC reveals that Indian students are one of the largest international student populations in Canada. The number of Indian students studying in Canada grew by nearly 350 per cent between the 2015-16 and 2019-20 academic years. Similarly, from January to November 2021, nearly 1,30,000 Indian students were approved to study in Canada.
“International student graduates may be eligible to apply for a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP). This is an open work permit that allows graduates of a designated learning institution (DLI) to work for any employer in Canada and gain invaluable Canadian work experience.
By doing so, graduates may be able to transition to permanent residents. Those with at least one year of work experience in Canada and proficiency in one of the two official languages (English or French) may be able to get permanent resident status through the Canadian Experience Class (CEC),”
explained Yatharth Gulati, co-founder of Rostrum Education.
Increased demand for Canada-based courses
As these figures were released, the demand for Canadian academic courses increased too. Tarun Aggarwal, CBO and Head StudyAbroad of CollegeDekho, revealed that “almost 50 per cent of all queries that we received on our StudyAbroad portal have been for Canada. Around 90 per cent of these students usually want to pursue short-term diploma courses there. Through these queries, we noticed that Supply Chain Management, MBA, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Master in Management are some courses that are being preferred by students.”
How to improve CRS score
Since the intake of international students as permanent residents has increased, the question now arises that how can Indian students increase their CRS scores. Canada is credited with having one of the smoothest and simplest immigration policies and processes.
To ensure that immigrants do not have to bother with complicated processes, the Canadian government follows a merit-based points system that assigns a score to each candidate in the Express Entry pool. Known as the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), this point-based system helps students assess their chances of getting their study visas converted into a PR.
This score can be increased in several ways. The first and foremost thing for Indian students is to ensure that their score for the English assessment test meets the eligibility criteria. Canada uses the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score to assess the applicant’s English language fluency. The IELTS is conducted in two ways — academic and general training. To ensure the applicants get a better score, students should aim for an IELTS score of 8.0 or higher.
“Points can be claimed for both English and French as second languages under the CRS calculator. Also, points for language proficiency can be worth 260 points for a single candidate. This factor can make an incremental difference in a candidate’s overall score,” said Yatharth Gulati.
In addition to this, having a Canadian academic degree and Canadian work experience helps increase the CRS score. “Education is worth up to 150 points and 50 more can be achieved by showing a Canadian work experience,” Gulati told Indian Express.
Having blood relations in the country also helps the applicant. If the applicant has a sibling/common-law partner or/and other relatives through blood, marriage, adoption and so on, it can increase the CRS score by almost 15 points.
Age, too, plays an important part in getting the best CRS score. Students are advised to not delay their process and apply as soon as they are almost done with their graduation. “Points are also provided to visa applicants in certain age groups. In this category, maximum points are provided to applicants between the ages of 20-29 years, getting 100 points (with a spouse) and 110 (without a spouse),” Gulati explained.
Legal Disclaimer: This article is provided for information purposes only.
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