Key Highlights – 2016 Immigration Levels Plan
Backgrounder
The 2016 annual immigration levels plan outlines a shift in immigration policy towards reuniting more families.
The plan will improve processing times and backlogs will go down across multiple immigration programs including those for: spouses; partners and children; and parents and grandparents – because the department will be able to welcome more people into Canada.
By the end of 2016, Canada will welcome between 280,000 and 305,000 (target 300,000) new permanent residents. This is a 7.4% increase in planned admissions over the 2015 levels plan.
Immigration Class | 2016 Levels Plan Target |
2015 Levels Plan Target |
---|---|---|
Economic Total |
160,600 |
181,300 |
Family Total |
80,000 |
68,000 |
Refugee Total |
55,800 |
24,800 |
Humanitarian Total |
3,600 |
5,100 |
OVERALL |
300,000 |
279,200 |
Reuniting more families
Reuniting families helps immigrants build successful lives in Canada. When families are reunited, it improves integration and economic outcomes for the immigrant while contributing to the development of Canada’s social, cultural and economic development.
The 2016 immigration levels plan is increasing admissions of sponsored spouses, partners and dependents to help reduce inventories and processing times, and is maintaining high immigration levels in the Parent and Grandparent Program.
IRCC is doubling the number of sponsorship applications for parents and grandparents that it will accept for processing to 10,000 a year. 20,000 admissions are planned under the Parent and Grandparent Program and by the end of 2016 it is expected that the backlog inventory will be reduced by approximately 15%.
Immigration Class | Immigration Program | 2016 Levels Plan Target |
---|---|---|
Family | Spouses, Partners and Children (includes Public Policy) |
60,000 |
Parents and Grandparents |
20,000 |
|
Total admissions under the Family Class |
80,000 |
Providing a place of refuge for those fleeing from persecution
The Government of Canada remains committed to upholding its humanitarian tradition to resettle refugees and offer protection to those in need. All Canadians play an important role by helping refugees integrate into Canadian society so they can build a successful life and contribute to Canada’s social, cultural and economic development.
The 2016 annual immigration levels plan significantly increases admissions in the Refugees and Protected Persons class so that we can provide protection and welcome more people from around the world who are fleeing from war and persecution.
These increases will also allow the Government to complete its commitment to resettle Syrian refugees to Canada in 2016 and enable Canada to welcome higher numbers of refugees from other parts of the world with refugee populations such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Colombia, and Eritrea, as set through various existing multi-year refugee resettlement commitments.
As a world leader in innovative refugee programs, IRCC has almost tripled admissions space for privately-sponsored refugees and government-assisted refugees, and has more than doubled the admissions space for the blended visa office-referred category.
Immigration Class | Immigration Program | 2016 Levels Plan Target |
---|---|---|
Refugees and Protected Persons | Protected Persons in Canada and Dependants Abroad |
11,000 |
Resettled Refugees |
44,800 |
|
Government-Assisted Refugees |
24,600 |
|
Blended Visa Office Referred |
2,400 |
|
Privately Sponsored Refugees |
17,800 |
|
Total admissions under the Refugees and Protected Persons Class |
55,800 |
Immigration Class | Immigration Program | 2016 Levels Plan Target |
---|---|---|
Humanitarian and Other |
Total admissions under the Humanitarian and Other classFootnote 1 |
3,600 |
Building our economy
Immigration supports Canada’s long-term economic growth while building strong communities and improving our global competitiveness. The contributions that experienced foreign professionals and skilled workers make to our country and economy result in jobs, innovation, and growth in existing and new industries.
The 2016 immigration levels plan continues to support Canada’s economic growth with significant admissions in economic immigration programs. The economic class will account for the majority of all immigration admissions in 2016, representing more than half of the overall total planned for the year.
The economic class includes the principal applicants as well as their spouses, partners and dependants in the following programs and streams: Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Federal Skilled Trades Program and the Canadian Experience Class (collectively, the Federal Economic High Skilled programs) – since January 2015, all applications for these programs fall under the Express Entry application management system; Federal Economic Business programs; Quebec-selected Skilled Worker and Business programs (as set by the Government of Quebec); the Provincial Nominee Program; and the Caregiver Program.
Immigration Class | Immigration Program | 2016 Levels Plan Target |
---|---|---|
Economic | Federal Economic – High SkilledFootnote 2 |
58,400 |
Federal Economic – CaregiversFootnote 3 |
22,000 |
|
Federal Economic – BusinessFootnote 4 |
800 |
|
Provincial Nominee Program |
47,800 |
|
Quebec Skilled Worker |
26,200 |
|
Quebec Business |
5,400 |
|
Total admissions under the Economic Class |
160,600 |
Footnotes
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