Over the past two decades, Canada has become one of the most welcoming countries for immigrants. More importantly, the North American country has welcomed an increasing number of international students and motivated them to stay in Canada after graduation.
Attract international students
According to data collected by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), from January to October 2021, 97.5 percent of international graduates who applied for permanent residency in Canada have been successful and have obtained legal permission to reside in the country. to stay and work. For all other applicants for permanent residence, this was 91.5 percent.
Even according to data released by CIC News, international students who worked while in college or after graduation were more likely (60 percent) to become permanent residents. In addition, those with better-paying jobs were more likely to become permanent residents.
The data from the IRCC shows that Indian students have one of the largest international student populations in Canada. The number of Indian students studying in Canada grew by nearly 350 percent between the 2015-16 and 2019-20 academic years. Similarly, from January to November 2021, nearly 130,000 Indian students were approved to study in Canada.
Graduate international students 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 transfer 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 obtain permanent resident status through the Canadian Experience Class (CEC),” explains Yatharth Gulati, co-founder of Rostrum Education.
Increased Demand for Courses in Canada
When these figures were released, the demand for Canadian academic courses also increased. Tarun Aggarwal, CBO and Head of StudyAbroad at CollegeDekho, revealed that “almost 50 percent of all the questions we received on our StudyAbroad portal were for Canada. Typically, about 90 percent of these students want to pursue short-term diploma training there. We noticed that Supply Chain Management, MBA, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Master in Management are some of the subjects preferred by students.”
How to improve the CRS score
As the influx of international students as permanent residents has increased, the question now arises as to how Indian students can 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 engage in 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 points-based system helps students estimate their chances of converting their study visa into a PR.
This score can be increased in several ways. The first and most important thing for Indian students is to ensure that their English assessment test score 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. In order for the applicants to get a better score, students should aim for an IELTS score of 8.0 or higher. “With the CRS calculator, points can be claimed for both English and French as a second language. Also, language proficiency points can be worth 260 points for a single candidate. This factor can make an incremental difference in a candidate’s overall score,” says Yatharth Gulati.
In addition, having a Canadian academic degree and Canadian work experience helps increase the CRS score. “Education is worth a maximum of 150 points and 50 more can be achieved by showing a Canadian work experience,” Gulati told biharengineering.in.
Having blood relatives in the country also helps the applicant. If the applicant has a sibling/spouse and/or other relatives by blood, marriage, adoption, etc., this can increase the CRS score by nearly 15 points.
Age also plays an important role in achieving the best CRS score. Students are advised not to delay their process and to apply as soon as they are nearing graduation. “Points are also awarded to visa applicants in certain age groups. In this category, maximum points are awarded to applicants aged 20-29, who will receive 100 points (with a spouse) and 110 (without a spouse),” explained Gulati.
Striving for more
In 2021, Canada set a record by welcoming more than 4,05,000 permanent residents, and the country, led by Justin Trudeau, is now striving for higher goals. “After this successful year, Canadian Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Sean Fraser, recently raised his government’s 2022 immigration target from 4.11,000 to 4,31,645. In addition, Canada aims to attract about 1.3 million new immigrants over the next three years, which means that former study permit holders will have more opportunities to obtain a permanent residence permit (PR),” said Karunn Kandoi, general manager and head – India Operations, ApplyBoard.
