Canada comes to the aid of PNP applicants losing jobs due to COVID-19

As per a Program Delivery Update [PDU] published on September 17 – Facilitative measure for paper-based Provincial Nominee Program [PNP] applications with a job offer stream – Canada has come to the aid of certain PNP applicants that might have lost their jobs due to the coronavirus.

As per the announcement, effective from September 17, 2020 to November 17, 2020, provincial and territorial jurisdictions in Canada can “request that a PNP application be placed on hold in cases where an applicant has experienced a job loss in Canada as a result of the pandemic”.

The facilitative measure from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada [IRCC] aims at providing applicants with time for securing new employment.

Giving a second chance to PNP applicants that had lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, paper-based PNP applications can be requested to be put on hold if a candidate no longer has a valid job offer, provided, however, that their applications had been received prior to March 18, 2020.

The processing of these applications is to be kept on hold until March 17, 2021 or until the time that a new job offer is received along with a confirmation from the province or territory that they continue supporting the nomination. Whichever comes first of these 2 options will be applicable.

With this latest announcement, certain PNP applicants that had lost their jobs in Canada due to COVID-19 will have until March 2021 for finding a new job while retaining their provincial nomination.

It is the responsibility of the nominating province or territory to advise the applicant that their PNP application is to be put on hold by IRCC.

IRCC will be contacting the applicant by email for providing instructions on the process for submitting additional documentation once the province or territory has sent in the request for their application to be put on hold.

A request for the PNP application to be put on hold must be put in by the applicant through the province or territory that is supporting their nomination.

Under usual circumstances, a provincial nominee is expected to retain their job offer throughout the entire application process. The latest facilitative measure is another of the temporary measures taken by IRCC in an attempt at minimizing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Canadian immigration.

Testifying to Canada’s commitment to welcoming a large number of immigrants in the coming years, a record 74,150 Invitations to Apply [ITAs] have been issued so far in 2020. This is more than the number of ITAs issued by the same time in the previous year.

If you are looking to Migrate, Study, Invest, Visit, or Work Overseas, talk to Y-Axis, the World’s No. 1 Immigration & Visa Company.

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