AI chatbot assistant Ask VisaGenie
Have any questions?
+1 604 593 5141
WhatsApp us
+91-80140-80140

Month: March 2026

IRCC plans to bring back points for a job offer in Express Entry

Posted on by Awdhesh Kumar

In March 2025, IRCC removed the points for job offers in the Comprehensive Ranking System of Express Entry citing concerns with fraud.

However, IRCC has announced recently that it intends to reinstate the points for high wage occupations who have a valid job offer and also Canadian experience in the job. IRCC is also considering how to reward candidates who qualify in a regulated profession in Canada, meaning that these individuals have their professional certifications. Many occupation categories under Express Entry require a certification process in order to be able to practice the profession in Canada.

In IRCC’s departmental plan, published on March 13, 2026, the Department does not give a timeline as to when the new changes to Express Entry will be implemented or take effect.

What is considered a high wage occupation? Generally speaking, Canada’s National Occupation Classification system (NOC) categorizes top occupations for earnings in TEER 0, 1, or 2. But it is possible for high wage occupations to be in a lower level TEER such as TEER 3. Many of the trades workers would make a wage that would be considered high even if their NOC level is at a lower TEER level. It will be interesting to see how Canada ultimately defines high wage occupations in the coming months. As well, salaried earnings vary across the provinces, with BC and Ontario having relatively higher pay than someone living in a rural area in Atlantic Canada. In Alberta, a high wage is considered anything above $36.00 per hour whereas in Prince Edward Island, $30.00 per hour is considered high wage. Again, pointing to the variety of pay within provinces and jurisdictions, it makes it difficult to define a “high wage occupation”. And whether or not it will be defined by the dollar amount the employer is paying/will pay the worker, or by median wages set by Service Canada and Job Bank in relation to Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs).

Traditionally, a job offer is valid with an Offer of Employment that is supported by an LMIA through Service Canada. Service Canada regulates high wage and low wage occupations through data collected through Statistics Canada. That data is then used to predict a reasonable wage to be paid for any occupation. Traditionally, in Express Entry, Arranged Employment LMIA job offers were worth 50 points towards the Comprehensive Ranking System of Express Entry. As the new measures come in and take effect, it is possible that IRCC will defer to Service Canada data in decision making and use the Job Bank wage occupational indexes to define high wage occupations.

The future is bright for anyone who is able to avail of a job offer from a Canadian employer, and that occupation is a high skilled, high earning occupation. This will give high wage occupational categories an edge over other categories and general draws and ultimately make high wage occupations more competitive in the race to achieve Canadian permanent residency.

Express Entry current direction and trends

Posted on by Awdhesh Kumar

Canada has shifted toward a more stabilized and lower-level immigration intake compared to previous years, meaning that competition for limited PR spaces will remain high as the department (IRCC) takes back control of its numbers, and reduces the immigrant population in Canada. We can tie current trends in Express Entry to the newly published 2026-2028 Levels Plan for immigration (published on March 13, 2026). There, we see that the target for permanent residency admissions has been reduced to 380,000 for 2026 (down from 393,500 in 2025). IRCC is also working to reduce the number of temporary residents (workers and students) from 673,650 in 2025 to a mere 385,000 for 2026. This is said to allow IRCC to keep PR landings at less than 1% of the population beyond 2027 and will allow for the reduction of the total number of temporary residents to less than 5% of Canada’s population by the end of 2027.

The Government of Canada is taking back control of the immigration numbers, and working towards reducing numbers overall. It is no wonder that competition for spots in Express Entry is at an all-time high and points remain very high as the Government works towards both permanent residency and temporary residency reductions. Only a certain select few will make it through the gates, and others who hold temporary residency may need to leave Canada. Express Entry is currently doing controlled intakes for the Canadian Experience Class and the Provincial Nominee Program, has increased occupation-category specific draws (categories such as – healthcare and social services, senior managers, and the trades remain priorities), and is only aggressively pursuing the francophone category (French speakers). In an effort to increase national cultural diversity, it appears that Canada is unwavering in its commitment to maintaining its bilingualism on the world stage, as reiterated by the Minister in her speech about Express Entry and the new levels plan on February 18, 2026. The Government intends to work with international partners to encourage francophone immigration globally and that this trend will continue and grow exponentially. Applicants who wish to stay may wish to consider undertaking French language studies or brush up on their French language skills in order to be able to stay in Canada and pursue permanent residency.

Canada makes it easier to sponsor your parents/grandparents 

Posted on by Awdhesh Kumar

The supervisa is a multiple-entry visitor visa that allows parents and grandparents of Canadian citizens and permanent residents to visit family members in Canada for a period of up to ten years, with a maximum stay of up to five years per visit.

Canada has made some changes to the way it calculates the minimum income requirement in the supervisa program. For many years, the supervisa has allowed Canadians and permanent residents to reunite with their parents and grandparents through a supervisa that is usually good for ten years. But with increasing cost of living, meeting the income threshold requirements has been difficult for some families that could benefit from the support of having family come and visit them.

Starting on March 31, 2026, hosts will have a lot more flexibility about how to meet the financial obligations for the supervisa, as announced by Canada. Traditionally, hosts had to meet the Low-Income Cut-Off (LICO) for their family size based on submission of a Notice of Assessment for the previous taxation year prior to submission of any application. Under the new rules, there will be two additional ways to meet the income requirements.

Two additional ways to meet income threshold 

1. Income assessment period has been extended – Under this new more flexible option, Notices of Assessment (CRA) can be submitted for the last two years, and the Government of Canada will take the higher income threshold of the two years. Under this new approach, the host and their co-signer (if applicable), may qualify for the program whereas in the past, they would have been rejected or refused based on income for the previous year prior to submission of the application.

2. Allowing the income of the visiting parent to be added – Under this new more flexible option, so long as the host meets the required percentage of minimum income (TBA), income of the parent/grandparent can then be added to the application to help with qualifying and meeting the income requirement. Previously, parents and grandparents were not permitted to help with meeting the income threshold requirements. At the time of writing, IRCC has not clarified what the required percentage of minimum income will be. We will endeavor to update our clients as information becomes available.

What this means for you

Please note that as of March 31, 2026, all applications already submitted as well as new applications will be submitted under the new income rule calculations. However please note that families who were under the previous income calculations will remain eligible in the new system. If you would like to avail of the new income calculation rules, you will need to submit new documents to prove that you meet the new rules. For example, you could submit your Notice of Assessments from previous years should that income threshold be higher than the NOA submitted in the application.

Contact us today to book a consultation and prepare for new visa pathways coming into force!

Acme Visa Solutions handles the paperwork, so you focus on the future.

Professional. Reliable. Transparent.

📞 Canada: +1 604-593-5141

📞 India: +91 80140-80140

📞 UAE: +971 56-549-4222

Are you now a Canadian citizen?

Posted on by Awdhesh Kumar

Canada has overhauled its Citizenship Act and added new rules effective now through Bill C-3, An Act to amend the Citizenship Act. This bill permanently ends the first-generation rule that led to “lost Canadians”. The amendments are effective immediately and retroactive. The new laws restore Canadian citizenship to many who were excluded because their parents born to a Canadian was also born or adopted outside Canada. People who qualify as Canadian citizens under the new rules are able to apply directly for proof of citizenship rather than having to go through the process of naturalization. If you apply for proof of citizenship and it is granted, you will simply need to apply for your Canadian passport.

The new rules establish that the Canadian ancestor can be a great grandparent. So long as you have an anchor ancestor who was a Canadian citizen and can prove this by birth records or naturalization records, then you too could very well be a Canadian citizen. In previous legislation, Canadian citizenship was limited to the first generation born to the Canadian citizen. If a great grandparent was a Canadian citizen, it meant that only their children were automatically citizens. But now under the new rules, the great grandparent’s grandchildren and great grandchildren are also potentially citizens. The new rules go back to the fourth generation in the lineage. And this change is retroactive, meaning that you too could be a Canadian citizen if you have Canadian ancestry in your lineage.

These changes have been long awaited by “lost Canadians”, meaning children born outside Canada who have grandparents who were Canadian citizens.

For example…..

Generation 1 – Great Grandparent – must prove that they are a citizen by birth or by naturalization.

Generation 2 – Grandparent – automatically a Canadian citizen, as they are a child of a Canadian citizen

Generation 3 – Parent – automatically a Canadian citizen, as they are part of the newly recognized Generation 2 lineage

Generation 4 – Child – automatically a Canadian citizen, as they are a part of the newly recognized Generation 3 lineage

It is important to note that the new law is considered established law, in that these individuals are already citizens and that it is understood that they have always been citizens from birth, and that this law cannot be overturned and is widely supported by precedent cases and now codified in a statute. These changes bring a sense of stability and certainty to lost Canadians and their descendants, while also ensuring citizenship for future generations to come.

Please also note that persons born after the law came into force, must show that their ancestor had approximately three years of time in Canada. The ancestor’s connection to Canada can be proven in ancestral records and birth records from the past. The Government of Canada wants to ensure that there is a substantial connection to Canada by the anchor ancestor, either by birth or by naturalization and also through the passage of time spent in Canada.

Please feel free to contact us any time or to book a consultation. We’re here to help!

Acme Visa Solutions handles the paperwork, so you focus on the future.

Professional. Reliable. Transparent.

Image removed by sender. 📞 Canada: +1 604-593-5141

Image removed by sender. 📞 India: +91 80140-80140

Image removed by sender. 📞 UAE: +971 56-549-4222

Study Permit investigations rose to 150,000 but few were acted upon

Posted on by Awdhesh Kumar

A new report was published today, which confirmed that study permit investigations by and large were not acted upon by IRCC as it only has funding for a small number of investigations (about 4,000). In 2023 and 2024, the Department flagged approximately 150,000 files where there was irregular activity suspected. Often, these files were flagged because the international students were not attending their academic classes.

Auditor General Karen Hogan said in a statement made today that high risk cases received no follow up, and that weakens the integrity of the international student program. Minister Diab accepted the Auditor General’s concerns and said that they would work diligently to improve the process, including follow up with cases of grave concern where study permit conditions are clearly not being met. The audit also found that 800 international students were found to have used fraudulent documents in their original study permit application, which constitutes fraud and misrepresentation and yet IRCC did not follow up or hold anyone to account, said the Auditor General. The report found that most of these people went on to apply for other immigration processes unchecked. Some had claimed that they had attended education overseas and earned credentials that are fake or false. Many have gone on to become permanent residents and have successfully received extensions either to work or study in Canada.

The Auditor also looked at the number of international students in the country and found that most were allowed to stay in Canada. Out of those that were asked to leave Canada, only a fraction have actually left, with many choosing to stay without status.

The report highlights the woefully inadequate amount of checks and balances to combat fraud. As March 2026 is fraud prevention month, we urge others to follow the rules and ensure they comply with all study permit conditions and apply for study permit extensions well within the timelines to avoid unnecessary issues with IRCC.

To book a consultation, please contact us! We’re here to help.

Acme Visa Solutions handles the paperwork, so you focus on the future.

Professional. Reliable. Transparent.

📞 Canada: +1 604-593-5141

📞 India: +91 80140-80140

📞 UAE: +971 56-549-4222

Bill C 12 Immigration Overhaul – How does this affect me?

Posted on by Awdhesh Kumar

Bill C 12 plans to overhaul Canada’s immigration system with sweeping reforms not seen in decades, by giving executive powers to the Governor in Council to pause, cancel or suspend immigration applications and documents related to work permits, study permits and even permanent resident visas, should it be in the “public interest” to do so.

Bill C 12 received its third reading in the Senate on March 12, 2026, called “An Act respecting certain measures relating to the security of Canada’s borders and the integrity of the Canadian immigration system and respecting other related security measures”. There are three pillars within the Act that will bring the changes –

Executive Powers of the Governor in Council 

The Governor in Council will be given executive powers to make decisions about immigration applications and documents. Specifically, the GIC can cease or pause or terminate the processing of immigration applications. They can also cancel or suspend immigration documents such as work permits, temporary resident visas, study permits and, in this case, even a permanent resident visa. Certain conditions can also be imposed on temporary residents in Canada, if it is deemed in the public interest to do so. It is unclear at time of writing what constitutes “public interest”, but if there is evidence of fraud or a security concern, this part of the Act may be triggered. The Minister is required to justify the use of these powers with reporting to Parliament, as Parliament is to provide a committee of oversight into these broad executive powers so that they are used responsibly.

Asylum System Reform 

The bill introduces two new streams of ineligibility in the Asylum system, and this part of the Act has received criticism from some human rights groups, including the UN Commissioner of Human Rights and Amnesty International

1) Claimant crossed the US Border – Applicants who have recently crossed the US border at a non-port of entry, must apply for asylum within 14 days of arrival or will be rendered ineligible to apply

2) Claimant didn’t apply within one year of arrival – Applicants who have been in Canada for more than one year will no longer be able to apply for asylum (post one-year claimants).

Access to a referral to the Immigration Refugee Board of Canada will be denied for these two groups of individuals. Human rights organizations have advocated that the International Covenant on Civil and Political rights guarantees unfettered access to the asylum system of any signatory country without restrictions. In this part, Canada has received criticism for these particular measures. The two new streams of ineligibility for asylum would be retroactive to June 3, 2025 which is the date the Bill was first introduced to Parliament.

It is important to note that applicants for asylum may still apply for a Pre-removal Risk Assessment (PRRA) which still gives them access to the asylum system and allows them to make a claim for protection under the Act.

You are advised to make your claim for asylum as soon as possible, and to not delay the process despite your circumstances. It is advisable to act right away, as it is in your best interest with the changes coming into force.

Personal information sharing

Bill C 12 will also give IRCC the ability to share personal information with other government bodies both within Canada and abroad. This measure will only pertain to temporary residents and will not include permanent residents. For example, IRCC could share your personal information with the RCMP who could in turn share the information with international security agencies such as Interpol. Information such as identities, status documents could be shared for the purposes of public safety and security under the direction of the Minister. Again, these measures do not affect Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada.

Please feel free to contact us any time or to book a consultation. We’re here to help!

Acme Visa Solutions handles the paperwork, so you focus on the future.

Professional. Reliable. Transparent.

📞 Canada: +1 604-593-5141

📞 India: +91 80140-80140

📞 UAE: +971 56-549-4222

How international students can “jump the queue” to PR faster

Posted on by Awdhesh Kumar

Jennifer got her PR three years faster than John. How did Jennifer do it when they both arrived in Canada the same year and are the same age with the same language ability of CLB 8?

Jennifer worked with an immigration consultant and got a consultation before she left her home country. She was given a plan of action to follow and learned how to maximize eligibility and points in the Express Entry system.

Both individuals arrived in Canada at 19 years old, and both took the same Bachelors of Social Work program. But Jennifer did something different. She enrolled in the 5-year program that had paid co-op terms every year. There, while studying her program, she was simultaneously developing a network of employer contacts and connections. She spent time networking also with her co-workers and looked at each co-op work term as an opportunity to expand her network even further. While co-op work experience during studies doesn’t count for points in Express Entry, it enabled Jennifer to build her career network and maximize her connections.

Upon graduation, she was offered a skilled permanent full-time job as a Social Worker, allowing her to waste no time in accumulating skilled work experience in Canada. As Jennifer’s program was more than two years in duration, she qualifies for a 3 year Post Graduate Work Permit. Jennifer is on her way to qualifying for the Canadian Experience Class draw or the Health and Social Sciences category specific draws in Express Entry. By focusing on one occupation in high demand, Jennifer has also simultaneously increased her chances for permanent residency, ensuring that her career plan matches Canada’s current occupational priorities.

Jennifer worked on her English while studying and managed to re-take her English test and scored CLB 10 from an original CLB 8 prior to arrival.

Jennnifer also did something unique. She scored high in the Skilled Transferability section of Express Entry by working remotely during her studies as a community counselor. She accumulated 1 year of foreign skilled work experience which, combined with her language score, gave her additional points in the Comprehensive Ranking System. Remote work outside Canada during studies counts potentially as skilled foreign work in Express Entry. There are many remote opportunities these days for students to work part time during their studies and accumulate skilled work that counts for points in the CRS.

Fourteen months after graduation, Jennifer was invited to apply for permanent residency under the Canadian Experience Class with a score of 512 in the CRS. John still doesn’t have a plan and still hasn’t accumulated any skilled work experience since his graduation. He took a retail sales position with a shoe company to pay rent.

Example scoring for Jennifer –  

Core/Human capital factors

  • Age = 110
  • Level of education = 120
  • Official Languages = 136
    • First Official Language = 136
    • Second Official Language = 0
  • Canadian work experience = 40

Subtotal – Core/Human capital factors = 406

Skill transferability factors

Education (to a maximum of 50 points)

  • A) Official Language proficiency and education = 25
  • B) Canadian work experience and education = 13

Subtotal = 38

Foreign work experience (to a maximum of 50 points)

  • A) Official Language proficiency and foreign work experience = 25
  • B) Canadian and foreign work experience = 13

Subtotal = 38

Certificate of qualification = 0

Subtotal Skill transferability factors = 76

Additional points (to a maximum of 600 points)

Provincial nomination = 0

Study in Canada = 30

Sibling in Canada = 0

French-language skills = 0

Subtotal Additional points = 30

Comprehensive Ranking System formula grand total = 512