2025 - Immigration Lawyer Vancouver, Canada | Sas & Ing Immigration Law Centre
 

Home2025 - Immigration Lawyer Vancouver, Canada | Sas & Ing Immigration Law Centre

Throughout the past year my partner, Catherine, and I have been warning prospective immigrants about how difficult it has become to qualify for temporary and permanent resident visas in Canada due to our government’s concerted efforts to drive immigration levels down from previous highs that we saw during the pandemic. According to a recent Globe and Mail poll, most Canadians are in favour of these policies to reduce both temporary and permanent immigration. With public sentiment on their side, it is unlikely that the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will ease current immigration restrictions soon. Against this backdrop when immigration options are limited, and entering or remaining in Canada seems a remote possibility, prospective immigrants need to be alert to potential bad actors on the immigration scene promising unrealistic results and quick fixes to all their immigration woes. The problem of “ghost consultants” is a longstanding one in the immigration field and you should be on the lookout for them.

The Canadian immigration world is not that welcoming these days and it hasn’t been for the past couple of years as our many blogs have discussed. Express Entry (EE) scores are higher than most applicants can meet, draws for EE applicants focus only on in Canada applicants, the business immigration programs have been either shut down (until the end of 2026 for self-employed (SE) applicants) or significantly reduced for Start Up Visa (SUV) applicants, and the TFW program and international students have had caps introduced. Overall there is a tightening of the belt in terms of immigration processing and prospective applicants are feeling the pinch. When people can’t get what they want, they turn to other options and the most obvious choice is the Humanitarian and Compassionate (H and C) application. Spoiler Alert: Here’s more bad news - the H and C application is not meant to solve everyone’s problems.

It’s only mid-August 2025 but many Canadian citizens and permanent residents are already looking ahead to 2026 to see if they’ll be fortunate enough to be invited by the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to sponsor their parents or grandparents (PGP) for Canadian permanent residence. The 2025 sponsorship intake process has just concluded following a two-week period during which IRCC sent invitations to eligible Canadian citizens and permanent residents to sponsor their loved ones. IRCC began sending invitations out on July 28, 2025 and, unfortunately, those who did not receive one this year will have to try their luck next year or consider alternative immigration options to achieve their goals of reuniting in Canada. In this blog, I will provide a brief history of the PGP sponsorship program and explain what the alternative options are.

As immigration lawyers we are frequently consulted by people who are frustrated by their inability to travel internationally due to a lack of a valid travel document. Whether it is a person who can’t obtain a passport or has an expired PR card, there are many individuals who come to consult with us about how they can travel internationally while their passport, PR card application or citizenship applications are sorted out. Often there is nothing we can do to facilitate or expedite the issuance of this identification or status. However, there is a lot that we can recommend in Canada to satisfy the travelling wanderlust of our clientele.

It’s no secret that Canada’s immigration program has experienced considerable upheaval in the past couple of years. Indeed the vast majority of our blogs in 2024 were all discussing some aspect of change to virtually all of Canadian immigration whether temporary, permanent or to obtain citizenship. Last week my partner Victor examined the statistical data demonstrating the actual outcomes of these changes on the immigrant population in Canada and how the changes are not yet having the desired effect on our immigration levels that the government intended. When implemented changes don’t provide the desired results, the impact on Canada’s immigration community can be harsh. Let’s review some of the current realities facing prospective immigrants to Canada.

2024 was an unprecedented year, to state it mildly, for immigration changes in Canada. In the span of a single calendar year, numerous foundational immigration programs were cut or capped, with the explicit objective of reducing the number of newcomers to Canada. These efforts were branded as a course correction in response to growing sentiments that Canada did not have sufficient infrastructure to accommodate so many newcomers after years of unsustainable immigration-fueled growth. This ultimately led to another first for the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) when it boisterously announced in the Fall of 2024 that it would begin setting specific targets for the number of temporary residents living in Canada in any given year. However, let’s see what the numbers show! Recently released data shows that IRCC’s plans are going awry.

On March 22, 2025, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC ) introduced the Rural Community Immigration Pilot (RCIP) to help smaller communities attract and retain skilled workers. As a first step, individual communities needed to determine priority sectors to support immigration pathways for workers in their regions. These sectors have now been determined for most communities and it is up to employers to seek participation in the pilot program. As initially announced, employers will play a central role in the RCIP program.

For many international students in Canada the Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) is their perceived route to Canadian permanent residence (PR). The PGWP was first introduced in 2005 and allows graduates from eligible Designated Learning Institutions (DLIs) the opportunity to obtain an open work permit, and to gain Canadian work experience. Historically, international students have obtained PGWPs to gain Canadian work experience and then transition from temporary status to PR. However, currently many international students in Canada find themselves in a position where they do not qualify for permanent residence by the time their PGWP expires.

Following US elections there is always a spike in interest about the opportunities for immigration to Canada by our southern neighbours in the US. However, the current Canadian immigration lay-of-the-land does not provide a lot of opportunities for such standard categories of applicants as skilled workers or business applicants. Recently imposed reductions in immigration levels have made it challenging for prospective immigrants to qualify to come to Canada. Even temporary workers and international students are facing restrictions. One sector of opportunity for aspiring US immigrants to Canada is for family sponsorship and citizenship by descent to bring family members to Canada. Let’s review these potential opportunities.

Sas and Ing Immigration Law Centre LLP

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