Role of ‘Age Factor’ in the application process: Canada Immigration
If we talk about the countries that are having the most immigrant-friendly policies than Canada is one of them. Canada ranks fourth in the Migrant Integration Policy Index and it is planning to invite a record number of immigrants in the coming years.
The age-based criteria while filing the applications is one of the biggest disadvantages. Many candidates who match every other criterion become disqualified because of their age and certain programs that consider age as a criterion, have become ineligible. You can take the examples of immigration backlogs and several technical glitches on the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) online portal during the pandemic.
CRS is a points-based system that scores a profile to rank applicants in the express entry pool and you might get an invitation to apply only if you are able to score above the CRS cut. The maximum score in CRS is 1200.
Several factors are considered during the evaluation process, these include level of education, English/French skills and many more are also considered and they score higher if they are single and fall under the express entry category.
One of the biggest disadvantages in this is the age-based criteria and no points are given to those above 45 years of age in Canada’s comprehensive ranking system. Starting from the age of 40, the points reduce by 10 versus 5 before the age of 40 and a 29-year-old can get a maximum of 110 CRS points for age.
The time they reach 39, just 55 points are available and the time they reach 45, there are no points. Under express entry's FSWP, the applicant’s age is worth 12% of the overall selection process and the FAQ makes it clear that under the age factor of the CRS, someone over the age of 47 will not get any points know.
Canada is looking for a younger workforce mostly because the major section of its workforce has reached retirement age and an inflow of immigrants has become increasingly important for Canada. The country suffers a shortage of skilled workers.
According to reports immigrants account for a little over one-quarter of Canadian workers. Rural populations are also aging faster than those in urban areas and the Canadian population is seeing a big shift, with baby boomers getting older. The shift will have significant consequences on the labor market also.
