Number of Nigerians securing Canadian PR rises 17% ahead of immigration cuts
By Mary Adenike
The number of Nigerians who became immigrants in Canada rose by 16.6 percent last year as the Canadian government plans to cut immigration in 2025.
New data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) shows that the number of Permanent Residents (PRs) granted to Nigerians grew to 20,380 from 17,465 in 2023. In 2023, PRs dropped by 21.1 percent from 22,130 in 2022.
The IRCC data also revealed that out of a total of 483,390 PRs, Africa’s most populated nation ranked fifth in Canada’s top five immigration sources list behind India (127,320), Philippines (32,300), China (29,950), and Cameroon (21,200).
A PR in Canada is a status granting someone not a Canadian citizen, the right to live and work in the country without any time limit on their stay. It is usually an immigration visa that allows someone to get most social and healthcare benefits that Canadian citizens are entitled to and also get protection under Canadian law.
Canada’s aging population and lower birth rate have been shrinking its labour force over the past three years, forcing the country to intensify its efforts to attract large, young, and vibrant immigrants by offering immigration-friendly policies.
But in October of last year, the country announced that it would scale back on targets for admissions of permanent residents and temporary residents and focus more on increasing economic immigration.
IRCC said that Canada will reduce the number of new permanent residents, and open a new tab it plans to accept from 500,000 to 395,000 in 2025 and 380,000 in 2026. A target of 365,000 has been set for 2027.
The plan’s targets aim to “pause population growth in the short term to achieve well-managed, sustainable growth in the long term,” according to the government’s news release, and the plan’s reduced targets include temporary residents – international students and foreign workers already in Canada – applying to become permanent residents.
Nigeria has in recent years seen a mass exodus of talent, popularly called ‘japa’ (a Yoruba word for “run quickly”), which has led to the dearth of skilled workers in critical sectors.
High poverty, unemployment, poor human capital development, insecurity, and poor education are some of the major reasons many Nigerians are leaving the country in search of greener pastures.
