New pathways to permanent residency

Marco E. L. Mendicino, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced an innovative pathway to permanent residence for over 90,000 essential workers and international graduates who are actively contributing to Canada’s economy.

These special public policies will grant permanent status to temporary workers and international graduates who are already in Canada and who possess the skills and experience Canada needs to fight the pandemic and accelerate economic recovery.

The focus of this new pathway will be on temporary workers employed in hospitals and long-term care homes and on the frontlines of other essential sectors, as well as international graduates who are driving the economy of tomorrow.

To be eligible, workers must have at least one year of Canadian work experience in a health-care profession or another pre-approved essential occupation. International graduates must have completed an eligible Canadian post-secondary program within the last four years, and no earlier than January 2017.

Effective May 6, 2021, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will begin accepting applications under the following three streams:

20,000 applications for temporary workers in health care
30,000 applications for temporary workers in other selected essential occupations
40,000 applications for international students who graduated from a Canadian institution

The streams will remain open until November 5, 2021, or until they have reached their limit. Up to 90,000 new permanent residents will be admitted under these three streams.

To promote Canada’s official languages, three additional streams with no intake caps have also been launched for French-speaking or bilingual candidates. Communities across Canada benefit from French-speaking and bilingual newcomers, and this pathway will contribute to the vitality of these Francophone minority communities. As Canada continues the fight against the pandemic, immigration will remain critical to economic recovery by addressing labour shortages and adding growth to the workforce. With an accelerated pathway to permanent residency, these special public policies will encourage essential temporary workers and international graduates to put down roots and help Canada retain the talented workers it needs, particularly in the health-care system.

This announcement will help achieve Canada’s 2021 Immigration Levels Plan, which will see Canada welcome 401,000 new permanent residents.