PR pathways for French-speaking temporary residents
Image credit: Sai de Silva on Unsplash.
From: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Immigration is essential to the vitality of Francophone communities across Canada, including New Brunswick’s Acadian communities.
That’s why Marco E. L. Mendicino, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, and Liane Roy, President of the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne, visited Bathurst to invite French-speaking temporary residents in Canada to take advantage of the recently launched temporary pathway to permanent residence.
While this new pathway will make a difference across Canada, it is especially crucial for the future of Acadian and Francophone minority communities like Bathurst. It will help retain French teachers to address the shortage of French-language teachers in Canada. To support Canada’s objectives for Francophone immigration, the streams for French-speaking or bilingual candidates have no limit to the number of applications that can be received.
Until November 5, 2021, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will accept applications from French-speaking or bilingual candidates who intend to live outside of Quebec, under three streams for:
• Temporary workers in health care.
• Temporary workers in other selected essential occupations.
• International students who graduated from a Canadian institution.
As the country moves past the pandemic and looks forward to the future, immigration will remain critical to Canada’s economic recovery by ensuring we have the workers we need for our businesses to thrive, and create more jobs right across the country.
With an accelerated pathway to permanent residency, these targeted initiatives will encourage essential temporary workers and international graduates to put down roots in Canada and help retain the talented workers we need, particularly in our hospitals and long-term care homes. In this way, the country acknowledges the extraordinary service of so many essential workers during the pandemic, many of whom are newcomers and have played critical roles as we fight COVID-19.
“One of Canada’s advantages on the world stage is its bilingual nature,” said Mendicino. “So supporting the growth of Francophone minority communities is part of the government’s plan for economic growth and long-term prosperity. This new pathway, with dedicated streams for French-speaking workers and international graduates, will make sure that immigration directly contributes to the development of Francophone communities.”
“Since there is no limit to the number of French-speaking candidates who can take advantage of this new pathway to permanent residence until November, we encourage all temporary workers and recent graduates of our colleges and universities who wish to establish themselves within the Canadian Francophonie to explore whether this new option meets their needs and aspirations,” said Roy. “We also invite organizations and institutions in our communities to promote this program to French-speaking temporary residents over the coming weeks and months.”
A few quick facts:
• These public policies came into effect on May 6, 2021, and will end on November 5, 2021.
• There is no limit on applications to the streams dedicated to French-speaking and bilingual newcomers.
• Applicants need to demonstrate a level of French-language proficiency of at least benchmark 4 through an approved test from a designated language testing organization, as set out in the Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks.
• To be eligible, workers must have at least one year of Canadian work experience in a healthcare profession or another pre-app-roved essential occupation.
• International graduates must have completed an eligible Canadian post-secondary program at a designated learning institution as of January 2017.