Another big move by Canada to keep pace with their target to welcome 401000 new immigrants in 2021. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) released the big news of introducing new public policies concerning new immigration pathways for foreign nationals in Canada to get permanent residency. This includes international student graduates, essential workers, and French-speaking foreign nationals.
Marco Mendicino, Canada’s immigration minister has declared the new programs will make way for 90,000 new immigrants under the below discussed four categories, to get permanent status in 2021.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will start accepting applications from 6 May 2021 for the following:
Foreign nationals in Canada,(excluding those in Quebec), with the latest Canadian work experience in essential businesses
French-speaking foreign nationals in Canada,(excluding those in Quebec), with the latest Canadian work experience in essential businesses
International graduates in Canada, (excluding those in Quebec), who have recently completed their studies from a Canadian post-secondary institution
French-speaking international graduates in Canada,(excluding those in Quebec), who have recently completed their studies from a Canadian post-secondary institution
The applications under these streams will be accepted latest until:
- November 5, 2021, or
- They have reached their set limit
These new immigration programs apply to workers in healthcare, and other occupations like caregiving, food production and distribution.
Eligibility Requirements for Principal Applicant
To be qualified to apply under these policies the workers must:
- Have a minimum of one year of Canadian work experience
- Have experience in healthcare or any other pre-approved essential occupation
Whereas the international graduates must have:
- Have a credential from a Canadian post-secondary school
- The credential should have been attained in the last 4 years and not before January 2017.
Both the graduates and workers must be proficient in either English or French language. The workers should have at least a score of 4 in either official language for each of the four language skill areas as per the Canadian Language Benchmarks or the Niveaux de compétence Linguistique canadiens. While the international graduates should have at least a score of 5. They must also be admissible to Canada under the Act and Regulations. Moreover, they should be present to work in Canada at the moment their application qualifies. They should be residing on a valid temporary visa.
All the important supporting documents to evaluate the application must be submitted at the time of application. The immigration officer continues to hold the discretion to request additional documents to process the application if needed.
Mendocino also states that these policies will help temporary foreign nationals in Canada to live and work permanently. This will in turn help the economy to recover and rebuild better. Although the status of the foreign nationals may be temporary, their contribution to the economy of the country is constant.
Eligibility Requirements for Principal Applicant’s Family Members in Canada
For a family member of the principal applicant in Canada to be eligible for permanent residency, must:
- Be residing in Canada
- Be included in the principal applicant’s application for permanent residency submitted under one of these policies
- Fulfil the definition of ‘family member’ given in subsection 1(3) of the Regulations;
- Not be admissible to Canada as per the Act and Regulations; and
- Have confirmation from a delegated officer stating that the principal applicant fulfils every eligibility requirement to get permanent residency under the intended policy
Eligibility Requirements for Principal Applicant’s Family Members Abroad
For a family member of the principal applicant abroad, to be eligible for permanent residency, must:
- Be residing overseas
- Be included in the principal applicant’s application for permanent residency submitted under one of these policies
- Fulfil the definition of ‘family member’ given in subsection 1(3) of the Regulations;
- Not be inadmissible to Canada as per the Act and Regulations; and
- Have confirmation from a delegated officer stating that the principal applicant fulfils every eligibility requirement to get permanent residency under the intended policy
Intake Cap
There is a defined cap to the number of applications to be processed under these policies.
| Policy | Stream A | Stream B |
| Public Policy 1 | Maximum 20000 applications | Maximum 30000 applications |
| Public Policy 2 | No Cap | |
| Public Policy 3 | maximum of 40,000 applications | |
| Public Policy 4 | No Cap |
Eligible Occupations for Temporary Foreign national workers to apply for Permanent Residency
For applicants under Policy 1 and Policy 2:
Stream A: the applicant must have one year of work experience in one or more occupations listed in Annex A. Please note, occupations from Annex A and B cannot be combined under this stream.
Stream B: the applicant must have one year of work experience in one or more occupations listed in Annex B or a combination of occupations listed in both the annexes.
Fees
Any applicable fees, that includes the processing fee for:
- application;
- or visa under subsection 25.2(1) of the Act, and the Right of Permanent Residence Fee,
must be paid at the time of application.
Eligible Occupations for Temporary Foreign national workers to apply for Permanent Residency
For applicants under Policy 1 and Policy 2:
Stream A: the applicant must have one year of work experience in one or more occupations listed in Annex A. Please note, occupations from Annex A and B cannot be combined under this stream.
Stream B: the applicant must have one year of work experience in one or more occupations listed in Annex B or a combination of occupations listed in both the annexes.
Fees
Any applicable fees, that includes the processing fee for:
- application;
- or visa under subsection 25.2(1) of the Act, and the Right of Permanent Residence Fee, must be paid at the time of application.
Reasons to Introduce the new public policies
As a part of the 2021-2023 immigration Levels Plan, Canada has a goal of welcoming 401,000 new permanent residents by the end of 2021. But this pandemic had some other plans. Due to the extended closures of the borders and the inability to admit new immigrants from abroad, Canada is consecutively introducing new immigration plans. So, considering Foreign nationals temporarily residing in Canada who are contributing to the economic development of the country is the best possible move. The foreign nationals addressed in these policies are already contributing to the labour market. By granting permanent residency to such temporary residents, Canada will reap benefits from their competencies over time. Without resorting to these new policies, Canada will be unable to have ambitious new immigrants that could support the economic recovery and growth of the country.
No wonder that this pandemic has brought the contribution of foreign nationals in Canada to the limelight. Covering majorly all the essential sectors, these temporary residents stood by the country in the bad times. Taking the rising need of the workforce into account, Canada has been taking all the necessary steps to keep the skilled foreign workers and international students.