Canada Creates New Pathway to Permanent Residency

On April 14, 2021, Immigration, Refugee, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced plans to create a new pathway for permanent residency (PR) for essential workers, international graduates, and French speakers who are currently in Canada.

Streams

There will be a total of 3 pathways, to make up a cap of 90,000 available slots.

Here is a list of the three streams:

1. 20,000 –Temporary Foreign Workers (TFW) applicants in 40 health-related occupations

1. 30,000 – TFW applicants in 95 other selected essential occupations
2. 40,000 – Applications for International students who graduated from a Canadian institution

In addition, Francophone speakers, outside Quebec will be eligible to apply under any of the streams but will be exempt from the quotas. Due to the need for French speakers in many communities, IRCC is allowing an unlimited number of French speakers to apply.

Requirements to Create New Pathway to Permanent Residency:

Temporary Foreign Workers

Health care and other selected Essential Occupations will be required to meet the following criteria:

1. Have at least one year of Canadian work experience in an eligible occupation in the three years preceding the date of the application;
2. Be currently employed in Canada in any occupation at the time of the application;
3. Reside in Canada with valid temporary resident status (or be eligible to restore their status) and be physically present in Canada at the time the application is received and when the application is approved;
4. Intend to reside outside the province of Quebec; and
5. Demonstrate English or French language proficiency equal to or higher than the Canadian Language Benchmark of Level 4 (CLB 4).

The occupations for TFW are focused on a broad range of health-related occupations and essential occupations. Essential occupations include the following:

• sales support occupations
• certain industrial, electrical, and construction trades
• other installers, repairers, and servicers
• transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations
• trade helpers, construction laborers, and related occupations
• harvesting, landscaping, and natural resources laborers
• mail and message distribution occupations
• retail salesperson
• cleaners
• agriculture and horticulture workers
• other workers in fishing and trapping and hunting occupations Machine operators and related workers in food, beverage, and associated products processing
• managers in agriculture
• managers in horticulture
• French and French Immersion Secondary school teachers (the language of instruction must be French)
• French and French Immersion Elementary school and kindergarten teachers (the language of instruction must be French)

• home child care providers
• elementary and secondary school teacher assistants
• retail butchers
• the airline ticket and service agents
• ground and water transport ticket agents, cargo service representatives, and related clerks
• security guards and related security service occupations
• customer services representatives – financial institutions
• other customer and information services representatives
• agricultural service contractors, farm supervisors, and specialized livestock workers
• contractors and supervisors, landscaping, grounds maintenance, and horticulture services
• laborers in food and beverage processing
• laborers in fish and seafood processing​

International Students

Candidates must meet the following criteria to be eligible under the international student stream:

1. Have completed, prior to the date the application is received and no earlier than January 2017, a program of study from a Designated Learning Institute (DLI) in Canada;
2. Have been granted an eligible credential following completion of a program of study from a DLI;
3. Be currently employed in Canada at the time of the application;
4. Reside in Canada with valid temporary resident status (or be eligible to restore their status) and be physically present in Canada at the time the application is received and when the application is approved;
5. Intend to reside outside the province of Quebec; and
6. Demonstrate English or French language proficiency equal to or higher than the Canadian Language Benchmark of Level 5 (CLB 5).

Timing

The new pathways are effective as of May 6, 2021, and will accept applications through to November 5, 2021, or when the program quota is reached.

It is expected the new pathway to PR will result in approximately 400,000 new foreign nationals making Canada their permanent and promoting long-term economic growth in Canada.

This new pathway opens up eligibility for some candidates who might not have otherwise been eligible for PR status in Canada. For example, some of the essential occupations are below skill level B, which is the normal cut-off for CEC applicants. The language requirement threshold is also lower than under Express Entry, so some candidates who may have been held back by low language test results may now have a potential path to PR status in Canada.

It is expected that information regarding how to apply to the new PR pathways will be released in the next few weeks. As this pathway is quota-based, it is expected that the cap for the streams will be reached quickly. We urge candidates to contact us to apply as soon as possible. Candidates must have their required documents, such as transcripts, degrees, equivalency (if necessary), and language tests. Applications should be submitted as soon as possible on or after May 6, 2021.