The Canadian
government announced
last week that it would open up new pathways to permanent residence for
essential workers and international graduates in Canada.

Key Points:

• To be eligible for one of the new streams, applicants must
  1. Have at least one year of experience in a healthcare or other pre-approved essential profession or
  2. Have completed an eligible Canadian post-secondary program within the last four years (not before January 2017).

• Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (IRCC) will begin accepting applications on May 6, 2021, as follows:
  • Up to 20,000 applications for temporary workers in health care.
  • Up to 30,000 applications for temporary workers in other selected essential occupations.
  • Up to 40,000 applications for international students who graduated from a Canadian institution.

• The streams will remain open until 5th November 2021, or until they have reached their numerical limit, whichever occurs first.

• IRCC will also open up permanent residence streams for French-speaking essential workers and recent graduates outside of Quebec who meet similar eligibility requirements.

• Additional information on the stream for French-speaking essential workers is available here. Additional information on the stream for French-speaking international graduates is available here.