The biggest news of 2021 from Canada is here now. Canada has introduced a new temporary public policy that will allow 90,000 temporary foreign workers to apply for permanent residency during May and November 2021. The essential workers, international student graduates, and French speakers will be able to apply under the stream through 6 PR programs.
The focus of this new pathway will be on temporary workers employed in Canadian hospitals and long-term care homes (40 occupations) and on the frontlines of other essential sectors (95 occupations), as well as international graduates who are driving the economy. In general, to be eligible, workers must have at least 1 year of Canadian work experience in a healthcare profession or another pre-approved essential occupation. International graduates must have completed an eligible Canadian post-secondary program within the last 4 years and no earlier than January 2017.
Canada seems extremely willing to fulfill its immigration numbers announced earlier last year (401,000 in 2021). The country paves the path through temporary immigration programs that will help those staying temporarily in Canada and have immensely contributed to the economy.
On 14 April 2021, the Honourable 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. There will be no quota for the French-speaking workers who can apply under 3 streams.
The Honourable Marco E. L. Mendicino, P.C., M.P., Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship said on this occasion: “The pandemic has shone a bright light on the incredible contributions of newcomers. These new policies will help those with temporary status to plan their future in Canada, play a key role in our economic recovery and help us build back better. Our message to them is simple: your status may be temporary, but your contributions are lasting—and we want you to stay.”
Application deadlines
The permanent residency program will start on 6 May 2021 and will end on 5 November 2021. The program will also be considered ended if the cap has been reached before the deadline. The cap is 20,000 applications received under stream A and 30,000 applications received under stream B. The PR applications submitted after the deadline or quota completion will be considered ineligible.
Application fees
The application fees must be paid at the time of application submission. This will be standard permanent residency fees currently implemented.
Permanent Residency quota
The permanent residency program is quota-based and there has been a set cap on the number of applications permitted to be received. The other three streams for French-speaking immigrants will have no intake cap. The currently allowed quota is as follows:
- 40,000 applications for international students who graduated from a Canadian educational institution
- 30,000 applications for temporary workers in other selected essential occupations
- 20,000 applications for temporary workers in health care
Why is Canada doing this?
On October 30, 2020, the Honourable Marco Mendicino, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, tabled the 2021‒2023 Immigration Levels Plan that will allow 401,000 immigrants in 2021, 411,000 in 2022, and 421,000 in 2023. The biggest challenge for Canada is that its labor force is out of balance. Over the next two decades, 13.4 million people are expected to be out of work, but only 11.8 million will drop out of school and join the workforce.it also has the lowest birth rate in the world.
Since the pandemic travel restrictions are in force, the Canadian government has been trying to settle the temporary workers already available in Canada. This will indeed help the country completing its immigration targets of 2021. During the global COVID-19 pandemic, there is an increased need to ensure that Canada has the necessary workforce to support the physical health and wellbeing of individuals, as well as the economic recovery. By granting permanent resident status to those with experience in these occupations, Canada will be leveraging immigration, including Francophone immigration outside of Quebec, to help stabilize this workforce both for pandemic recovery and into the future.
Eligibility requirements
Subject to the following conditions are met, the PR status can be awarded to the applicants.
Work experience
To be eligible, the foreign national:
- Have accumulated at least one year of full-time work experience, or the equivalent in part-time experience (1,560 hours), in Canada, in an eligible occupation listed in Annex A or Annex B in the three years preceding the date when the application for permanent residence is received. The one year of work experience must be obtained in one or more of the eligible occupations as follows:
- Stream A: the one year of work experience must have been acquired in one or more occupations listed in Annex A. Experience cannot be combined with Annex B occupations.
- Stream B: the one year of work experience must have been acquired in one or more occupations listed in Annex B, or a combination of occupations in Annexes A and B.
- Be employed in Canada in any occupation at the time that the application for permanent residence is received;
- The employment described in both a) and b) must meet the definition of work under subsection 73(2) of the Regulations, must have been authorized pursuant to the Act and Regulations, and must not have been self-employed unless working as a medical doctor in a fee-for-service arrangement with a health authority;
Language Proficiency
To be eligible, the foreign national:
- Have attained a level of proficiency of at least benchmark 4 in either official language for each of the four language skill areas, as set out in the Canadian Language Benchmarks or the Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens.
Legal status in Canada
To be eligible, the foreign national:
- 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 for permanent residence is received and when the application is approved;
- Intend to reside in a province or territory other than Quebec;
Family members
The following eligibility requirements must be met if your family member is also applying for the PR from within Canada. The family member:
- is in Canada;
- has been included as an accompanying family member in an application for permanent residence by a principal applicant under this public policy;
- meets the definition of a “family member” in subsection 1(3) of the Regulations
The family member can also be granted PR if they live abroad. For being eligible, the family member:
- residing overseas has been included as an accompanying family member in an application for permanent residence by a principal applicant under this public policy;
- the foreign national meets the definition of a family member in subsection 1(3) of the Regulations;
Annex A- Eligible Health-Related Occupations
Here is the Eligible health care occupations list that includes all broad occupational category 3 occupations (Health occupations) from the NOC. The exceptions are Veterinarians (NOC 3114) and Animal health technologists and veterinary technicians (NOC 3213). Five occupations from broad occupational category 4 (Occupations in education, law and social, community, and government services) are also eligible occupations. A complete list of eligible occupations is as follows:
- 3011 Nursing co-ordinators and supervisors
- 3012 Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses
- 3111 Specialist physicians
- 3112 General practitioners and family physicians
- 3113 Dentists
- 3121 Optometrists
- 3122 Chiropractors
- 3124 Allied primary health practitioners
- 3125 Other professional occupations in health diagnosing and treating
- 3131 Pharmacists
- 3132 Dietitians and nutritionists
- 3141 Audiologists and speech-language pathologists
- 3142 Physiotherapists
- 3143 Occupational therapists
- 3144 Other professional occupations in therapy and assessment
- 3211 Medical laboratory technologists
- 3212 Medical laboratory technicians and pathologists’ assistants
- 3214 Respiratory therapists, clinical perfusionists and cardiopulmonary technologists
- 3215 Medical radiation technologists
- 3216 Medical sonographers
- 3217 Cardiology technologists and electrophysiological diagnostic technologists, n.e.c.
- 3219 Other medical technologists and technicians (except dental health)
- 3221 Denturists
- 3222 Dental hygienists and dental therapists
- 3223 Dental technologists, technicians and laboratory assistants
- 3231 Opticians
- 3232 Practitioners of natural healing
- 3233 Licensed practical nurses
- 3234 Paramedical occupations
- 3236 Massage therapists
- 3237 Other technical occupations in therapy and assessment
- 3411 Dental assistants
- 3413 Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates
- 3414 Other assisting occupations in support of health services
- 4151 Psychologists
- 4152 Social workers
- 4153 Family, marriage and other related counsellors
- 4165 Health policy researchers, consultants and program officers
- 4212 Social and community service workers
- 4412 Home support workers, housekeepers and related occupations
Annex B- Other Eligible Essential Occupations
1. Major Unit Groups
66 – Sales support occupations
| 6611 | Cashiers |
| 6621 | Service station attendants |
| 6622 | Store shelf stockers, clerks and order fillers |
| 6623 | Other sales related occupations |
72- Industrial, electrical and construction trades
| 7201 | Contractors and supervisors, machining, metal forming, shaping and erecting trades and related occupations |
| 7202 | Contractors and supervisors, electrical trades and telecommunications occupations |
| 7203 | Contractors and supervisors, pipefitting trades |
| 7204 | Contractors and supervisors, carpentry trades |
| 7205 | Contractors and supervisors, other construction trades, installers, repairers and servicers |
| 7231 | Machinists and machining and tooling inspectors |
| 7232 | Tool and die makers |
| 7233 | Sheet metal workers |
| 7234 | Boilermakers |
| 7235 | Structural metal and platework fabricators and fitters |
| 7236 | Ironworkers |
| 7237 | Welders and related machine operators |
| 7241 | Electricians (except industrial and power system) |
| 7242 | Industrial electricians |
| 7243 | Power system electricians |
| 7244 | Electrical power line and cable workers |
| 7245 | Telecommunications line and cable workers |
| 7246 | Telecommunications installation and repair workers |
| 7247 | Cable television service and maintenance technicians |
| 7251 | Plumbers |
| 7252 | Steamfitters, pipefitters and sprinkler system installers |
| 7253 | Gas fitters |
| 7271 | Carpenters |
| 7272 | Cabinetmakers |
| 7281 | Bricklayers |
| 7282 | Concrete finishers |
| 7283 | Tilesetters |
| 7284 | Plasterers, drywall installers and finishers and lathers |
| 7291 | Roofers and shinglers |
| 7292 | Glaziers |
| 7293 | Insulators |
| 7294 | Painters and decorators (except interior decorators) |
| 7295 | Floor covering installers |
74 – Other installers, repairers and servicers and material handlers
| 7511 | Transport truck drivers |
| 7512 | Bus drivers, subway operators and other transit operators |
| 7513 | Taxi and limousine drivers and chauffeurs |
| 7514 | Delivery and courier service drivers |
| 7521 | Heavy equipment operators (except crane) |
| 7522 | Public works maintenance equipment operators and related workers |
| 7531 | Railway yard and track maintenance workers |
| 7532 | Water transport deck and engine room crew |
| 7533 | Boat and cable ferry operators and related occupations |
| 7534 | Air transport ramp attendants |
| 7535 | Other automotive mechanical installers and servicers |
76 – Trades helpers, construction labourers and related occupations
| 7611 | Construction trades helpers and labourers |
| 7612 | Other trades helpers and labourers |
| 7621 | Public works and maintenance labourers |
| 7622 | Railway and motor transport labourers |
86 – Harvesting, landscaping and natural resources labourers
| 8611 | Harvesting labourers |
| 8612 | Landscaping and grounds maintenance labourers |
| 8613 | Aquaculture and marine harvest labourers |
| 8614 | Mine labourers |
| 8615 | Oil and gas drilling, servicing and related labourers |
| 8616 | Logging and forestry labourers |
2. Minor Unit Groups
151 – Mail and message distribution occupations
| 1511 | Mail, postal and related workers |
| 1512 | Letter carriers |
| 1513 | Couriers, messengers and door-to-door distributors |
642 – Retail salesperson
| 6421 | Retail salespersons |
673 – Cleaners
| 6731 | Light duty cleaners |
| 6732 | Specialized cleaners |
| 6733 | Janitors, caretakers and building superintendents |
843 – Agriculture and horticulture workers
| 8431 | General farm workers |
| 8432 | Nursery and greenhouse workers |
844 – Other workers in fishing and trapping and hunting occupations
| 8441 | Fishing vessel deckhands |
| 8442 | Trappers and hunters |
946 – Machine operators and related workers in food, beverage and associated products processing
| 9461 | Process control and machine operators, food and beverage processing |
| 9462 | Industrial butchers and meat cutters, poultry preparers and related workers |
| 9463 | Fish and seafood plant workers |
| 9465 | Testers and graders, food and beverage processing |
3. Specific 4 digit unit groups
| NOC Code | Occupation |
| 0821 | Managers in agriculture |
| 0822 | Managers in horticulture |
| 4031 | French and French Immersion Secondary school teachers (language of instruction must be French) |
| 4032 | French and French Immersion Elementary school and kindergarten teachers (language of instruction must be French) |
| 4411 | Home child care providers |
| 4413 | Elementary and secondary school teacher assistants |
| 6331 | Retail butchers |
| 6523 | Airline ticket and service agents |
| 6524 | Ground and water transport ticket agents, cargo service representatives and related clerks |
| 6541 | Security guards and related security service occupations |
| 6551 | Customer services representatives – financial institutions |
| 6552 | Other customer and information services representatives |
| 8252 | Agricultural service contractors, farm supervisors and specialized livestock workers |
| 8255 | Contractors and supervisors, landscaping, grounds maintenance and horticulture services |
| 9617 | Labourers in food and beverage processing |
| 9618 | Labourers in fish and seafood processing |