On 6 May 2021, Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will begin accepting applications for permanent residence from temporary workers in a health-care or other pre-approved essential occupation and some international students who have attained a post-secondary education credential under three streams:

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• Temporary workers in health care stream: 20,000 applications will be accepted.

• Temporary workers in other selected essential occupations stream: 30,000 applications will be accepted.

• International students who graduated from a Canadian institution stream: 40,000 applications will be accepted.

 

To view the eligible health-care occupations (Category A) click here and for other pre-approved essential occupations (Category B) click here.

 

Principal applicants can include their spouse or common-law partner and their dependent children who are either inside or outside Canada. Overall, all applicants must be admissible to Canada. Principal applicants must: have temporary resident status (or be eligible to restore their status) at the time the application is submitted and when the application is approved; intend to reside in province other than Quebec; and be employed in Canada when the application is received by IRCC. The additional requirements can be viewed by selecting the category that is applicable to your situation:

 

Temporary Workers

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• Foreign nationals in Canada, outside of Quebec, with recent Canadian work experience in a health-care profession or other pre-approved essential occupation.

 

• French-speaking foreign national in Canada, outside of Quebec, with recent Canadian work experience in a health-care profession or other pre-approved essential occupation. 

 

International Students

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• Foreign nationals in Canada, outside of Quebec, with a recent credential from a Canadian post-secondary institution.

 

• French-speaking foreign national in Canada, outside of Quebec, with a recent credential from a Canadian post-secondary institution.

 

 

Foreign nationals in Canada, outside of Quebec, with recent Canadian work experience in a health-care profession or other pre-approved essential occupation. 

 

To be eligible, a foreign national must:

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• Have at least one year of authorized full-time work experience (1,560 hours) in one or more health-care occupation listed in Category A within 3 years prior to receipt of the application by IRCC; OR

• Have at least one year of authorized full-time work experience in an eligible occupation listed in Category B or a combination of occupations in both Categories B and A within 3 years prior to receipt of the application by IRCC; AND

• Be employed in Canada in any occupation at the time that the application for permanent residence is received;

• Have attained a level of proficiency of at least CLB 4 in English or NCLC 4 in French in all four language skill areas.

 

 

French-speaking foreign nationals in Canada, outside of Quebec, with recent Canadian work experience in a health-care profession or other pre-approved essential occupation.

 

To be eligible, the foreign national must:

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• Have at least one year of authorized full-time work experience (1,560 hours) in one or more health-care occupation listed in Category A within 3 years prior to receipt of the application by IRCC; OR

• Have at least one year of authorized full-time work experience in an eligible occupation listed in Category B or a combination of occupations in both Categories B and A within 3 years prior to receipt of the application by IRCC; AND

• Be employed in Canada in any occupation at the time the application for permanent residence is received;

• Have attained a level of proficiency of at least NCLC 4 in French in all four language skill areas.

 

 

Foreign nationals in Canada, outside of Quebec, with a recent credential from a Canadian post-secondary institution.

 

To be eligible, the foreign national must:

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• Have completed a course of study at a post-secondary Designated Learning Institution in Canada no earlier than January 2017;

• Have been awarded a degree after completion of a program of at least 8 months in duration or a degree, diploma, certificate, or attestation issued on completion of a program of any duration leading to an occupation listed in Category A; OR

• Have one or more diploma/certificate/attestation where the following conditions are met:

• The program of study must be at least 8 months in duration and the combined length of the credential(s) must be equivalent to a two-year credential (at least 16 months in duration).

• For diploma of vocational studies (DVS) or an attestation of vocational specialization (AVS), each program of study must be at least 900 hours in duration and the combined program of study must be at least 1,800 hours in duration.

• When combining one AVS with one DVS, the length of the AVS may be less than 900 hours if the combined length is at least 1,800 hours; AND

• Have been authorized to study throughout their education in Canada;

• Be employed in Canada with a valid work permit or authorization to work at the time the application for permanent residence is received;

• Have attained a level of proficiency of at least CLB 5 or NCLC 5 in all four language skill areas in English or French, respectively.

 

 

French-speaking foreign nationals in Canada, outside of Quebec, with a recent credential from a Canadian post-secondary institution.

 

To be eligible, the foreign national must:

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• Have completed a course of study at a post-secondary Designated Learning Institution in Canada no earlier than January 2017;

• Have been awarded a degree after completion of a program of at least 8 months in duration or a degree, diploma, certificate, or attestation issued on completion of a program of any duration leading to an occupation listed in Category A; OR

• Have one or more diploma/certificate/attestation where the following conditions are met:

• The program of study must be at least 8 months in duration and the combined length of the credential(s) must be equivalent to a two-year credential (at least 16 months in duration).

• For diploma of vocational studies (DVS) or an attestation of vocational specialization (AVS), each program of study must be at least 900 hours in duration and the combined program of study must be at least 1,800 hours in duration.

• When combining one AVS with one DVS, the length of the AVS may be less than 900 hours if the combined length is at least 1,800 hours; AND

• Have been authorized to study throughout their education in Canada;

• Be employed in Canada with a valid work permit or authorization to work at the time the application for permanent residence is received;

• Have attained a level of proficiency of at least NCLC 5 in French in all four language skill areas.

 

Despite applicants meeting the criteria, officers retain the discretion to request additional supporting documents to confirm admissibility and eligibility throughout the processing of the application. It is also important for eligible candidates to be reminded that there is an intake cap attributed to each stream under which application will be accepted; this is not applicable to French-speaking applicants. As such, IRCC will cease accepting application once the established cap is reached or on 5 November 2021, whichever arrives first.