Are you eligible?
The IRCC announced new pathways for permanent residence on April 14, 2021, according to which up to 90,000 francophones, international students, and essential workers may be able to call Canada their permanent home. The pathways came into effect on May 6, 2021.
What are the pathways?
Pathways to a permanent residence in Canada are for international graduates and temporary workers who have the experience and skills that the country needs to recover from the pandemic economically. Individuals can start submitting their applications as of May 6, 2021. The deadline for the pathways is November 5, 2021.
These new pathways target temporary workers in long-term care homes and hospitals and those serving on the front line in critical sectors. The pathways are also for international graduates, the driving force for the economy of the country. The Canadian government also welcomes francophones via these pathways.
The IRCC aims to allow 90,000 permanent residents under the following streams:
- French-speaking international students
- Workers in health care and other essential occupations – both French-speaking and non-French-speaking
- International students who graduated from any Canadian institution
One thing to note here is that there aren’t any caps on how many French-speaking candidates the government will accept.
Eligibility criteria
The eligibility for the program varies according to who you are:
- Workers: Workers must have a minimum work experience of one year in Canada, either in a healthcare profession or in another essential occupation.
- French-speaking workers: The government has introduced a stream for essential francophone workers.
- Graduates: International grads who have completed a post-secondary program approved by Canada in the last four years (not before January 2017) are eligible.
- French-speaking graduates: There’s also a stream for French-speaking graduates.
To be eligible, workers and graduates also need to be proficient in either French or English, meet the general eligibility requirements, be authorized to work when submitting the application, and physically be in Canada.
Application timeframes & quotas
The IRCC started to accept a fixed number of applications in the three streams. Here’s a breakdown:
- 40,000 applications for international students graduating from a Canadian institution
- 30,000 applications for temporary workers in selected essential sectors
- 20,000 applications for temporary healthcare workers
As mentioned earlier, the streams are open until November 5, 2021, or until the 90,000-application limit has been reached.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
The following are some common questions you might have related to the immigration streams announced recently. We recommend that you go through them so that you are better prepared to submit an application.
When are the new streams being launched?
All new immigration streams for international students and essential workers launched on May 6, 2021.
How are the applications prioritized?
The IRCC will process all the applications on a first-come, first-serve basis.
What is the procedure for applying?
- Go to the new online portal for submitting your application. On the portal, you will see a “How to Apply Tool” that will decide the stream suitable for you. There’s also a wizard that ensures you are eligible. However, if you’re sure that you meet the eligibility criteria, you can simply skip this wizard.
- Accept all the terms and conditions.
- Make an account. A verification code will be emailed to you; copy and paste the code on the portal. Once you do, you’ll be able to sign in using your email and password.
- Once you have signed in, you will come across a document checklist, which will also include the generic IMM 0008 form. Validate the form and submit it with 2D barcodes. There’s no need to sign in; an attestation will be enough.
- If you’re using a representative, ensure that there’s a wet signature on the representative form.
- Submit the documents, including proof of study experience or eligible work in Canada. If your dependents are also part of the document, there are separate fields for uploading their files.
- Once you submit the documents, you will see a consent and acknowledgment form along with a privacy statement.
- Pay the required fees.
- Click on the “Submit” button you see at the bottom. You will then see another page confirming that you have submitted your application
What documents do you need?
You will see a list of all the required documents on the portal based on the steam you’re applying for. Generally, you will have to submit the following:
- The IMM 0008, also known as the generic application form for Canada. You will have to download Adobe Acrobat Reader to be able to access the form.
- Proof of funds
- Police certificate
- Medical exams
- Birth certificate if you want to declare dependent children
- Adoption certificate if you have declared your dependent child as “adopted.”
- Common-law union farm if you have declared your marital status as “common law.”
- A representative form if you’ve hired a representative
- Marriage certificate if you’ve declared your marital status as “married.”
- Legal separation agreement and divorce certificate if your marital status is set to “divorced.”
- Death certificate if you’ve declared your marital status as “widowed.”
- In case you don’t have police certificates at the time and are unable to obtain them, you’ll have to prove that you’ve done your best and put in a lot of effort to do so.