On, April 14, 2021 /CNW/ – Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, the Honorable Marco E. L. Mendocino, proposed an ambitious pathway to permanent residency for over 90,000 essential workers and foreign graduates who are successfully contributing to Canada’s economy.
Temporary workers and foreign graduates who are still in Canada who have the expertise and experience we need to counter the pandemic and improve the economic growth will be granted permanent status under these special public policies.
Temporary workers employed in the hospitals and long-term care homes, as well as foreign graduates stimulating the economy of tomorrow, will be the focus of this new pathway.
Workers must have at least one year of work experience in a healthcare career or another pre-approved essential occupation in Canada to be qualified. International graduates must have finished a qualifying Canadian post-secondary programme no earlier than January 2017 and within the last four years.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will begin accepting applications under the following three streams on May 6, 2021:
- 20,000 applicants for temporary healthcare workers.
- 30,000 applications for temporary workers in other essential occupations.
- 40,000 applicants for foreign students who graduated from a Canadian university.
The streams will be open until November 5, 2021, or until they reach their maximum limit. These three streams will accept up to 90,000 new permanent residents.
Three additional streams for French-speaking or bilingual applicants have been launched with no intake caps to support Canada’s official languages. French-speaking and bilingual immigrants support communities across Canada, and this pathway would add to the vitality of these Francophone minority communities.
As we continue to fight the pandemic, immigration will be critical to our economic recovery because it will address labour shortages and contribute to the workforce’s prosperity.
These special public policies would encourage essential temporary workers and foreign graduates to settle in Canada and help us retain the skilled workers we need, especially in our healthcare system, by providing an accelerated path to permanent residency.
The announcement made recently will assist us in achieving our Immigration Levels Plan for 2021, which calls for Canada to accept 401,000 new permanent residents. The strategy would help build opportunities and propel long-term development in Canada by welcoming skilled newcomers and foreign graduates.