Canadian immigration minister to discuss new PR pathways for temporary residents

Canada's Immigration Minister is to organize a special event to discuss previously announced pathways to permanent residence for essential workers, students, and Francophones.

Marco Mendicino - Immigration minister will address the public through a conference on May 5 at 3:45 p.m EST. After the Minister's remarks, the media will be invited to ask questions, and there will be a panel discussion with special guests from the health sector.

The event comes the day before the planned launch of six time-limited immigration programs that are expected to welcome approximately 90,000 new immigrants to Canada. There are two streams for essential workers in health care and other professions, one for foreign graduate students and three for essential French-speaking workers and graduates. The majority of places, 50,000, are reserved for essential workers. A total of 40,000 is up for grabs for international graduate students. There is no limit to the number of candidates allowed in the flows for French speakers.

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The opening of applications is scheduled from May 6 to November 5, or until the admission limits for each of the programs are reached. All applicants must be in Canada and employed to apply.

Mendicino originally announced the shutters on April 14. So far, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) have not released the official application guide for any of the new avenues. The guide details the process to apply for permanent residence through these new immigration programs.

These programs are part of an initiative strategy to meet the federal government's immigration target of 401,000 new permanent residents by 2021. As travel restrictions and other public health measures prevent foreign applicants from coming to Canada, the government is focusing on admitting candidates who are already living in the countryside.