Essential workers and international graduates can apply to become permanent residents starting May 6, 2021.

Canada’s six new immigration streams for essential workers, international graduates, plus an unlimited number of French speakers are set to launch next week.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced the pathways on April 14.

Three of the streams will allow 90,000 essential workers and international graduates to get permanent residency status. The other three streams target French-speaking immigration candidates. Below is a list of the new streams, as well as the maximum number of applications IRCC will accept for each stream.

• Workers in Canada, Stream A – Health care workers (20,000 applications);
• Workers in Canada, Stream B – Other essential workers (30,000 applications);
• International graduates (40,000 applications);
• Workers in Canada, Stream A – French-speaking health care workers (no intake cap);
• Workers in Canada, Stream B – French speaking essential workers (no intake cap);
• French-speaking international graduates (no intake cap).

Canada set ambitious immigration targets for 2021, looking to welcome 401,000 new permanent residents. This high target is part of an effort to make up for the lack of new immigrants admitted in 2020, and to support the nation’s post-pandemic economic recovery.

However, because of the pandemic, the border was closed to non-essential travel in March 2020. Candidates who were approved for permanent residence but are currently residing abroad are not yet allowed to travel to Canada. This has limited the number of new immigrants entering the country.

Canada remains committed to reaching its immigration targets, which is why the immigration department has created these new limited-time streams.

How can workers be eligible?

Health care workers and other essential workers need to have one year of full-time work experience in an eligible occupation within the last three years. Eligible health care occupations (Annex A), as well as other essential occupations (Annex B) can be found here. You can also be eligible if you have the equivalent part-time experience of 1,560 hours.

You must also be currently working for an employer in Canada. This could be in any occupation. Also, you need a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) of 4 or more in English or French.

You also need to be legally living in Canada, and intend to live in any province other than Quebec. You also cannot be deemed inadmissible to Canada for criminal or medical reasons.

How can international graduates be eligible?

International graduates must have graduated from a Canadian Designated Learning Institution (DLI) no earlier than January 2017. You must have received a credential such as a university degree, a college diploma, a credential from a trade or technical school, or from a Quebec CEGEP.

Also, you must be employed in Canada at the time of application, and have authorization to work through a valid work or study permit. You also need a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) of at least 5 in English or French.

In addition, you must be living in Canada legally, and must not be inadmissible to Canada for criminal or medical reasons.

How can French-speakers be eligible?

French speaking workers and international graduates need to meet the same eligibility requirements outlined above, except for the language requirements. Workers must have at least a fluent basic level of French in the four language abilities: listening, speaking, reading and writing. This translates to a Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC) of at least 4.

International graduates need to have at least an intermediate level of French in the four language abilities, which is an NCLC of at least 5.