Canada has recently made some changes in its immigration programs especially related to permanent residency. And these new Canadian PR pathways can work in the favor of those who come under the category of essential workers.
New PR Pathway Favors Foreign Workers in 135 Essential Jobs
The new Canadian permanent residency pathway is favorable for temporary foreign workers who are working in 135 essential occupations. From May 6 onwards these workers can apply for permanent residency pathways. Excluding Quebec, all the new immigrants can apply through this pathway to gain permanent residency status in any of the Canadian provinces. The Canadian immigration officials will be giving PR to 50,000 new immigrants this year and essential workers stand a good chance of qualifying for it.
The program will be open until November 5, 2021, or until the spots for 20,000 healthcare workers and 30,000 essential workers are filled. Temporary foreign workers speaking French can also apply through the PR pathway for French-speaking workers in essential occupations.
Importantly, there is no cap to this program as Canada accepts unlimited applications under this category as the country has been having trouble attracting French-speaking immigrants.
Are You Eligible For a New PR Pathway?
To qualify under this PR pathway a temporary foreign worker must have worked for at least one year in the essential occupation in the past 3 years. The pathway includes 40 occupations from the healthcare streams and 95 essential occupations. Those with part-time experience of working for at least 1560 hours in the essential jobs can also apply through this pathway.
For both healthcare and essential occupations stream the applicant must be employed in Canada at the time of applying. Self-employed workers are not eligible to apply under this category unless they are in the field of medicine serving as a doctor with a Canadian health authority.
It is also mandatory that the applicant must be residing in Canada on temporary status at the time of application and is ready to immigrate to other provinces excluding Quebec. The applicant must also fulfill the Canadian Language Benchmark for language abilities either in French or English.