On April 14, 2021, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada announced a new pathway to permanent residency for essential temporary workers and international graduates. There are specific options for French-speaking or bilingual essential temporary workers and international graduates who intend to live outside of Quebec.
Essential temporary workers who are living in Canada and who have at least one year of Canadian work experience in a health care setting or other pre-approved essential occupation are eligible under this new immigration program. International students who are living in Canada and who completed an eligible Canadian post-secondary program in a designated learning institution within the last four years (January 2017 or later) are also eligible under this new immigration program.
Applications for the new program will be accepted starting May 6, 2021. Applications will be accepted until November 5, 2021 or until the maximum number of applications are processed (20,000 for temporary health care workers, 30,000 for temporary workers in other essential occupations, 40,000 international graduates). There are no limits on applications for French-speaking applicants, but applications must be submitted between May 6 and November 5, 2021.
We recommend that people who are interested in submitting applications start collecting the information that will likely be required. Full details can be found in this PDF.