Canada’s Open Work Permit options will expand for Hong Kong residents by two years. Sean Fraser recently declared that Canada would extend the work permit options for residents of Hong Kong. The minister stated that Hong Kong nationals’ current Open Work Permit would expand by two years.
Canada’s Open Work Permit expansion to Hong Kong nationals
Additionally, Hong Kong residents must display a Canadian post-secondary degree or diploma within the previous ten years. This requirement differs from the existing condition of five years. Also, they must showcase a foreign credential equivalent to an Educational Credential Assessment. A post-secondary diploma program must be at least two years.
Hong Kong nationals have the option of applying digitally from within Canada. They could temporarily reside in the country or be students, workers, and visitors. Contrarily, the ones applying from outside Canada might face challenges related to travel and will not be able to come to the country. Furthermore, this implies they must possess an employment offer and fulfill all health conditions. They might also require to fulfill all travel exemptions. Besides this, Hong Kong nationals are also subject to presenting their negative test outcome of Covid-19.
Canadian PR pathways for Hong Kong nationals
For all the Hong Kong residents who have completed their post-secondary education in Canada, there are PR pathways available under two streams:
- Stream A offers permanent residence to Hong Kong nationals who graduated from a post-secondary institute in Canada within the previous three years.
- Stream B provides permanent residency to Hong Kong residents who graduated from a Canadian post-secondary institution or abroad. They must also gain a minimum of one year of Canadian work experience.
Moreover, these two streams include the students as the main applicants, along with spouses, partners, and dependent children.
Also, the chief applicant must hold a passport from the following:
- the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region- People’s Republic of China
- British National Overseas or the U.K.- an individual’s birth in Hong Kong, naturalized citizen, or registered in the country.
Hong Kong residents in Canada
The 2021 Census Data revealed that there are around 213,855 Canadian immigrants who chose Hong Kong as their birthplace. Hence, this country arrived among the top most Asian source countries for Canadian immigrants.
Interestingly, Hong Kong also emerged as the primary source of immigration for Canada, with nearly 30,000 Hong Kong residents immigrating to Canada every year. Per the historical records, both countries have had a connection in terms of the British Colonies. As a result, the economic relationship strengthened. Hong Kong was no longer a British Colony in 1997 and the Chinese government took control of it. Hence, the number of immigrants declined drastically.
According to the given data, Canada received around 3,750 permanent residents from Hong Kong. This was between January and November 2022. In 2021, the number turned out to be around 2,295. Furthermore, even while Covid-19 was at its peak, the country still received around 1,045 permanent residents from Hong Kong in 2020.
Moreover, a consistent rise in the number of study permits was also observed annually beginning in 2015. Also, 2095 study permits had to be issued. This number further increased to 6,345 in 2021 and 2022. Hong Kongers received around 8,705 study permits between January and November.
The International Mobility Program also witnessed an increase in work permits. Also, the number of permits had increased from 985 to 8,795 (in 2022). However, this data is certainly more than the 4,005 permits issued in 2021.
