By the end of last year, Canada made an announcement to introduce multiple immigration initiatives for the benefit of Hong Kong residents and Canadians in Hong Kong.
These new immigration initiatives were launched with the purpose of luring Hong Kong youth and students to Canada by granting new work permits to prospective candidates. This new work permit can allow them to gain Canadian permanent residency.
Furthermore, a few updates were made to the existing immigration programs to assist Hong Kong nationals who were already living in Canada as well as those who were planning to arrive in Canada after the suspension of COVID-19 travel restrictions.
New routes for Hong Kong youth to Canadian immigration
A new immigration program was announced to be set in motion that will assist Hong Kong residents who are living in or outside Canada to submit an application for an open work permit. To be eligible to apply for this program, candidates must have completed their post-secondary graduation within the last five years. The validity of this work permit will be for three years, and this permit will allow Hong Kong residents, especially the youth, to arrive in Canada and gain relevant work experience.
Moreover, per the announcement, two new pathways will be introduced in 2021 to welcome more Hong Kong residents to Canada to apply for permanent resident status.
The eligibility under the first pathway will be determined through the below factors:
- The candidate must meet minimum language criteria.
- The candidate must meet minimum education level criteria.
- The candidate must gain relevant Canadian work experience.
The Canadian government will also speed up the processing time of study permit applications for eligible Hong Kong candidates willing to study in Canada. Once these students are completed with their studies, they will be eligible to directly apply for permanent residence through the second pathway.
Furthermore, under both of these new programs, the prospective candidates can include their spouses, partners, and dependent children residing in the country in the application.
New initiatives introduced for Hong Kong residents
One of the major recent measures taken by the Canadian government for Hong Kong residents is that the candidates who are applying for their stay extension are currently exempt from the application processing fees.
Furthermore, the government of Canada will also improve the promotion and recruitment measures to lure Hong Kong youth to study in Canada. Also, the immigration department will resume the processing of applications for Hong Kong candidates under the International Experience Canada (IEC) program, which was suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak. Hong Kong and Canada have a Working Holiday Agreement, enabling the residents of Hong Kong to be employed by a Canadian employer. Hence, individuals with a job offer can travel to Canada even during the travel restrictions.
Most importantly, Canada has put necessary resources in place to expedite the processing of permanent residence applications, including those for family sponsorships. All these initiatives are of assistance to the candidates from Hong Kong.
Economic-class Canadian Immigration Programs
The federal Express Entry system is the fast-track and most popular immigration pathway to gain permanent residence in Canada. Express Entry system ranks all the eligible candidates in the pool against one another based on specific human capital factors (such as age, education, language ability, work experience, and others) called the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), and those with the highest CRS points then receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA).
Moreover, candidates from Hong Kong stand a more substantial chance under the Express Entry program due to their English proficiency and high level of education, as these are the two most important factors on the CRS.
Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) are also another immigration pathway, which allows candidates to apply for permanent residence in their preferred Canadian province. Furthermore, over 240,000 new candidates are expected to arrive in Canada through PNPs by the end of 2023.
Family Sponsorship
Canada always sticks to its value of reuniting families. Canada has many immigration programs that help Canadian citizens, and permanent residents reunite to sponsor their loved ones for permanent residence.
Canadians can sponsor their common-law partners or spouses living in or outside of Canada. They can also sponsor their dependent children and other dependent family members through the family sponsorship program.
Furthermore, Canada offers the Parents and Grandparents Program to let Canadians sponsor their parents and grandparents to gain permanent resident status in Canada. By the end of 2021, Canada is aiming to welcome 30,000 applications under this program.
IEC Working Holiday Program
The International Economic Class welcomes tens of thousands of newcomers for work to Canada annually from over 30 countries. Hong Kong also has a Working Holiday Agreement with Canada, enabling Hong Kong residents to be employed by a Canadian employer, and they can further change their jobs after arrival. Candidates from the age group between 18 and 35 years are eligible for application under this program, and there is a limited quota system in this immigration channel.
Refugees
Canada has enacted a waiver of the 12-month pre-removal risk assessment removal as a response to worsening conditions in Hong Kong. This can come as a chance for a few candidates who may meet eligibility for another assessment prior to getting deported from Canada. Usually, a candidate cannot reapply for another refugee claim for a minimum of one year from the date of the claim rejection.
Moreover, Hong Kong residents who are vulnerable to abuse and victimization and have fled to another country may be eligible under different resettlement programs offered by Canada, including:
- The Government’s Refugee Assistance Program
- The Private Sponsorship of Refugees
