A new temporary public policy will allow Hong Kong permanent residence pathway applicants to extend their status and get a new open work permit in Canada while they await a decision on their permanent residence (PR) applications.
To qualify, candidates must have qualified under Stream A or Stream B of the existing temporary public policy for Hong Kong residents.
From May 27, open work permits will be available to those who both:
- Applied for PR under Stream A (in-Canada graduates) or Stream B (Canadian work experience) of the temporary public policy for Hong Kong residents in Canada, and
- Held a work or study permit in the 3 years before their application for PR was received
The new public policy will remain in place for 5 years so that applicants can extend their temporary status in Canada while processing of their PR application continues.
The pathway to PR for in-Canada Hong Kong nationals was launched on February 8, 2021, as part of Canada’s support for the support for freedom and democracy in Hong Kong.
Because of the large number of applications, processing times for this pathway have increased, with many applicants being at risk of seeing their temporary status in Canada expire before their applications are finalized.
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Those with temporary status in Canada, or their guardians, are responsible for renewing their status as needed. A foreign national who submits an application to extend their work or study permit in Canada before their current permit expires continues to have legal status until a decision is taken on the extension application.
This is referred to as “maintained status.”
If an applicant’s temporary status expired in the 90 days before applying for a new open work permit, they can apply under this public policy and restore their status at the same time.
If their temporary status expired more than 90 days before they try to apply for the new open work permit, their application will not receive approval.
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Who is Eligible to Apply for the Two Permanent Residence Pathways for Hong Kong Residents?
Stream A: In-Canada graduates
To be eligible, candidates must:
- hold a valid passport issued by either the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China or the United Kingdom to a British National (Overseas) as a person born, naturalized or registered in Hong Kong
- be physically present in Canada when they apply and when they get permanent residence
- have valid temporary resident status in Canada
- intend to live in Canada, in any province or territory other than Quebec
- have a level 5 score in reading, writing, listening and speaking in English or French on one of the following:
- Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB)
- Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC)
- have graduated from a post-secondary Canadian designated learning institution in the 3 years before they apply with at least 50% of their program completed in Canada (either in person or online), and with one of the following:
- a diploma (not graduate or postgraduate) for a program of at least 2 years
- a degree (associate, bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral)
- a graduate or post-graduate diploma or certificate for a program of at least one year and
If candidates have a graduate or post-graduate diploma or certificate, they must also have completed a post-secondary diploma or degree from Canada or from abroad, as a prerequisite to this graduate or post-graduate program.
They must have completed this prerequisite diploma or degree in the 5 years before they started their graduate or post-graduate program.
Stream B: Canadian work experience
To be eligible for this stream, candidates must
- hold a valid passport issued by either the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China or the United Kingdom to a British National (Overseas) as a person born, naturalized or registered in Hong Kong
- be physically present in Canada when they apply and when they get permanent residence
- have valid temporary resident status in Canada
- intend to live in Canada, in any province or territory other than Quebec
- have a level 5 score in all 4 skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking) in English or French on one of the following scales:
- Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB)
- Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC)
- have worked in Canada for at least 12 months full-time, or an equal amount of part-time hours in the 3 years before they apply.
