Canada Announces Immigration Policy Updates | Canada Immigration Updates

This policy allows eligible applicants to extend their status and obtain a new open work permit while awaiting the decision on their permanent residence applications.

Starting May 27, 2024, open work permits will be available to individuals who:

• Have applied for permanent residence 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 three years before their permanent residence application was received.

This public policy will be in effect for five years, enabling applicants to maintain their temporary status in Canada during the processing period of their permanent residence applications.

Applicants with temporary status, or their guardians, must renew their status as needed. A foreign national who applies to extend their work or study permit before it expires maintains legal status until a decision is made on the extension. This is known as "maintained status."

If an applicant's temporary status expires within 90 days before applying for a new open work permit, they can apply under this policy and restore their status simultaneously. Applications will not be approved if the temporary status expires more than 90 days before the application for the new open work permit.

2024 Parents and Grandparents Intake Announced

IRCC has announced that starting May 21, 2024, invitations will be sent to potential sponsors to apply for their parents and grandparents to become permanent residents. Over approximately two weeks, IRCC will send 35,700 invitations to those who submitted an interest to sponsor form in 2020, aiming to accept up to 20,500 complete applications for the 2024 intake.

For those not invited to apply as sponsors, parents and grandparents may be eligible for a super visa, allowing them to stay in Canada for five years at a time and apply for two-year extensions once in Canada.

New Measure to Support Skilled Temporary Workers in Manitoba

IRCC has approved Manitoba’s request to extend temporary resident status for potential nominees under the province’s Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) whose work permits are set to expire in 2024. This measure primarily targets post-graduation work permit holders currently in the Manitoba Skilled Worker PNP Expression of Interest pool.

This temporary measure will allow 6,700 temporary workers identified by Manitoba to continue working while their PNP applications are processed. It is expected that within two years, eligible foreign nationals will receive an official nomination from Manitoba and eventually become permanent residents.

While this measure is specific to Manitoba, IRCC is open to exploring similar options with other provinces and territories to transition more temporary residents to permanent residents and address regional labor market needs.