IRCC Hong Kong Pathway Policy: Updated June 26th

• 3 years Open Work Permit 
  
  • For those who have graduated in the past 5 years
• Permanent Resedency Pathway 
  
  • Stream A  (International Students)
  • Stream B  (1 year Canadian Work Experience)

In addition to the current work and study opportunities for Hong Kong applicants, a new Hong Kong specific work permit program will include open work permits for a period of up to 3 years, with post-secondary education graduates in Canada or abroad completed over the last 5 years.

Registered spouses or common-law partners, as well as minor children, can also apply for a study or work permit.

Two new paths to permanent residency are being established for those who come here to either study or work, effective date will be available in June 2021

The first pathway:

Former Hong Kong residents who have obtained a minimum of 1 year of work experience in Canada and who meet other requirements, such as minimum standards of language and education.

The Second pathway:

The second route would be for those who have graduated from a Canadian post-secondary school. These students are then eligible to apply directly for permanent residency.

Principal applicants are allowed to include in-Canada spouses, partners, and dependent children in their application for all these 2 pathways.

Students Priority processing should be given to all study permit applications received from HKSAR and BNO passport holders.

Officers should process all Hong Kong study permit applications and finalize those that are for designated learning institutions (DLIs) on the list of DLIs with COVID-19 readiness plans approved by their provincial or territorial authority.

As of February 8, 2021, foreign nationals who hold either a HKSAR or BNO passport are eligible to apply for an open work permit under a 2-year temporary resident public policy exempting them from the requirements of paragraph R200(1)(c). Applicants can be residing in Canada or overseas at the time of application.

Physical Presence in Canada 

The principal applicant must be physically present in Canada when they apply and when permanent residence is granted. The principal applicant must provide proof of being physically present in Canada at the time of their application. 

This can include a copy of a lease or rental agreement a letter from a landlord or property owner attesting to residence and specifying dates utility bills or any other bills that contain the applicant’s residential address Intent to reside in a province or territory other than the province of Quebec To be eligible, an applicant must intend to reside as a permanent resident in a province other than Quebec. 

Official Language Proficiency 

The applicant must provide the results of a language test approved by IRCC that shows the applicant meets the minimum language level of 5 for each of the 4 language skill areas (listening, speaking, reading and writing) for either the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) in English  The test results must be less than 2 years old on the date of application. 

Eligibility requirements under Stream A and Stream B 

Applicants must apply under 1 of the 2 streams and meet all eligibility requirements in either stream. 

(Hong Kong Pathway) Stream A: In-Canada graduates 

This stream is targeted at applicants with recent post-secondary education in Canada. Education requirements Applicants must have graduated from a designated learning institution in Canada in the 3 years before they apply with one of the following: 

• a Post-Secondary Degree (for example, bachelor’s, master’s, doctorate) 
• a Post-Secondary Diploma (Program that is at least 2 years in length)
• a Graduate or Post-Graduate Credential (Program that is at least 1 year in length AND the program required them to have a post-secondary degree or diploma as a prerequisite and they graduated from the post-secondary degree or diploma no more than 5 years before the start of the graduate or post-graduate program

The program of study can be completed in any field of study, with at least 50% of the program of study completed while physically present in Canada, either in class or online. 

(Hong Kong Pathway) Stream B: Canadian Work Experience 

This stream is targeted at applicants with post-secondary education abroad as well as with recent work experience in Canada. 

Applicants have to meet both education and work experience requirements.

Education Requirement in HongKong 

They must graduated in the past 5 years before they apply for the PR Stream B.

AND 1 Year Canada Work Experience 

 Applicants must provide an educational credential assessment (ECA) to show that their foreign degree, diploma, certificate or credential is equal to one of the above-mentioned Canadian post-secondary credentials.  The ECA must be less than 5 years old on the date they apply. C

Applicants in Stream B must have accumulated 1 year (12 months) of full-time (at least 30 hours per week, or the equivalent in part-time, for a total of at least 1,560 hours) authorized Canadian work experience at any skill level within the 3 years before they apply). 

Any work experience acquired during full-time studies or self-employment does not count under this public policy. 

Canadian work experience does not need to be continuous to qualify, but the period of 12 months of required employment does not include any extended absence from Canada (including any time worked for an employer outside Canada) periods of unemployment prolonged sickness parental leave A reasonable period of vacation time will be counted towards meeting the work experience requirement.