New Temporary Policy for PR Visas for Francophones outside Quebec
Posted on 15/04/2021
French-speaking skilled workers already in Canada on a temporary work permit will now have an expedited path to permanent residence.
There are two main reasons for this, as announced by the Minister of Immigration:
- Because the COVID pandemic has made it difficult to reach the ambitious immigration targets announced in November 2020, allowing francophone workers already in Canada to contribute to this will help Canada achieve their targets for immigration over the next few years.
- Having more francophone workers in Canada outside the province of Quebec adds to Canada’s diverse cultural fabric and provides for more badly-needed French-language teachers outside the province of Quebec.
Here’s how it will work.
This will be a temporary program for permanent residence in Canada (that is if successful you will gain permanent resident status but the program is of limited length unlike standard permanent resident programs like Express Entry or Spousal Sponsorship). It will begin on May 6, 2021 and end on November 5, 2021.
Eligibility
Principal Applicants must:
- Completed at least 1 year (full-time or equivalent part-time – 1,560 hours in either case) of paid work in Canada during the 3 years previous to applying
- The work must have been in the following occupations:
I. Stream A: 1 year in the following occupations:
NOC Occupation
3011 Nursing co-ordinators and supervisors
3012 Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses
3111 Specialist physicians
3112 General practitioners and family physicians
3113 Dentists
3121 Optometrists
3122 Chiropractors
3124 Allied primary health practitioners
3125 Other professional occupations in health diagnosing and treating
3131 Pharmacists
3132 Dietitians and nutritionists
3141 Audiologists and speech-language pathologists
3142 Physiotherapists
3143 Occupational therapists
3144 Other professional occupations in therapy and assessment
3211 Medical laboratory technologists
3212 Medical laboratory technicians and pathologists’ assistants
3214 Respiratory therapists, clinical perfusionists and cardiopulmonary technologists
3215 Medical radiation technologists
3216 Medical sonographers
3217 Cardiology technologists and electrophysiological diagnostic technologists, n.e.c.
3219 Other medical technologists and technicians (except dental health)
3221 Denturists
3222 Dental hygienists and dental therapists
3223 Dental technologists, technicians and laboratory assistants
3231 Opticians
3232 Practitioners of natural healing
3233 Licensed practical nurses
3234 Paramedical occupations
3236 Massage therapists
3237 Other technical occupations in therapy and assessment
3411 Dental assistants
3413 Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates
3414 Other assisting occupations in support of health services
4151 Psychologists
4152 Social workers
4153 Family, marriage and other related counsellors
4165 Health policy researchers, consultants and program officers
4212 Social and community service workers
4412 Home support workers, housekeepers and related occupations
II: Stream B 1 year in the following occupations:
- Major Unit Groups
| Major Unit Group | NOC Code | Occupation |
| 66 – Sales support occupations | 6611 | Cashiers |
| 6621 | Service station attendants | |
| 6622 | Store shelf stockers, clerks and order fillers | |
| 6623 | Other sales related occupations |
| 72- Industrial, electrical and construction trades | 7201 | Contractors and supervisors, machining, metal forming, shaping and erecting trades |
| 7202 | Contractors and supervisors, electrical trades and telecommunications occupations | |
| 7203 | Contractors and supervisors, pipefitting trades | |
| 7204 | Contractors and supervisors, carpentry trades | |
| 7205 | Contractors and supervisors, other construction trades, installers, repairers and servicers | |
| 7231 | Machinists and machining and tooling inspectors | |
| 7232 | Tool and die makers | |
| 7233 | Sheet metal workers | |
| 7234 | Boilermakers | |
| 7235 | Structural metal and platework fabricators and fitters | |
| 7236 | Ironworkers | |
| 7237 | Welders and related machine operators | |
| 7241 | Electricians (except industrial and power system) | |
| 7242 | Industrial electricians | |
| 7243 | Power system electricians | |
| 7244 | Electrical power line and cable workers | |
| 7245 | Telecommunications line and cable workers | |
| 7246 | Telecommunications installation and repair workers | |
| 7247 | Cable television service and maintenance technicians | |
| 7251 | Plumbers | |
| 7252 | Steamfitters, pipefitters and sprinkler system installers | |
| 7253 | Gas fitters | |
| 7271 | Carpenters | |
| 7272 | Cabinetmakers | |
| 7281 | Bricklayers | |
| 7282 | Concrete finishers | |
| 7283 | Tilesetters | |
| 7284 | Plasterers, drywall installers and finishers and lathers | |
| 7291 | Roofers and shinglers | |
| 7292 | Glaziers | |
| 7293 | Insulators | |
| 7294 | Painters and decorators (except interior decorators) | |
| 7295 | Floor covering installers | |
| 74 – Other installers, repairers and servicers and material handlers | 7441 | Residential and commercial installers and servicers |
| 7442 | Waterworks and gas maintenance workers | |
| 7444 | Pest controllers and fumigators | |
| 7445 | Other repairers and servicers | |
| 7451 | Longshore workers | |
| 7452 | Material handlers | |
| 75 – Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations | 7511 | Transport truck drivers |
| 7512 | Bus drivers, subway operators and other transit operators | |
| 7513 | Taxi and limousine drivers and chauffeurs | |
| 7514 | Delivery and courier service drivers | |
| 7521 | Heavy equipment operators (except crane) | |
| 7522 | Public works maintenance equipment operators and related workers | |
| 7531 | Railway yard and track maintenance workers | |
| 7532 | Water transport deck and engine room crew | |
| 7533 | Boat and cable ferry operators and related occupations | |
| 7534 | Air transport ramp attendants | |
| 7535 | Other automotive mechanical installers and servicers | |
| 76 – Trades helpers, construction labourers and related occupations | 7611 | Construction trades helpers and labourers |
| 7612 | Other trades helpers and labourers | |
| 7621 | Public works and maintenance labourers | |
| 7622 | Railway and motor transport labourers | |
| 86 – Harvesting, landscaping and natural resources labourers | 8611 | Harvesting labourers |
| 8612 | Landscaping and grounds maintenance labourers | |
| 8613 | Aquaculture and marine harvest labourers | |
| 8614 | Mine labourers | |
| 8615 | Oil and gas drilling, servicing and related labourers | |
| 8616 | Logging and forestry labourers |
- Minor Unit Groups
| Minor Unit Group | NOC Code | Occupation |
| 151 – Mail and message distribution occupations | 1511 | Mail, postal and related workers |
| 1512 | Letter carriers | |
| 1513 | Couriers, messengers and door-to-door distributors | |
| 642 – Retail salesperson | 6421 | Retail salespersons |
| 673 – Cleaners | 6731 | Light duty cleaners |
| 6732 | Specialized cleaners | |
| 6733 | Janitors, caretakers and building superintendents | |
| 843 – Agriculture and horticulture workers | 8431 | General farm workers |
| 8432 | Nursery and greenhouse workers | |
| 844 – Other workers in fishing and trapping and hunting occupations | 8441 | Fishing vessel deckhands |
| 8442 | Trappers and hunters | |
| 946 – Machine operators and related workers in food, beverage and associated products processing | 9461 | Process control and machine operators, food and beverage processing |
| 9462 | Industrial butchers and meat cutters, poultry preparers and related workers | |
| 9463 | Fish and seafood plant workers | |
| 9465 | Testers and graders, food and beverage processing |
- Specific 4-digit unit groups
| NOC Code | Occupation |
| 0821 | Managers in agriculture |
| 0822 | Managers in horticulture |
| 4031 | French and French Immersion Secondary school teachers (language of instruction must be French |
| 4032 | French and French Immersion Elementary school and kindergarten teachers (language of instruction must be French) |
| 4411 | Home child care providers |
| 4413 | Elementary and secondary school teacher assistants |
| 6331 | Retail butchers |
| 6523 | Airline ticket and service agents |
| 6524 | Ground and water transport ticket agents, cargo service representatives and related clerks |
| 6541 | Security guards and related security service occupations |
| 6551 | Customer services representatives – financial institutions |
| 6552 | Other customer and information services representatives |
| 8252 | Agricultural service contractors, farm supervisors and specialized livestock workers |
| 8255 | Contractors and supervisors, landscaping, grounds maintenance and horticulture services |
| 9617 | Labourers in food and beverage processing |
| 9618 | Labourers in fish and seafood processing |
Please note that you must obtain your work experience – which can be in 1 or more occupations – under the A Stream OR the B Stream. Furthermore:
- If you apply with work experience gained under the A stream and you have worked in more than 1 of those jobs, you can combine 2 or more jobs under that stream but NONE from the B stream.
- If you apply with work experience gained under the B stream, you can combine 1 job under the B stream with 1 job under the A stream.
- In other words, if you are a healthcare worker, your work experience has to be exclusively in that area. If you are a worker in the categories in Stream B you can combine that type of work experience with certain occupations in the healthcare sector.
Continuing with Eligibility Requirements, the principal applicant also must:
- Be working (legally) IN ANY OCCUPATION in Canada at the time the application is submitted and received.
-
- In other words, as long as you have a minimum of 1560 hours of full-time or accumulated part-time work in Stream A or Stream B occupations gained over the past 3 years, when you actually apply you do not have to be working in one of those occupations. You do, however, have to be employed when you apply.
- Have been paid for any work you have done – either in Stream A and B, or in your current occupation if it is not a Stream A or Stream B occupation. The payment can have been in the form of wages and/or commissions earned.
- Have attained a Benchmark Proficiency of 4 in French language ability, in accordance with the Niveaux de competence linguistique canadiene. You will need to have been tested by a recognized organization:
-
- TEF Canada or TEF (if taken before March 1, 2020) administered by the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry
- TCF Canada administered by France Education International
The required minimum scores for a Canadian Languages Benchmark of 4 in French for each of the above-mentioned tests are given in the following table:
| TEF Canada – test score equivalency chart | ||||
| CLB Level | Reading | Writing | Listening | Speaking |
| 4 | 121 – 150 | 181 – 225 | 145 – 180 | 181 – 225 |
| TCF Canada – test score equivalency chart | ||||
| 4 | 342 – 374 | 4 – 5 | 331 – 368 | 4 – 5 |
- Be residing in Canada with valid temporary status and be physically present in Canada when:
-
- The application for permanent residency is received, AND
- The application for permanent residency is approved.
7. Intend to reside in a province or territory OTHER than Quebec (remember Quebec has it’s own immigration authorities and this program is managed by Canadian federal immigration authorities and does NOT apply to the province of Quebec)
- Have submitted the appropriate forms and supporting documents required for this application – more information on this will become available over the next couple of weeks leading up to the start of this program on May 6, 2021.
- Submit the application online unless disabilities mean another method (like paper) is authorized
- Not be inadmissible to Canada
Eligibility for Accompanying Family Members Already in Canada
The In-Canada family member of a principal applicant must:
- be in Canada
- have been included as a family member by the principal applicant in their application
- meet the definition of a family member according to section 1(3) of IRPR which states:
(3) For the purposes of the Act, other than section 12 and paragraph 38(2)(d), and for the purposes of these Regulations, other than paragraph 7.1(3)(a) and sections 159.1 and 159.5, family member in respect of a person means
-
- (a)the spouse or common-law partner of the person;
- (b)a dependent child of the person or of the person’s spouse or common-law partner; and
- (c)a dependent child of a dependent child referred to in paragraph (b).
- not be inadmissible to Canada
- meet all the general requirements to be a permanent resident under this policy
Eligibility for Family Members Abroad
The family member (living abroad) of a principal applicant must:
- have been included as an accompanying family member by the principal applicant in their application
- meet the definition of a family member according to IRPR 1(3) as shown directly above
- not be inadmissible to Canada
- meet all other requirements to be a permanent resident under this policy
Exemptions from provisions of IRPR (Immigration & Refugee Protection Regulations) that may be granted to the family member abroad.
- IRPR 10 (2)(c): the requirement to indicate the Class under which the application is made
- IRPR 70 (1)(a): the requirement to apply for a permanent resident visa under the class referred to in IRPR 70 (2)
- IRPR 70 (1)(c): the requirement to be a member of an immigration class
- IRPR 70 (1)(d): the requirement to meet the selection criteria and other requirements of that immigration class
In other words, family members abroad will not be required to belong to any specific class of permanent resident applicants given their unique position of living abroad and being part of a temporary immigration program.
Fees
The fees due will be those associated with a standard permanent residence visa application:
- Processing fees for the application and processing of the visa
- Right of Permanent Resident Fees
Intake Cap
There will be NO INTAKE CAP. In other words, there is no fixed limited number of PR applications that IRCC will allow. If you meet the requirements and successfully apply, you (and family members who meet the requirements) will get their PR visa.
- However, please keep in mind there is a limited time period – from May 6, 2021 to November 5, 2021 – so make sure you get your application in during that time frame. DO NOT count on an extension. There may be one, but at this point there is no indication of that. Apply during the given period to be safe.
Posted in News Tips and tagged Francophone skilled workers, Pathway to PR
