Public policy to facilitate issuance of permanent resident visas under the federal Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot

Background:

As a signatory to the Global Compact for Refugees, Canada has committed to exploring new ways for skilled refugees and other displaced people in need of protection to settle in a safe third country. Canada is also committed to attracting talent from around the world to fill labour shortages and drive economic growth for the benefit of all Canadians.

The Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot (EMPP) is Canada’s complementary pathways model for displaced talent labour mobility. Under the EMPP’s Updated public policy to support the Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot – Phase 2, skilled refugees and other displaced people can access a suite of administrative facilitation measures to offset the circumstances of their displacement when applying to existing regional economic programs. In addition to supporting skilled refugees and other displaced people to access existing regional economic programs, this public policy establishes a new Federal pathway under the EMPP which further extends the facilitation measures to displaced individuals with skills and qualifications to apply through a standalone federal pathway. The federal pathway will help create the opportunity for more displaced people to fill a greater variety of labour market needs across Canada.

Public Policy Considerations:

The goal of this public policy is to provide refugees and other displaced people in need of protection with a durable solution while also providing Canadian employers with access to a new pool of talent. In this way, Canada is helping change the narrative from one that views displaced people as a burden, to one that acknowledges that, with protection and safety, refugees and other displaced people have the skills, abilities and attributes to contribute to their new communities and Canada’s economy.

Whereas refugees and other displaced people may possess the right skills and qualifications needed by Canadian employers and are already able to apply for immigration to Canada under existing economic programs at any time, I recognize that they often face challenges due to the conditions of their displacement. As such, I hereby establish that there are sufficient public policy considerations pursuant to section 25.2 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (the Act), justifying an exemption from provisions of the Act and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (the Regulations).

Part 1

Conditions (Eligibility Requirements) Applicable to the Foreign National (Principal Applicant):

Permanent Residence Application

Based on public policy considerations, delegated officers may grant exceptions from the requirements of the Act and the Regulations identified below to foreign nationals who meet the following conditions:

The foreign national (principal applicant):

1. Has submitted an application for a permanent residence visa under section 70 of the Regulations using the forms provided by IRCC for this public policy;
2. At the time the application for permanent residence referred to in (a) is received, has one of the following:
   1. a positive Refugee Status Determination (RSD) from either the UNHCR, or a refugee-hosting state;
   2. proof of being registered or recorded as a person of concern by the UNHCR, if a positive RSD has not been obtained yet or is not available in the state where the foreign national is residing at the time of their application;
   3. a refugee certificate with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA);
   4. proof of being registered or recorded as a person of concern by the UNRWA, if a refugee certificate has not been obtained yet; or
   5. a Trusted Partner Referral Letter, valid at the time of the application referred to in (a) is received, issued by an organization with a Trusted Partner Arrangement with IRCC which provides that they have been assessed by the Trusted Partner to be:
      1. a person who has proof of having Temporary Protected Status issued by the hosting state where the foreign national is residing at the time of their application for permanent residence referred to in (a) and is a person in respect of whom there is no reasonable prospect, within a reasonable period, of a durable solution in a country other than Canada, namely (i) voluntary repatriation or resettlement in their country of nationality or habitual residence, or (ii) resettlement or an offer of resettlement in another country, as set out in paragraph 139 (1)(d) of the Regulations; or
      2. a person outside of Canada in respect of whom there is no reasonable prospect, within a reasonable period, of a durable solution in a country other than Canada, namely (i) voluntary repatriation or resettlement in their country of nationality or habitual residence, or (ii) resettlement or an offer of resettlement in another country, as set out in paragraph 139 (1)(d) of the Regulations and meets criteria as set out in section 96 of the Act or is a foreign national outside all of their countries of nationality and habitual residence and have been, and continue to be, seriously and personally affected by civil war, armed conflict or massive violation of human rights in each of those countries as per defined in section 147 of the Regulations;
3. If the foreign national does not have one of the documents listed in Part 1 (b) at the time the application for permanent residence in (a) is received, the foreign national:
   1. Has been assessed by an IRCC officer to have proof of having Temporary Protected Status issued by the hosting state where the foreign national is residing at the time of their application for permanent residence referred to in (a) is received; and to be a person in respect of whom there is no reasonable prospect, within a reasonable period, of a durable solution in a country other than Canada, namely: (i) voluntary repatriation or resettlement in their country of nationality or habitual residence, or (ii) resettlement or an offer of resettlement in another country, as set out in paragraph 139 (1)(d) of the Regulations; or
   2. Has been assessed by an IRCC officer to:
      1. have a Trusted Partner Referral Letter as described in Part 1 (b)(iii) issued by a Trusted Partner that has been placed on probation and/or has had their Trusted Partner Arrangement terminated after the Trusted Partner Referral Letter was submitted to IRCC;
      2. be a person in respect of whom there is no reasonable prospect, within a reasonable period, of a durable solution in a country other than Canada, namely: (i) voluntary repatriation or resettlement in their country of nationality or habitual residence, or (ii) resettlement or an offer of resettlement in another country, as set out in paragraph 139 (1)(d) of the Regulations; and
      3. be a Convention Refugee outside of Canada as defined in section 96 of the Act; or meet the Country of Asylum definition set out in section 147 of the Regulations.
4. Is outside of Canada at the time of application for permanent residence referred to in (a) is received;
5. Intends to reside in a province or territory other than Quebec; and
6. Meets the criteria of either one of the following streams:

Stream A:

1. Has a job offer at the time of their application for permanent residence referred to in (a) is received that is:
   1. full-time, meaning at least 30 hours of work over a period of one week and non-seasonal;
   2. for at least one year after the date on which a permanent resident visa is issued;
   3. for an occupation listed in TEER Category 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 of the National Occupation Classification;
2. Has accumulated, at the time of their application and over any period of time, work experience that:
   1. equals to at least one year of full-time paid work experience (1,560 hours), or the equivalent in paid part-time work experience, that meets the definition of work under subsection 73(2) of the Regulations;
   2. was obtained in at least one of the occupations that are listed in TEER Category 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 of the National Occupational Classification; and
3. Has acquired training, education, or experience that aligns with the TEER Category of the job offer, meaning that foreign nationals (principal applicants) with job offers in TEER 0 or TEER 5 do not need to meet specific education requirements, but must demonstrate their ability to perform the duties of the job, and:
   1. for job offers in TEER 1: the foreign national (principal applicant) must have completed a university credential (bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate) or have at least one year of previous experience in a related TEER 2 occupation;
   2. for job offers in TEER 2: the foreign national (principal applicant) must have completed a post-secondary education program of two to three years at community college, institute of technology or CÉGEP, or completed an apprenticeship training program of two to five years, or have work experience in an occupation with supervisory or significant safety (e.g. police officers and firefighters) responsibilities or have at least one year of previous experience in a related occupation from TEER 3 (if there is no mandatory education component in the employment requirements section of the occupation for the job offer, as described in the National Occupation Classification);
   3. for job offers in TEER 3: the foreign national (principal applicant) must have completed a post-secondary education program of less than two years at community college, institute of technology or CÉGEP or completed an apprenticeship training program of less than two years or more than six months of on-the-job training, training courses or specific work experience with some secondary school education or have at least one year of previous experience in a related occupation from TEER 4 (if there is no mandatory education component in the employment requirements section of the occupation for the job offer, as described in the National Occupation Classification); and
   4. for job offers in TEER 4: the foreign national (principal applicant) must have completed of secondary school or several weeks of on-the-job training with some secondary school education or have at least one year of previous experience from TEER 5 (if there is no mandatory education component in the employment requirements section of the occupation for the job offer, as described in the National Occupation Classification); and
4. Has attained a level of proficiency of at least benchmark 5 for job offers in TEER Category 0, 1, 2 and 3 or benchmark 4 for job offers in TEER Category 4 or 5 in either official language for each of the four language skill areas, as set out in the Canadian Language Benchmarks or the Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens. This must be demonstrated by the results of an evaluation by an organization or institution designated by the Minister for the purpose of evaluating language proficiency under subsection 74(3) of the Regulations; and the evaluation must be less than two (2) years old when the permanent residence application referred to in (a) is received;

Stream B:

1. If the foreign national (principal application) does not have a job offer at the time the application for permanent residence referred to in (a) is received, they must:
   1. Have work experience that:
      1. equals to at least one year of full-time paid work experience (1,560 hours), or the equivalent in paid part-time work experience that meets the definition of work under subsection 73(2) of the Regulations;
      2. has been acquired over the last three years before the application for permanent residence referred to in Part 1(a) is received;
      3. was obtained in at least one of the occupations that are listed in TEER Category 0, 1, 2 or 3 of the National Occupational Classification; and
      4. does not include any period of self-employment;
   2. Hold a Canadian secondary school credential or a foreign diploma, certificate or credential supported by a Canadian equivalency assessment as defined in subsection 73(1) of the Regulations which is no more than five (5) years old on the date the application for permanent residence referred to in Part 1(a) is received;
   3. Have attained a level of proficiency of at least benchmark 7 in either official language for each of the four language skill areas, as set out in the Canadian Language Benchmarks or the Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens. This must be demonstrated by the results of an evaluation by an organization or institution designated by the Minister for the purpose of evaluating language proficiency under subsection 74(3) of the Regulations; and the evaluation must be less than two (2) years old when the permanent residence application referred to in Part 1(a) is received; and,
   4. Have, in the form of transferable and available funds, unencumbered by debts or other obligations, an amount equal to one half of the amount identified, in the most recent edition of the publication concerning low-income cut-offs published annually by Statistics Canada under the Statistics Act, for urban areas of residence of 500,000 persons or more, as the minimum amount of before-tax annual income that is necessary to support a group of persons equal in number to the total number of the foreign national (principal applicant) and their family members.

Part 2

Eligibility Requirements (Conditions) Applicable to Family Members (for the permanent residence application):

Based on public policy considerations, when processing an application for a permanent resident visa, delegated officers may grant an exemption from the requirements of the Act and the Regulations identified below when a foreign national meets the following conditions:

The foreign national:

1. has been included as an accompanying family member in an application for a permanent resident visa by a principal applicant seeking exemptions under this public policy and a delegated officer has determined that the principal applicant meets all conditions (eligibility requirements) in Part 1;
2. resides outside Canada at the time of the principal applicant’s submission of a permanent resident application referred to in Part 1 (a); and
3. meets the definition of family member in subsection 1(3) of the Regulations.

Part 3

Requirements of the Act and the Regulations, for which an exemption may be granted to foreign nationals who meet the requirements of Part 1 or 2, above:

Foreign nationals who meet the eligibility requirements (conditions) listed above:

1. Paragraph 10(1)(d) of the Regulations – the requirement to provide evidence of payment of the applicable fees with respect to the permanent residence visa application;
2. Paragraph 10(2)(c) of the Regulations – the requirement to indicate the class prescribed by these Regulations for which the application is made;
3. Paragraph 70(1)(a) of the Regulations – the requirement to apply for a permanent resident visa as a member of a class referred to in subsection 70(2) of the Regulations;
4. Paragraph 70(1)(c) of the Regulations – the requirement to be a member of an immigration class;
5. Paragraph 70(1)(d) of the Regulations – the requirement to meet the selection criteria and other requirements applicable to that class;
6. Paragraph 295(1)(c) of the Regulations – the permanent resident visa application processing fee;
7. Subsection 315.1(1) of the Regulations – the fee for the provision of services in relation to the collection of biometric information; and
8. The requirement of paragraph 20(1)(a) and subsection 21(1) of the Act, as well as subsection 50(1) of the Regulations – that a foreign national seeking to become a permanent resident must hold one of the documents identified under subsection 50(1) of the Regulations.

Part 4

Concepts and Definitions applicable for the purpose of this public policy:

1. A Trusted Partner Arrangement is a memorandum of understanding entered into between IRCC and an organization for the purpose of identifying and referring candidates for this public policy and the Public Policy “Updated public policy to support the Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot – Phase 2”, and which authorizes the organization to issue Trusted Partner Referral Letters for applicants if the organization assesses that the applicant is:
   1. a person who has proof of having Temporary Protected Status issued by the hosting state where the foreign national is residing at the time of their application for permanent residence referred to in Part 1(a) and is a person in respect of whom there is no reasonable prospect, within a reasonable period, of a durable solution in a country other than Canada, namely (i) voluntary repatriation or resettlement in their country of nationality or habitual residence, or (ii) resettlement or an offer of resettlement in another country, as set out in paragraph 139 (1)(d) of the Regulations; or
   2. a person outside of Canada in respect of whom there is no reasonable prospect, within a reasonable period, of a durable solution in a country other than Canada, namely (i) voluntary repatriation or resettlement in their country of nationality or habitual residence, or (ii) resettlement or an offer of resettlement in another country, as set out in paragraph 139 (1)(d) of the Regulations and meets criteria as set out in section 96 of the Act or is a foreign national outside all of their countries of nationality and habitual residence and have been, and continue to be, seriously and personally affected by civil war, armed conflict or massive violation of human rights in each of those countries as per defined in section 147 of the Regulations;

Other Applicable Admissibility and Selection Criteria:

Foreign nationals eligible under this public policy are subject to all other applicable admissibility and eligibility requirements of the Act and Regulations not otherwise exempted.

Start and End dates:

This public policy takes effect on June 12, 2023 and expires on June 12, 2025. This public policy may be revoked at any time.

An intake cap applies to Stream B:

• A maximum of 150 complete applications from principal applicants will be accepted for processing annually. Applications received in excess of the cap will be returned. Application caps will reset on an annual basis on January 1.

Applications received under this public policy, submitted on or after the day this public policy takes effect, until the day it is revoked or expires, will be processed under the public policy.