Health-care workers permanent residence pathway: COVID-19 program delivery – Conditions (eligibility requirements)

Applicants applying under one of the public policies must meet certain conditions (eligibility requirements).

IRCC is required to follow the rules of procedural fairness throughout the decision-making process.

On this page

• Conditions (eligibility requirements) for pending or failed refugee claimants
  • Applicants intending to reside in a province other than Quebec
  • Applicants intending to reside in Quebec
• Conditions (eligibility requirements) for spouses or common-law partners of deceased refugee claimants who worked in the health care sector and who contracted COVID-19
• Final criteria
• Pending applications under humanitarian and compassionate considerations

Conditions (eligibility requirements) for pending or failed refugee claimants

Applicants working in Canada’s health care sector may be eligible to apply for permanent residence under one of the public policies if they made a refugee claim in Canada prior to March 13, 2020 and still resided in Canada when their application for permanent residence was made. They must also have been authorized to work in Canada and not be ineligible or inadmissible, as mentioned in Preliminary review and triage for pending or failed refugee claimants’ applications.

Applicants should also meet the work experience requirements or have a Certificat de sélection du Québec.

Applicants intending to reside in a province other than Quebec

If applicants intend to reside in a province or territory other than Quebec, they must meet specific conditions (eligibility requirements) of the public policy further described in Annex A. For more information on assessing work experience, including exceptions, see Assessing the work-related requirements.

Applicants intending to reside in Quebec

Applicants must have a Certificat de sélection du Québec issued under the Special program for asylum seekers during the COVID-19 period. If applicants meet the conditions (eligibility requirements) of the public policy, they will be invited to submit the Demande de Sélection Permanente form and supporting documentation for selection to the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration (MIFI).

Note: MIFI will assess the occupation and work experience and make a decision on the delivery of a Certificat de sélection du Québec under the Special program for asylum seekers during the COVID-19 period.

Conditions (eligibility requirements) for spouses or common-law partners of deceased refugee claimants who worked in the health care sector and who contracted COVID-19

Applicants may be eligible to apply for permanent residence under one of the temporary public policies if they are the spouse or common-law partner of a foreign national who contracted COVID-19 and passed away prior to applying for permanent residence under this public policy or after applying but before being granted permanent residence and who would have met certain conditions (eligibility requirements). For details, see Preliminary review and triage for spouses and common-law partners of deceased refugee claimants who contracted COVID-19 and Spouses or common-law partners of deceased refugee claimants.

If applicants intend to reside in Quebec, they must have a Certificat de sélection du Québec under the Special program for asylum seekers during the COVID-19 period.

Final criteria

As a final condition, applicants are required to

• withdraw their refugee claim or refugee appeal to the Immigration, Refugee Board (IRB)
• discontinue their application to the Federal Court or their appeal to the Federal Court of Appeal in relation to an underlying IRB negative decision

Should the individual decide not to withdraw as mentioned above, those processes will proceed and their application for permanent residence under the public policy will be refused.

Pending applications under humanitarian and compassionate considerations

If applicants have a pending application for permanent residence under humanitarian and compassionate considerations for which no eligibility decision has been made, and they think that they would meet the conditions (eligibility requirements) for this public policy, they can fill out the Schedule 1 – Health-care Workers Permanent Residence Pathway (COVID-19 pandemic) (IMM 1018) form and send it to the Humanitarian Migration Office in Vancouver with a letter to request that their application be considered under one of the temporary public policies. If they intend to reside in a province or territory other than Quebec, they will also need to provide proof that they meet the work-related requirements.