Who can apply
There are 2 streams you may be eligible for. You can only apply for permanent residence under 1 stream.
Stream A: In-Canada graduates
To be eligible for this stream, you must
- hold a valid passport issued by one of the following:
- Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China
- United Kingdom to a British National (Overseas) as a person born, naturalized or registered in Hong Kong
- be physically present in Canada when you apply and when you get permanent residence
- have valid temporary resident status in Canada
- intend to live in Canada, in any province or territory other than the province of Quebec
- take an approved language test that shows you have a level 5 score in all 4 skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking) in English or French on one of the following scales:
- Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB)
- Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC)
- have graduated from a post-secondary designated learning institution in Canada
- in the 3 years before you apply
- with one of the following:
- a diploma (not graduate or postgraduate) for a program of at least 2 years
- a degree (associate, bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral)
- a graduate or post-graduate diploma or certificate for a program of at least 1 year and
- with at least 50% of your program completed in Canada (either in person or online)
If you have a graduate or post-graduate diploma or certificate
You must also have completed a post-secondary diploma or degree (from Canada or from abroad), as a prerequisite to this graduate or post-graduate program.
You must have competed this prerequisite diploma or degree in the 5 years before you started your graduate or post-graduate program.
Stream B: Canadian work experience
To be eligible for this stream, you must
- hold a valid passport issued by one of the following:
- Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China
- United Kingdom to a British National (Overseas) as a person born, naturalized or registered in Hong Kong
- be physically present in Canada when you apply and when you get permanent residence
- have valid temporary resident status in Canada
- intend to live in Canada, in any province or territory other than the province of Quebec
- take an approved language test that shows you have a level 5 score in all 4 skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking) in English or French on one of the following scales:
- Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB)
- Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC)
- have worked in Canada for at least 12 months full-time, or an equal amount of part-time hours in the 3 years before you apply.
How to meet the hours of work requirement
To be eligible for this stream, you must have worked in Canada for
- at least 12 months full-time (30 hours per week) or
- an equal amount of part-time hours (at least 1,560 hours in total) in the 3 years before you apply.
- If you’re working part time, you can’t count more than 30 hours per week towards your total number of hours. This is because 30 hours per week is considered full time, not part time.
You must have been allowed to work legally in Canada for these hours to count. This means you either had a valid work permit, or you were exempt from needing a work permit.
You can’t include any hours of work that you spent
- as a full-time student
- self-employed
- working outside Canada
- on leave from your job (medical, parental or similar)
- on an extended absence outside Canada
- unemployed
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