90,000 applicants will be able to obtain permanent residency under new immigration programs

Canada opens up a new avenue for professionals with work experience and graduates.

On April 14, Canadian Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Marco Mendicino announced the creation of a new immigration pathway for foreign professionals and graduates who contribute to the country's economy.

Permanent resident status will be available to foreign workers and university graduates who are already in Canada and have sufficient experience and skills to fight the pandemic and accelerate the country's economic recovery. Canada is primarily interested in workers in health care and other high-demand sectors, as well as graduates.

To be eligible for the programs, candidates must have at least 1 year of work experience in health care or in one of the 95 in-demand professions, or have graduated from a Canadian university within the last 4 years but no earlier than January 2017. Immigrants will be able to live in any province or territory in Canada except Quebec.

From May 6, 2021, Immigration Canada (IRCC) will begin accepting applications for 3 streams:

temporary health care workers — 20,000 applications;
temporary workers of in-demand specialties — 30,000 applications;
graduates of Canadian universities — 40,000 applications.

Enrollments will be open until 5 November 2021. They may close earlier if they reach the application limit. The programs will allow Canada to accept up to 90,000 new immigrants to get closer to meeting its 2021 target of 401,000 immigrants.

To support French-speaking and bilingual candidates, Canada will consider their applications separately.