Public Policy: Permanent Residence Pathways for Hong Kong Residents
This temporary public policy for Hong Kong residents who are currently in Canada provides a pathway to permanent residence for eligible applicants and their families.
There are 2 streams for which you may be eligible. You can apply for permanent residence under one of the following:
- Stream A: In-Canada graduates
- Stream B: Canadian work experience
This public policy will be in effect from June 1, 2021, to August 31, 2026.
From: $1,085 (This fee increased on April 30, 2022.)
Who can apply
There are 2 streams for which you may be eligible. You can apply for permanent residence under only 1 stream.
Select a stream to see the eligibility criteria (required)
There are 2 streams for which you may be eligible. You can apply for permanent residence under only 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
- 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.
We made changes to the eligibility requirements for stream B (Canadian work experience)
As of August 15, 2023, if you apply for stream B (Canadian work experience), you no longer need post-secondary education to be eligible. Read the full announcement.
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
- 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, or an equal amount of part-time hours (at least 1,560 hours in total) in the 3 years before you apply.
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
Before you apply for permanent residence, you should gather all the documents you need. Your application may be delayed if you’re missing anything. You can find a full list of the documents you need to submit in your document checklist.
Supporting Documents:
Language test
You must provide a copy of your language test results that shows you have a level 5 score in all 4 skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking) on one of the following scales:
- Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB)
- Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC)
If you haven’t already completed a language test, make sure you book one early. It takes time to book the test and get your results.
Intent to live in a province or territory other than Quebec
If you currently live in Quebec, you must prove that you intend to live in a province or territory other than Quebec.
