Hong Kong applications for Canada’s special permanent residency scheme jump by 70% to more than 800 in August compared with July
Applications for Canada’s “lifeboat” emigration programme for Hong Kong have hit an all-time monthly high since its government axed permanent residency educational requirements for people who have worked in the country for a year.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said it had received 805 applications from the city under the Hong Kong Pathway in August, when the educational component was dropped, compared with 473 in July – an increase of 70 per cent.
About 4,290 Hongkongers have applied for permanent residency through the special “work-to-emigrate” route launched in 2021, and almost 2,000 of them have been approved.
More than 5,200 Hongkongers have been granted permanent residency via the pathway which consists of “work-to-emigrate” and “study-to-emigrate” routes.
The significant surge in August came after the Canadian government announced in July that Hongkongers could, from August 15, apply for permanent residency after a year of employment without the previously required education to degree standard.
Experience gained through Canada’s working holiday scheme also counts toward the 12 month period.
Only Hongkongers with the required academic qualifications were eligible to apply in the past five years under the previous rules.
“Margaret Szeto, the founder of migration consultation company Aura Global, said the applicants in Canada had all satisfied the one-year working requirement, some maybe because they had stayed and worked in Canada during pandemic travel restrictions.”
