Hongkongers get easier pathway to permanent Canadian residency after outcry by older graduates
Canada will ease its pathway to permanent residency for Hongkongers by removing all educational requirements for those who have worked in the country for a year following an outcry by some applicants that the previous youth-focused policy was unfair to immigrants who had long since left university.
The move is expected to lure more skilled workers from the city at a time when the Hong Kong government is trying to stem a brain drain through a number of its own immigration schemes aimed at attracting talent, according to immigration and human resources experts. But the overall impact of Ottawa’s new approach on Hong Kong’s labour pool would be minimal, some predicted.
Ottawa on Tuesday said Hongkongers could apply for permanent residency after working in the country for at least a year and no longer needed postsecondary education to be eligible. Experience under Canada’s working holiday scheme will also count. Previously only residents who had obtained degrees in the past five years were eligible to apply.
The new arrangement comes into effect on August 15.
“Removing this requirement means more Hongkongers who have worked in Canada will be eligible for permanent residency, easing the transition to permanent status for those who are already working in Canada under the open work permit programme,” Paul Chiang, parliamentary secretary to the minister of housing and diversity and inclusion, said on behalf of the immigration minister.
“Attracting talented, skilled Hong Kong youth helps Canada’s workforce stay competitive and innovative.”
But Chiang said Hongkongers still needed to have graduated in the past 10 years to apply for an open work permit, which allows the holder to move to Canada without needing to secure a job first. Those employed in Canada under the “working holiday programme” were also eligible to apply for permanent residence after a year, he added.
The relaxation was prompted in part by an outcry from some older applicants, especially those who graduated in 2016 and 2017, who would be ineligible to apply after working the required one year.
They formed a concern group, numbering in the hundreds, to lobby the Canadian government and lawmakers for a change.
Concern group representative Connie Chan, 29, a 2016 university graduate, said they were thrilled to hear about the expansion which made them eligible for permanent residency.
“Our demand was just to expand the scheme to cover 2016 and 2017 graduates, but it turned out the result is better than expected,” she said.
Sam Goodman, policy director of Hong Kong Watch Canada, which lobbied for the changes, also said it welcomed the announcement.
“We hope that this extension and expansion will offer thousands more Hongkongers an adequate lifeline out of the city and an opportunity to find safe haven and start new lives in Canada,” he said.
Immigration experts predicted a rise in the number of city residents heading to the country but some doubted the increase would be sustained.
Margaret Szeto, founder of migration consultation company Aura Global, said that while she expected more young people to pursue Canadian residency after the announcement, the change would have a “short-term stimulating effect”.
“I also estimate that the wave of Hong Kong emigration has reached its peak,” she said.
The city’s government began implementing a number of talent schemes last year aimed at luring professionals to the city to offset brain drain caused by a wave of emigration.
On Monday, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu revealed that more than 100,000 applications to the schemes had been received by the end of June, and that more than 60 per cent of them had been approved.
Canada, Britain and Australia created special immigration pathways for Hongkongers following Beijing’s imposition of the national security law in 2020.
But Canada has the lowest barrier to entry and targets younger people, recent graduates and those who have studied in the country.
Britain, Canada, US and Taiwan popular options for Hongkongers leaving city
14 Aug 2021
As of April, the government had granted 3,169 Hongkongers permanent residency out of 5,541 applications through the study and work schemes. A total of 78 applications were refused and 23 withdrew their applications. The country issued 22,596 open work permits to arrivals from the city.
Among the approved, 68 per cent were granted to people aged 25 to 54, while 31 per cent went to those in the 18-24 age group.
資料來源: https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3227361/hongkongers-offered-easier-pathway-permanent-residency-canada-after-outcry-older-graduates
