Health Care Workers Permanent Residence Pathway

Covid-19 has led towards the significant appreciation of healthcare workers all over the world. These frontline workers are entitled to life savers due to their untiring efforts towards the health sector.

Healthcare workers are being awarded worldwide, and similarly, Canada is also on its way to reward them for their efforts. Therefore, Canada has launched a Permanent Residence Pathway for Healthcare Workers.

• About this Program

The Healthcare workers permanent residence pathway will allow the workers from the health sector to become permanent residents of Canada. In this process, the refugee claimants can also apply for permanent residence.

The candidates for this stream are required to fulfill some conditions that are:

• Completion of a minimum number of working hours in the health sector of Canada amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The applicants have provided direct patient support as their job title or part of it.
• Fulfill other eligibility conditions.

The applicants who meet the eligibility criteria and possess the following condition can apply for this stream.

The terms that are needed to be fulfilled are as follows:

• The applicant is a pending or a failed refugee claimant who made their request in Canada before March 13, 2020 and is currently residing in Canada.
• The spouse or common-law partner of the refugee claimant has:

1. Contracted the virus (COVID-19) and has been passed away due to it.
2. They are in Canada before August 14^th, 2020.

• How does the Process work?

If the applicants successfully meet the requirements, they can apply for permanent residence in Canada.

Once the application is received, it is reviewed, and applicants are required to inform the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) that you have applied so that their claim can be put on hold. In case of Quebec, the cases are referred to the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration du Québec (MIFI).

It is also essential to know that once your cases are accepted and successfully prove your work experience, your family members are invited for medical checkups, criminal records verification, and security checkups. Afterward, the candidates are informed of their verdicts.

• Who Can Apply?

For the applicants to be eligible for this pathway, they are required to fulfill the following requirements:

• The applicant is a pending or a failed refugee claimant currently residing in Canada.
• The claim should be made before March 13^th, 2020.
• The applicant should have a valid work permit after they make a refugee claim.
• The candidate must possess the required work experience in the specified jobs in the healthcare sector of Canada. (Relevant Work experience has been described below)
• The applicant and his family members should be admissible to Canada, and they must not possess any inadmissibility trait.
• In case of applying in Quebec province, the candidates must meet the requirements of Quebec.

 

• Case 1:

If the applicant is a spouse or common-law partner of an eligible refugee who has worked in the health sector of Canada and has lost their life due to COVID-19, then the applicant can apply for permanent residence if:

• The applicant and their family members are admissible to Canada.
• They meet the immigration requirements of Quebec.
• The applicant has been in Canada before August 14^th, 2020.

 

• Case 2:

If the applicant has already applied for humanitarian and compassionate considerations, your application can also be assessed by relative authorities.

• Who Can You Include in Your Application?

In the Health Care Workers Permanent Residence Pathway, the applicants can also include their family members in the application process.

To include your family members in this process, the family members of the applicant must comply with the following:

• The family members must be living in Canada.
• They should meet all the medical, criminal, security, and financial requirements to become permanent residents of Canada.
• They should not be inadmissible to Canada.

Moreover, the applicants are not allowed to add their family members if they are living outside Canada. Therefore, the applicants are advised to declare all their family members in application forms.

Additionally, for sponsoring family members outside Canada, the applicant must include them on the permanent residence application.

• Relevant Work Experience

The relevant work experience is a mandatory thing for the applicants of this stream. As this pathway is typically designed only for healthcare workers, the applicants’ work experience should also be in the same domain.

Furthermore, the eligibility also comprises the relevant working experience in the specific jobs of the healthcare sector of Canada.

• Job Types for relevant experience

The applicants must have work experience in the following occupational groups:

Job	Occupational Group
Nursing coordinators and supervisors	(NOC 3011)
Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses	(NOC 3012)
Licensed practical nurses	(NOC 3233)
Nurse aides, orderlies, and patient service associates	(NOC 3413)
Allied primary health practitioners	(NOC 3124)
Home support workers	(NOC 4412) & some occupations only

 

Along with these requirements, the job should match the National Occupation Classification (NOC) description.

• The applicant must have provided direct patient care in the above jobs.
• The applicants have done their primary duties in the listed jobs.

 

• Time to qualify for a job

If the applicant has succeeded in qualifying for a job, they should meet the following criteria:

• The applicant has worked between March 13 and August 14, 2020. Moreover, the applicant has worked for at least 120 hours.
• Before August 31^st,2021, the applicant has a total work experience of either:
• Full-time work: 30 hours a week for the duration of 6 months
• Part-time job: 750 part-time hours.

 

• Calculating work experience

In order to count your total working hours, the candidates are advised to include their all-working hours up to August 21, 2021.

Furthermore, the applicants are not required to have worked in hours consecutively. The included hours can be counted if the applicant has taken breaks or has been on vacation or the applicant has switched their job, and between the situation, they have not worked.

• Applicants who don’t have total work experience

The healthcare workers who did not possess the minimum work-experience were still allowed to apply under this stream. They were allowed to gather their required work experience till August 31, 2021. The proofs of these work experiences are being accepted till October 31,201.

• Applicants interested in living in Quebec

In the Health Care Workers Permanent Residence Pathway, there is no limit to applying in a specific territory or province of Canada. Furthermore, the interested candidates can also choose to live in Quebec.

Before applying to Quebec, the applicants must know that Quebec has its autonomy regarding immigration rules and regulations. Therefore, to apply to live in Quebec, there are different laws.

Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration du Québec (MIFI) that is the immigration ministry of Quebec has its steps to assess the work experience of these health-care workers.

Furthermore, if these aspirants are found to be eligible, then are:

• They are referred to MIFI (Quebec Immigration Ministry)
• They are invited to apply for Certificat de Sélection du Québec (CSQ) and submit their supporting documents.

In addition, if the candidates successfully meet the work experience requirements, they are issued with a Certificat de Sélection du Québec (CSQ). As the decision is received or finalized by MIFI, then the application proceeds.

 

• Ineligibility

Although not all candidates can apply under this stream, therefore, there is also an ineligibility criterion. The following persons are not allowed to qualify for this stream.

• Applicants who are determined as ineligible to be referred to the immigration and Refugee Board
• Withdrawn or abandoned persons
• A person determined to be manifestly unfounded or with no credible basis
• Perso decided to be excluded under Article 1F of the Refugee Convention
• Cossetted or vacated persons

 

• Application Fees

The application fees for the healthcare worker’s permanent residence pathway can be expected as following.

• Permanent Residence Application Fee + Right of PR: $1,050 CAD
• Application Fee: $550 CAD
• In case of a dependent child: #150
• Biometric Fees: $85 for a single person and $170 per family for two and above people.

This program was accepting applications till August 31, 2021. If the duration is increased for this pathway for healthcare workers, we will inform our readers at the earliest.

Finding it difficult to apply?

If you find it difficult to apply for any immigration stream, we offer our consultancy services for applications filings and supervisions.

All of our cases are handled by professionals who always ensure professionalism, commitment, and excellence. Lawyers, qualified paralegals, and consultants are among these professionals.

Are you ready to take the next footstep? Now is the time to schedule your one-on-one consultation or give us a call.

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