Canada To Grant Permanent Residency to 100,000 Foreign Workers, Including Ghanaians

• Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada announced a time-limited measure covering workers, families, and humanitarian cases already living in Canada
• The plan also sets aside spaces for thousands of Hong Kong and Ukraine pathway applicants whose applications are still pending
• Canada said the move forms part of its 2027–2029 Immigration Levels Plan aimed at clearing backlogs and improving processing times

Canada has announced a time-limited measure to grant permanent residence to up to 100,000 workers and their eligible family members who are already residing in the country, as part of a broader effort to stabilise its immigration system.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada unveiled the plan on Tuesday, 10 November, alongside the country's 2027–2029 Immigration Levels Plan.

The government described the initiative as a step towards bringing immigration to sustainable levels while reducing processing backlogs and providing greater certainty for applicants.

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Canada expands permanent residency for workers and families

Beyond the 100,000-worker cohort, the measure includes provisions for up to 45,000 spouses, common-law partners and dependent children of Canadian citizens or permanent residents. An additional 12,600 individuals already deemed eligible on humanitarian and compassionate grounds are also set to benefit.

The workers covered by the measure had previously applied under selected federal immigration programmes, including the Atlantic Immigration Program, Start-up Visa Programme, Self-Employed Persons Program, Agri-Food Pilot and home care worker programmes.

Provincial and territorial governments will also receive increased allocations under the Provincial Nominee Programme to address regional labour shortages.

Authorities clarified that those covered would not need to take any further action or contact the immigration department to have their cases considered. The government also confirmed the measure would not establish new programmes or reopen pathways that had already closed to fresh applications.

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Canada targets 50,800 spaces for Hong Kong and Ukraine

The plan extends to tens of thousands of outstanding applicants from Hong Kong and Ukraine under previously established permanent residence pathways.

For Hong Kong residents, Canada aims to process all remaining applications under pathways that closed to new submissions on 31 August 2026, with up to 32,000 admissions anticipated. For Ukrainians, the government intends to clear all pending applications under the Ukraine Family Reunification Pathway, which stopped accepting new cases on 22 October 2024, producing an estimated 18,800 admissions. The two groups together account for roughly 50,800 permanent resident spaces.

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Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab said: "Canada is building on its progress to return sustainability to our immigration system while honouring the commitments we made to those in need. The time-limited measure announced with our levels plan will allow us to deliver faster on our promises to people from Hong Kong and Ukraine, giving them certainty as they continue to build their lives and contribute to our country."

Alexandra Chyczij, National President of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, welcomed the announcement, saying the new measures would clear the backlog of Ukraine Family Reunification Pathway applications by the end of 2027 and that the community looked forward to continued engagement with the Minister.

The government stressed that all individuals covered by the measure were already living, working and contributing in Canada and would therefore not represent net new arrivals to the country.

Canada lists 2 groups eligible for citizenship abroad

Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that Canada had named two specific categories of people who are entitled to claim Canadian citizenship without being required to reside physically in the country.

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IRCC said the first group eligible for citizenship without residency comprises individuals born outside Canada to at least one Canadian parent.

Source: YEN.com.gh