Canada Announces Closure of Permanent Residence Pathways, Identifies One Affected Country
Canada's government has announced that its special permanent residence pathways for Hong Kong nationals will stop accepting new applications on 31 August 2026, drawing a formal close to a programme that has been running since 2021.
The pathways were created five years ago to offer eligible Hong Kong residents a route to settle permanently in Canada, provided they had Canadian education or work experience. The official notice was published by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) on 28 August 2026 from Ottawa.
The numbers released by IRCC paint a picture of significant uptake over the programme's five years. By 30 June 2026, approximately 30,315 applications had been submitted, representing around 48,560 people in total. Of those, more than 8,600 applications covering 13,485 people had been approved, and roughly 13,370 individuals had already obtained permanent resident status in Canada.
While the pathway is closing to fresh submissions, IRCC confirmed that applications already received will continue to be processed normally.
For those whose applications are still under review, a separate open work permit measure remains available. The public policy, which came into effect on 27 May 2024, allows eligible Hong Kong permanent residence applicants to obtain open work permits while they wait for a decision on their cases. That provision is set to remain in place until May 2029, giving applicants who are already in the queue continued access to employment in Canada during the processing period.
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