IRCC will open new immigration streams on Thursday, May 6 at noon EST

Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will begin accepting applications for its six new limited-time immigration streams on Thursday, May 6 at noon Eastern Standard Time (EST).

Also, IRCC will publish the application guide for these new streams tomorrow, Wednesday, May 5, at noon EST.

This information today was released during a meeting with the Immigration Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association and other associations representing immigration lawyers and consultants. 

The CBA Immigration Law Section has a broad mandate that includes training immigration lawyers across Canada and providing advice to the federal government on immigration laws and policies. He meets regularly with IRCC and other federal departments and agencies to understand the impact of changes in government on the country's immigration system.

During today's meeting, IRCC provided an overview of what essential workers and international graduates can expect on Thursday.

Once on the application portal, applicants will be greeted by an assistant who will assess their eligibility for the six new streams.

Applicants will be required to complete several forms electronically, including the generic IMM 0008 application form. Applicants can submit their signatures electronically. They don't need to print the forms, sign them, and then scan them.

Each flow will have its documentation requirements. Applicants will be asked to indicate which documents they need to upload.

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Once applicants have completed their application, they will be prompted to select a blue Submit Your Application button. IRCC will count each submission against its various quotas for the streams:

• Workers in Canada - Stream A for 20,000 health care workers;
• Workers in Canada - Stream B for 30,000 essential non-healthcare care workers;
• International graduates - 40,000 applications;
• Workers in Canada - Stream A for french proficient health care workers;
• Workers in Canada - Stream B for french proficient essential non-healthcare workers;
• French-speaking international graduates;

Some documents will be mandatory for applicants. However, IRCC will guide documentation applicants if they are unable to submit certain documents. For example, you will need to provide IRCC with proof that you requested to pass your medical exam and that you are requesting police certificates. IRCC suggests that you submit your old medical exam if you have it so they can tell you later in the application process if you will need to submit another one.

IRCC expects to be able to process a total of 40,000 permanent resident applications under the streams in 2021. This means that the majority of applicants can expect to be granted permanent resident status in 2022.

More information will be available tomorrow when the application guide is revealed. We will learn what documents applicants will need to submit, among other important information. In addition, Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino is scheduled to hold a press conference tomorrow at 3:45 p.m. EST.