The federal government and Quebec government have announced that a new immigration program for health care asylum-seekers helping to fight COVID-19 will go into effect on Monday December 14.
Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, refugee claimants have been working in Canada's healthcare sector, with numerous press reports surfacing of their efforts in long-term care centres in the likes of Quebec.
As a result, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced that refugee claimants working in designated occupations where they have been providing health care support during the pandemic will be eligible to apply for permanent resident status.
The program takes effect on Monday December 14, 2020 and will end on August 31, 2021. Applications will be processed as long as they are received on or before August 31 or the date of revocation of this public policy by Canada's immigration minister.
Designated occupations based on Canada's National Occupational Classification (NOC) codes include:
- 3011 – Nursing co-ordinators and supervisors
- 3012 – Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses
- 3233 – Licensed practical nurses
- 3413 – Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates
- 3124 – Allied primary health practitioners
- 4412 – Home support workers, housekeepers and related occupations only
Housekeepers and other related occupations are excluded under NOC 4412. Moreover, applicants under NOC 4412 must be engaged in providing basic personal care services and offering physical assistance directly to patients.
The entire list of eligibility criteria is available on IRCC's website.
This program is also available to eligible asylum seekers living in Quebec. Quebec operates its own immigration system and hence, eligible candidates living in Quebec will need to apply to the provincial government. Information to candidates in Quebec is available on the provincial government's website.
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