The complete guide for the six new immigration streams for international graduates and essential workers has been published by Canada.

On  6 May at noon, official guidelines on how to apply for the new limited-time immigration pathways are opening.

Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will be accepting application till 5 Nov 2021 or when the streams reach their maximum capacity.

The six new immigration streams, as well as their intake limits are listed below:

• Workers in Canada – Stream A for health care workers (20,000 applications)
• Workers in Canada – Stream B for essential non-health care workers (30,000 applications)
• International graduates (40,000 applications)
• Workers in Canada – Stream A for French-speaking health care workers (no cap)
• Workers in Canada – Stream B for French-speaking essential non-health care workers (no cap)
• French-speaking international graduates (no cap)

An overview of the guide

• You shall be working in Canada at the time of your application.
• You can be employed in any occupation at the time you apply. If you are applying as an essential worker, you must have completed 1,560 hours in a qualifying occupation in the previous three years, and graduate stream applicants must have a Canadian certificate.
• You shall submit a completed application with all the required documents, including language tests, and pay the fees.
• Self-employed experience does not count for these streams.
• You can apply to multiple streams if you wish, but you will have to pay fees for each application.
• The intake process will follow first-in, first-out approach.
• If you are currently residing in Quebec, your eligibility is based on demonstrating the officer that you intend to move to another province, or show a job offer in another province.
• On documents, wet signatures are not needed unless a representative form is used. At the end of the online application, an attestation will be required which will act as a signature.
• You can pay payments in advance electronically and attach the receipt to your submission, or you can pay directly via the online portal. If you pay more than the required amount, IRCC will begin processing your application and issue you an automatic refund.

What is the application process?

The application intake process will commence on May 6 at noon, Eastern Standard Time.

On the government’s webpage, an eligibility feature is placed. You may use this method to choose the immigration stream for which you want to apply and see the eligibility criteria. It is not a required measure, but it is provided for your convenience.

After that, you will be able to create an account. It is advisable to carefully read the document checklist and agree on the terms and conditions to proceed.

Next, you may create an account with a valid email id and password while providing the verification code sent to you via mail.

Once you have successfully created an account, the document checklist will be displayed. Make sure your forms are validated and submitted with 2D barcodes. There is no signature required on this form. Attestation at the end is considered a signature by the client. The use of a representative form has a separate spot to upload.

You will be required to submit other documents, such as proof of valid work experience or study experience in Canada. An additional spot is placed to upload files for dependents as well.

At the last, an acknowledgement, consent form and a privacy statement will display. You will be able to see a giant “Submit” button at the end to send your application. Finally, a page will appear which confirms your application submission.

You can view your submission after you have filed your application.

Required Documents:

According to the IRCC website, following are the forms that will be required for a principal applicant:

• Generic Application Form for Canada [IMM 0008] (PDF, 677 KB)
• Schedule A – Background/Declaration [IMM 5669] (PDF, 1.52 MB)
• Schedule 3 – Temporary Resident to Permanent Resident Pathway: Streams A & B and International Graduates (including French-speaking streams) [IMM 0130] (PDF, 1.20 MB)
• Additional Family Information [IMM 5406] (PDF, 2.23 MB)
• Supplementary Information – Your Travels [IMM 5562] (PDF, 1.75 MB)

Forms for a principal applicant to fill out, if applicable:

• Additional Dependants/Declaration [IMM 0008 DEP] (PDF, 434 KB)
• Declaration from Non-Accompanying Parent/Guardian for Minors Immigrating to Canada [IMM 5604] (PDF, 1.54 MB)
• Statutory Declaration of Common-Law Union [IMM 5409] (PDF, 778 KB)
• Use of a Representative [IMM 5476] (PDF, 1.48 MB)

Following are the tips by IRCC for filling out the application forms:

• Make sure you have Adobe Reader 10 or higher and Javascript is turned on. If you face any trouble in downloading, right-click the link and choose “Save target as…” or “Save link as…”
• Fill out the forms on your computer instead of by hand. It’s easier and reduces mistakes that can cause delays.
• Schedule 3 must be filled out on your computer.
• Fill out, print, sign and date your application forms.

IMM 0008 is a barcode form. You will have to validate it and submit all the pages.

You will also need to do your biometrics if you are 14 and 79 years old, even if biometrics are already submitted in the past.

IRCC will send you a letter when it is time to give biometrics, however, you will be required to pay the biometrics fee when you submit the application. You will have 30 days from the date you get the letter to give your biometrics. There are temporary COVID-19 measures in place for biometrics requirements and collection procedures.

If Applying for a Graduate Stream

• You can work part-time at the time of application as long as you have a Canadian certification and meet the language requirements. Candidates from outside Canada must have a score of 5 on the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) or the Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC).
• International students who graduated from a Canadian designated learning institution and are currently pursuing another degree may be eligible, provided they are also working.

If applying for an essential worker stream

• To apply for any of the essential workers in Canada streams, you must have a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) or a Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC) of 4.
• You can work in any occupation if you apply under the stream for health care workers. However, you are required to have one year of work experience in a qualifying health-care occupation (see Annex A).
• If you are applying under the stream for other essential workers, you may combine experience in occupations listed in Annex A (health care occupations), and Annex B (other essential worker occupations).