Canada opens one-time path to permanent residence for up to 200,000 temporary residents already in the country

The federal government has announced a one-time measure to give up to 200,000 temporary residents already in Canada a chance to become permanent residents in 2027. The measure was unveiled on November 5 alongside Budget 2026 and the 2027-2029 Immigration Levels Plan. It is time-limited and sits outside the regular annual permanent resident target of 380,000.

Two cohorts of up to 100,000: workers and humanitarian cases

The 200,000 places are split into two cohorts of up to 100,000 each. The workers cohort covers people already in Canada who are nominated by provinces and territories to meet regional labour needs, together with their families, mainly through increased Provincial Nominee Program allocations. It also covers some existing federal streams, including the Atlantic Immigration Program, the Start-up Visa, the Self-Employed Persons Program, the Agri-Food Pilot and home care worker programs. The humanitarian and family cohort covers some longstanding in-Canada applications, including remaining Hong Kong and Ukraine family pathway cases, people already found eligible on humanitarian grounds, and spouses, partners and dependent children of Canadians and permanent residents living in Canada.

Not a new pathway, and no new application form

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada stresses that the measure is not a new immigration pathway and will not create recurring annual spaces. It provides additional processing and admissions space in 2027 for applications under selected existing pathways. Applicants do not need to submit a separate application or take an additional step to be considered. As of the announcement, the department had not published eligibility criteria, language requirements, occupation lists or an opening date for either cohort, nor provincial allocations.

Regular target stays at 380,000; temporary resident numbers stay capped

The 2027-2029 Levels Plan holds annual permanent resident admissions at 380,000, with more than 64 percent coming through the economic class. New temporary resident arrivals are held at 370,000 a year: 220,000 workers and up to 150,000 international students. The government says annual permanent resident admissions will stay below 1 percent of the population beyond 2027. Budget 2026 puts $302.3 million over four years, starting in 2027-28, plus $90.6 million in future years, behind the one-time measure.

Background: two earlier one-time measures

This is not the first time Canada has used a one-time measure to work through in-Canada backlogs. Budget 2025 announced two two-year initiatives: fast-tracking permanent residence for 33,000 skilled temporary workers already in Canada, and processing up to 115,000 protected persons and their in-Canada dependants in 2026-2027. The new measure extends that approach. Indian media note that Indians make up a large share of Canada's temporary foreign workers and former international students and are expected to be among the main beneficiaries, although the department's own documents name no country.

(Sources: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada backgrounder, November 5, 2026; Budget 2026; The Indian Express.)