Maple News reports that Canada has unveiled a special immigration initiative allowing French-speaking international graduates currently residing in the country to apply for permanent residency (PR) under a new, time-limited program.
Launched on April 14 as part of the federal government’s efforts to tackle pandemic-related immigration challenges, this temporary public policy includes six distinct immigration streams. Two of these are specifically tailored for international graduates, with one stream exclusively dedicated to French-speaking individuals. The program will run from May 6 to November 5, 2021.
According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the initiative aims to admit a total of 90,000 temporary foreign workers and international graduates currently in Canada—excluding those in Quebec—to help meet the country’s ambitious target of welcoming 401,000 new permanent residents this year.
The first graduate-focused stream is open to all international students who recently completed a degree from a Canadian post-secondary institution. This stream has a maximum intake cap of 40,000 applicants. Once this limit is reached, new applications will no longer be accepted, even if before the official deadline.
The second stream is open exclusively to French-speaking international graduates. In line with Canada’s commitment to promoting its bilingual heritage, this pathway has no intake cap, offering broader accessibility to Francophone applicants. This measure supports the sustainability and growth of French-speaking minority communities across the country.
To be eligible for the Francophone graduate stream, applicants must have completed a qualifying educational program at a designated learning institution in Canada and received their diploma no earlier than January 2017. They must also be living and working in Canada under valid temporary resident status—or another authorization to work—at the time of application submission.
The Canadian government has long emphasized the importance of strengthening Francophone immigration outside Quebec, with several initiatives designed to foster a diverse and linguistically vibrant population across provinces.
This program represents a rare and strategic opportunity for French-speaking graduates to transition from temporary to permanent residence in Canada, particularly in a year marked by reduced international mobility.
Applicants meeting the criteria are encouraged to seize the opportunity while the program is still active.