Pathway finder
Permanent residence, family, refugee protection, work, study, visits, your status and citizenship: 45 pathways with their current status, checked against IRCC and Quebec. Paused and closed ones are here too, with what you can do instead.
Statuses checked Nov 7, 2026.
The main federal route to permanent residence for skilled workers, through the Federal Skilled Worker, Canadian Experience Class and Federal Skilled Trades programs. You create a profile and IRCC invites the highest-ranked candidates.
Open. IRCC is recalculating every profile under the new CRS rules from November 3, 2026, and rounds resume once that is done.
Provinces and territories nominate people who fit their own labour needs. A nomination through an Express Entry-linked stream adds 600 CRS points.
Open. Each province runs its own streams and intake rounds, and several changed or paused streams in 2026, so check your province.
Permanent residence for skilled workers and international graduates with a job offer from a designated employer in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island or Newfoundland and Labrador.
Open federally, but each Atlantic province sets how many endorsements it gives and to which jobs, and some have paused or narrowed intake in 2026.
Community-recommended permanent residence for workers with a job offer in one of 18 designated communities: rural communities in six provinces, and Francophone communities outside Quebec.
Open. The rural pilot becomes the permanent Rural Community Immigration Program on January 1, 2027, in the same 14 communities. Each community sets its own intake windows and limits by sector, so availability changes month to month.
Quebec chooses its own skilled workers through the Arrima portal. Once Quebec selects you (a CSQ), you apply to IRCC for permanent residence.
Open. Quebec holds regular invitation rounds through Arrima.
A Quebec route for graduates and workers already living in Quebec, based on their Quebec experience.
Closed for now. Quebec reopened it for a window from July 2 to October 31, 2026; that window has closed and no new one has been announced.
Quebec’s own investor and entrepreneur programs, with a federal permanent residence step after Quebec selects you.
Quebec says you can apply at any time. Federal processing for this class is very long, so plan well ahead.
Permanent residence for child care and home support workers, through the 2025 Home Care Worker pilots that replaced the earlier caregiver pilots.
Paused until further notice since IRCC’s December 19, 2025 notice. Applications already received are still being processed.
Permanent residence for entrepreneurs backed by a designated Canadian venture capital fund, angel group or business incubator.
Paused since June 30, 2026: IRCC accepts no new applications and keeps processing the ones it already has. It has said a new pilot for immigrant entrepreneurs is coming; it has not launched yet.
Permanent residence for people with relevant experience in cultural activities or athletics who can be self-employed in Canada.
Paused since April 30, 2024, until further notice. Applications received before the pause continue.
A pilot that gave permanent residence to experienced workers in meat processing, mushroom and greenhouse production, and livestock farming.
Closed on May 14, 2025. Applications already accepted are still being processed.
A pilot that helped skilled refugees and displaced people immigrate through Canada’s economic programs.
Closed. The pilot ended December 31, 2025; complete applications received by then are still being processed, and IRCC plans a permanent replacement.
A Canadian citizen or permanent resident sponsors their spouse, common-law or conjugal partner for permanent residence, from inside or outside Canada.
Open all year.
A citizen or permanent resident sponsors their dependent child, usually under 22 and not married or in a common-law relationship.
Open all year. Processing time depends on the child’s country.
Sponsorship of parents and grandparents for permanent residence, through invitations to eligible sponsors.
Not accepting new applications in 2026; new intake is paused until further notice. Applications from the 2025 intake are still being processed.
Sponsorship of an orphaned brother, sister, nephew, niece or grandchild under 18, or of one relative if you have no close family who could be sponsored or who is already in Canada.
Open all year. The rules are narrow, so read them closely before you apply.
A visa that lets parents and grandparents of citizens and permanent residents stay up to five years at a time.
Open all year, with easier income rules since March 31, 2026.
People in Canada who fear persecution or serious harm at home can ask for protection, and the Immigration and Refugee Board decides most claims.
Open, with new limits: under a 2026 law, most claims made more than a year after arriving are no longer sent to the Board. Get legal advice early.
People found to be Convention refugees or persons in need of protection can apply for permanent residence, with family members in Canada and abroad.
Open. IRCC has announced extra capacity to process more of these applications in 2026 and 2027.
Refugees outside Canada are resettled by the government or sponsored by private groups, such as Sponsorship Agreement Holders and Groups of Five.
Government resettlement and Sponsorship Agreement Holders continue. New sponsorships by Groups of Five and Community Sponsors are paused until December 31, 2026.
A request to become a permanent resident when you do not fit any other program, judged on your ties to Canada and the hardship you would face.
Open, but processing is very long and it is meant as a last resort. Get advice before you apply.
Two streams that gave Hong Kong residents who graduated or worked in Canada a route to permanent residence.
Closed to new applications on August 31, 2026. Applications received before then are still being processed.
Special measures for Ukrainians, including a permanent residence route for family members of Canadians.
The family permanent residence pathway closed on October 22, 2024. Work permit extensions remain for people who arrived by March 31, 2024.
How work permits work: open or tied to one employer, and with or without an LMIA.
Open. Which permit you can get depends on your situation.
Employer-specific permits where the employer first shows, through an LMIA from ESDC, that no Canadian was available.
Open with limits: ESDC will not process low-wage LMIAs in metropolitan areas with unemployment of 6% or more (a list it updates every quarter), and low-wage hires are capped at 10% of a workplace.
A fast LMIA stream for in-demand tech and other highly skilled jobs, with a two-week processing standard.
Open.
Seasonal farm work for citizens of Mexico and several Caribbean countries, under government agreements.
Open for each season.
Every work permit that needs no LMIA: PGWPs, family open work permits, IEC, intra-company transfers and more. In 2025 it covered about 78% of work permits.
Open. Each category has its own rules.
An open work permit for graduates of eligible Canadian programs, often the step to Canadian experience and permanent residence.
Open. You need CLB 7 (university) or CLB 5 (college), an eligible field of study for many non-degree programs, and to apply within 180 days of finishing.
Working Holiday, Young Professionals and International Co-op permits for young people from partner countries.
Between seasons. The 2026 pools have closed; IRCC has not yet published the 2027 dates.
Open work permits for partners, and in some cases children, of eligible students, workers and permanent residence applicants.
Open but narrowed since January 21, 2025: only certain studies, jobs and permanent residence routes qualify.
Keeps you working while IRCC decides your permanent residence application.
Open to eligible permanent residence applicants whose work permit is about to expire.
LMIA-exempt permits for executives, managers and specialists moving within a company, and for professionals under trade agreements.
Open.
An open work permit for people on an employer-specific permit who are being abused, or are at risk of abuse, at work.
Open. It lets you leave an abusive job without losing your right to work.
Permission to study at a designated learning institution, usually with a provincial or territorial attestation letter.
Open within a national cap: 408,000 study permits in 2026, of which 155,000 are new. Master’s and PhD students at public institutions no longer need an attestation letter.
A visa to visit family, travel or do business for up to six months at a time, for citizens of visa-required countries.
Open all year.
An online travel authorization for visa-exempt travellers flying to Canada, usually approved within minutes for $7.
Open. Since May 26, 2026, eligible citizens of Indonesia and Malaysia can fly with an eTA instead of a visa.
The rules for connecting through a Canadian airport, including when you need a transit visa and when an eTA is enough.
Open.
Apply for a visitor record before your status ends to stay longer. While you wait, you can keep staying under maintained status.
Open. Processing has been taking many months, so apply well before your status expires.
Your permanent resident card, how to renew it, and the residency obligation of 730 days in five years.
Open.
The travel document a permanent resident outside Canada needs to fly home without a valid PR card.
Open. IRCC checks your residency obligation when you apply.
Ways to come to Canada with a past criminal conviction: deemed rehabilitation, an application for rehabilitation, or a temporary resident permit.
Open. Which route fits depends on the offence and how long ago the sentence ended.
For permanent residents with 1,095 days in Canada in the last five years: language, the test and the oath.
Open all year.
A citizenship certificate confirms you are a Canadian citizen, for example if you were born abroad to a Canadian parent.
Open all year.
Since December 15, 2025, Bill C-3 has changed who is a citizen when born abroad to a Canadian parent.
Open. Many people born abroad are now citizens and can apply for proof.
Statuses change, sometimes with little notice. Always confirm on the official page before you apply. This is general information, not legal advice.
