The Canadian Government extended the deadline for Hongkongers applying for the “Lifeboat Scheme” to 2025 and expanded eligibility to Hongkongers who have graduated within the past 10 years from a post-secondary learning institution in Canada or abroad.
Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced on Feb. 6 that Canada is extending and expanding the open work permit (OWP) program for eligible Hong Kong residents to Feb. 7, 2025. In addition, Canada also expanded the OWP program for eligible Hong Kong residents who graduated from a post-secondary learning institution from five to ten years.
“By extending and expanding Canada’s open work permits for Hong Kongers, we are giving Canadian employers more skilled workers to hire at a time when we need them most and providing valuable work experience, all while also showing our support for the people of Hong Kong,” said Fraser.
Canada launched the OWP program in 2021, allowing Hongkongers to apply for work visas for up to three years, and provided two pathways to permanent residence, including Stream A (In-Canada graduates) and Stream B (Canadian work experience), which required applicants to be graduated in the five years before applications.
Canada’s New Democratic Party’s critic for immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Jenny Kwan, a Hong Kong-born immigrant, says that since the Communist Party implemented the Hong Kong National Security Law on June 30, 2020, Hong Kong people’s basic freedoms and human rights have been suppressed like never before, with the news media suppressed, journalists forced to leave Hong Kong or detained, pro-democracy election candidates arrested en masse, and people losing their right to assembly, and even taking a piece of white paper to the street is a violation of national security law.
Even though only 134 Hong Kong people were granted permanent resident status through the program as of the end of October 2022, Kwan is pleased that the immigration panel, comprised of members from different political parties, has pushed for the motion. She hopes that the extension and relaxation of the program will allow more young people in Hong Kong to move to Canada.
