Canada Removes Educational Requirement From Stream B for Hong Kong Residents

On July 11, 2023, Federal MP Paul Chiang, on behalf of Immigration Minister Sean Fraser, announced at the Federation of Chinese Canadians in Markham that the time limit set on graduation from college in Canada stipulated in Stream B of the "Lifeboat Project (Open Work Permit Scheme)" for Hong Kong people would be abolished. Zhou Xing/The Epoch Times

The Canadian government announced on July 11 that as of Aug. 15, Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will remove the educational requirement from Stream B  for Hong Kong residents, meaning that as long as a candidate has one year of experience in Canada, they can apply for permanent residence status in Canada.

Canada launched the OWP program for Hong Kong residents in 2021 when the IRCC implemented the “Stream B” (Type B Work Immigration Plan) scheme. Graduates from a post-secondary learning institution in Canada or abroad within the last five years and have at least one year of work experience in Canada can obtain permanent residence status.