News
Hong Kong and Ukraine PR applications: what the 2027 measure means for you
Canada wants to finish every pending Hong Kong pathway and Ukraine family reunification application in 2027. Neither route reopens to new applicants.
Photo by Jason Hafso on Unsplash
On 10 November 2026, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said it plans to process every remaining permanent residence application under two closed routes in 2027: the Hong Kong permanent residence pathways and the Ukraine Family Reunification Pathway. The news release puts the expected result at up to 32,000 admissions from the Hong Kong pathways and up to 18,800 from the Ukraine pathway.
The announcement is easy to misread in two ways. Neither route has reopened: both programme pages still say IRCC is not accepting new applications. And people with a pending file still have to manage their own temporary status. The measure adds admission space for files IRCC already holds. It does not extend anyone's work permit, and an applicant who falls out of status in 2027 is in the same trouble as in any other year.
What IRCC announced
The announcement belongs to the 2027 to 2029 Immigration Levels Plan. IRCC's backgrounder describes a new time-limited measure that would help up to 200,000 people already living in Canada move to permanent residence through two cohorts. A workers cohort of up to 100,000 runs through the provinces and territories. A humanitarian cohort of up to 100,000 covers people who, in IRCC's words, have been waiting on a decision for many years.
The news release calls this a measure proposed in Budget 2026, and the backgrounder frames the Hong Kong and Ukraine part as a goal: "our goal is to process all remaining applications". It commits admission space for 2027 and decides no individual file. Each application is still assessed against the rules of its own public policy, including admissibility, medical exams and security checks.
The space sits outside the regular plan. The supplementary information for the levels plan keeps the Humanitarian & Compassionate and Other category at a target of 5,000 a year from 2027 to 2029, and the news release says the time-limited measure is in addition to that target and does not displace other vulnerable groups, including resettled refugees.
Who is in the humanitarian cohort
The backgrounder names four groups the extra space is meant for:
- applicants with a pending file under the Hong Kong permanent residence pathways
- applicants with a pending file under the Ukraine Family Reunification Pathway
- people who have already been found eligible for permanent residence on humanitarian and compassionate grounds
- spouses, common-law partners and dependent children of Canadian citizens and permanent residents who already live in Canada
Every group on that list is made up of people already in Canada, or files already in IRCC's inventory. The release makes the point directly: these applicants "are already here" and "do not represent net new arrivals". If you are outside Canada and have not applied under any of these routes, nothing in the humanitarian cohort creates a way in for you. For couples, the spousal part covers sponsorships where the partner already lives in Canada. Our comparison of inland and outland spousal sponsorship explains which route a couple is in.
Hong Kong pathway applicants
The Hong Kong pathways opened in 2021 with two streams: stream A for in-Canada graduates and stream B for people with Canadian work experience. The programme page confirms both closed on 31 August 2026 and that IRCC will process applications accepted on or before that date. The closure notice says IRCC had received about 30,315 applications, covering 48,560 people, by 30 June 2026.
If you applied before the deadline, the rules of the public policy still govern your file. It requires you to be physically present in Canada when you apply and when permanent residence is granted, and to hold valid temporary resident status. It also uses two stages: approval in principle once the eligibility conditions are met, then a final admissibility check before permanent residence. Anyone with a known inadmissibility does not get approval in principle.
If you leave Canada for a long trip while your file is near the end, you risk not being in the country when IRCC is ready to finalise it. Plan any travel around that requirement, and do not assume a 2027 approval is automatic because the space now exists.
Ukraine Family Reunification Pathway applicants
This pathway accepted applications from 23 October 2023 until it closed on 22 October 2024. It let Ukrainian nationals in Canada apply for permanent residence when they had a Canadian citizen or permanent resident relative living in Canada. The eligibility page lists relationships including a child of any age, grandchild, parent, grandparent and sibling or half-sibling. A second category covered the spouse, common-law partner or widow of a Ukrainian national with family in Canada, where that person is unable to leave Ukraine, is missing or has died.
The principal applicant had to be in Canada with valid status, or have applied to restore status that had expired less than 90 days earlier. Family members included in the application can be in or outside Canada, and IRCC issues permanent resident visas to those living outside. The page also says the policy can approve an applicant who would otherwise be inadmissible for financial reasons alone. Other grounds of inadmissibility still apply.
The same page requires you to list all eligible family members in the application, including those not immigrating with you now. If you leave someone off, you will not be able to sponsor them later. If your circumstances have changed since you applied, such as a marriage or a new child, tell IRCC rather than waiting for the file to be finalised.
Keeping your status valid while you wait
Both groups can apply for permits that keep them in Canada lawfully while the permanent residence file is open, and each has its own conditions and end date.
For Hong Kong applicants, an open work permit has been available since 27 May 2024 to anyone who applied under stream A or stream B and held a work or study permit in the 3 years before IRCC received the permanent residence application. IRCC's notice on that open work permit says you can restore your status at the same time if it expired in the previous 90 days, and that an application made after more than 90 days will not be approved. The closure notice says the measure remains in place until May 2029. The after you apply page adds that applicants and family members may be eligible for another open work permit of up to 3 years if the first one will expire.
For Ukraine pathway applicants and their family members, IRCC's notice of 16 January 2026 gives until 31 March 2027 to apply from within Canada for a new open work permit, a work permit extension, a new study permit, or an extension or restoration of temporary resident status. This works even if you have not yet received an acknowledgement of receipt on your permanent residence application.
What the measure does not do
It does not reopen either pathway. The Hong Kong and Ukraine pages both read "Closed", and the release describes the space as being for remaining or existing applications. If you missed the deadline, IRCC's Ukraine page points you to regular programmes and to temporary measures for study and work. For most people that means Express Entry, a provincial nominee programme or family sponsorship, each with its own eligibility rules.
It does not create a permanent residence route for Ukrainians in Canada on CUAET status who did not apply under the family pathway. The release quotes the Ukrainian Canadian Congress raising permanent residence pathways for Ukrainians on CUAET with the Minister, and it announces no such pathway. Anyone who claims otherwise should be able to point you to a canada.ca page that says so.
None of the IRCC pages we checked describe a new form, registration or list to join for this measure. The applications it covers are already in IRCC's inventory. Keep your address and contact details current with IRCC and respond to any request for biometrics, medical exams or documents, because those are the steps that move a file to a decision.
The workers cohort and readers outside Canada
The other half of the measure is aimed at workers already in Canada. The backgrounder says provinces and territories will receive extra Provincial Nominee Program allocations for up to 100,000 people and their families. Provinces will also be able to identify workers who have already applied under select federal programmes, including the Atlantic Immigration Program and several that are closed to new applications: the Start-up Visa and Self-Employed Persons programmes, the Agri-Food Pilot and the home care worker programmes. If you have a pending file under the Start-up Visa or a home care worker pathway, this is the part of the plan to follow.
If you are outside Canada, the measure changes little for you directly. The regular levels plan keeps permanent resident admissions at 380,000 a year from 2027 to 2029 and sets the Provincial Nominee Program target at 95,000 a year. Those regular targets set the space available to new applicants from abroad. If you hope to work in Canada first and apply from inside, our guide to moving from a work permit to permanent residence covers the realistic routes.
- Can I still apply under the Hong Kong permanent residence pathways?
- No. The pathways closed to new applications on 31 August 2026. IRCC continues to process applications it accepted on or before that date, and the 2027 measure is meant to give it the admission space to finish them.
- Has the Ukraine Family Reunification Pathway reopened?
- No. It closed on 22 October 2024 and the programme page still reads "Closed". The 2027 measure covers applications IRCC already holds. If you did not apply in time, IRCC points you to temporary residence measures and its regular permanent residence programmes.
- Do I need to submit anything to be included in the 2027 measure?
- None of the IRCC pages we checked describe a new form or registration. The measure adds admission space for applications already in IRCC's inventory. Keep your contact details current and answer any request IRCC sends for biometrics, medical exams or documents.
- Does this mean my application will be approved in 2027?
- No. IRCC describes processing all remaining applications as a goal. Each file is still assessed against the rules of its public policy, including admissibility, and the Hong Kong policy requires you to be in Canada when permanent residence is granted.
- My Hong Kong open work permit expires soon. What should I do?
- Apply for a new open work permit before the current one expires so you keep your status while IRCC decides. IRCC's after you apply page says you and your family members may be eligible for another open work permit of up to 3 years. The measure runs until May 2029.
- I am in Canada on CUAET. Does this give me permanent residence?
- Not unless you also applied under the Ukraine Family Reunification Pathway before it closed. The release does not announce a new permanent residence route for CUAET holders. Check the eligibility rules of Express Entry, provincial nominee programmes and family sponsorship instead.
If you have a pending Hong Kong or Ukraine pathway application and a permit that expires before your file is likely to be finalised, have your status options checked before the date passes. Book a consultation
Last updated November 12, 2026.
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