Canada Closes Hong Kong Permanent Residence Pathways to New Applications on August 31, 2026

What happened

On August 28, 2026, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced that the temporary permanent residence pathways for Hong Kong nationals would stop accepting new applications on August 31, 2026. Canada opened the pathways in 2021 for Hong Kong residents in Canada with recent Canadian education or work experience.

IRCC said applications received on or before August 31, 2026 will still be processed. As of June 30, 2026, it had received about 30,315 applications covering 48,560 people, approved more than 8,600 applications covering 13,485 people, and about 13,370 people had become permanent residents.

Who is affected

Hong Kong nationals in Canada who had not yet submitted an application under these pathways. People who applied by August 31 are not affected by the closure, although many are still waiting for a decision.

What it means for your move

Hong Kong nationals who have not applied now need a mainstream route to permanent residence. For graduates and workers already in Canada, the usual options are:

• Express Entry, mainly the Canadian Experience Class after a year of skilled Canadian work. Recent CEC cutoffs have been high, at 518 to 523. See our Express Entry guide.
• Provincial nominee programs, many of which target local graduates and workers in priority sectors. See our PNP guide.
• Atlantic and rural pilots, if you have a job offer from a designated employer.

IRCC’s notice says Hong Kong residents can still use the open work permit public policy in place since May 27, 2024. It lets them keep living and working in Canada while their permanent residence application is processed, and it runs until May 2029.

What to do now

• If you applied by August 31, keep your contact details and documents up to date and respond quickly to IRCC requests.
• If you did not apply, check your work permit expiry and your eligibility for Express Entry or a provincial stream now. Work permits on a PGWP cannot usually be extended.
• Improve your language scores to raise your Comprehensive Ranking System score.
• Ask a licensed consultant (RCIC) or lawyer to assess your options before your status runs out.

What happens next

IRCC will continue processing the applications already in the queue. The 2027-2029 Levels Plan, due by November 1, 2026, will show how many “other” PR admissions remain for Hong Kong, Ukraine and Sudan measures. Follow our Canada page and updates.