Question Period Note: HONG KONG

Several immigration measures were put in place following the imposition of the National Security Law in Hong Kong by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China on June 30, 2020. On March 19, 2024, Hong Kong lawmakers unanimously passed second new national security law known as Article 23

• Canada will continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the people of Hong Kong.

• The Government of Canada continues to monitor the situation in Hong Kong including the impacts of China’s new Article 23 national security legislation.

• In early 2021, IRCC launched the Hong Kong open work permit valid for up to 3 years for eligible Hong Kong residents with post-secondary studies completed in the last 5 years.

• In June 2021, a public policy was also put in place to create two new Hong Kong permanent residence pathways.

In 2023, IRCC extended and expanded these measures so that more in-Canada Hong Kong nationals can pursue their goals and apply to remain here permanently.

If pressed: Longer processing times
• Due to a high volume of applications, processing times for the Hong Kong PR pathway have grown, and many applicants are at risk of their temporary status in Canada expiring before their PR applications are finalized.
• A new public policy will be launched on May 27, 2024, to let Hong Kong PR pathway applicants extend their status and get a new open work permit in Canada while they wait for a decision on their PR applications.
• The new public policy will remain in place for five years so that applicants can extend their temporary status in Canada while the processing of their PR application continues.

If pressed: Article 23 national security legislation
• Canada is concerned with the impact the new law could have on human rights in Hong Kong.
• The Government of Canada will continue to monitor this issue along with our like-minded partners.

If pressed: Human Rights Defenders
• Individuals who are at risk of persecution and have fled to another country may be eligible under Canada’s existing resettlement programs.
• Canada also has a robust asylum system and, like all foreign nationals who are in Canada, individuals from Hong Kong have access to this protection.

If pressed: Police Certificates
• Police certificates may be required to satisfy border services officers that the foreign national is not inadmissible and meets the requirements of the Act.
• Foreign convictions are carefully examined to see whether the act committed would have been an offence under Canadian laws if they had occurred in Canada.
• If an officer requests a police certificate and the applicant declares that they are unable to obtain one as required, officers can use their discretion to determine if the case can be processed without the police certificate.

If pressed: Access to pension savings
• IRCC is aware of concerns regarding access to pension savings in relation to IRCC permanent resident cards. We are looking into this issue.

If pressed: Access to healthcare
• Access to provincial health insurance for people on maintained status in Canada can vary by province or territory. We recommend that applicants reach out to their local health organization for further details.

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• Human rights, namely civil and political rights, including freedom of expression and assembly, have significantly and steadily declined in Hong Kong since the imposition of the National Security Law.

• As part of the Indo-Pacific Strategy, the Government of Canada states its support for the people of Hong Kong who are subjected to China’s imposition of the National Security Law.

• On March 19, 2024, Hong Kong lawmakers unanimously passed a new National Security Law, Article 23, which gives the government new powers to crack down on all forms of dissent on the grounds of alleged treason, espionage, sedition and external interference in Hong Kong’s internal affairs. Article 23 is separate from the National Security Law that was imposed by the Chinese government in 2020. The implementation and impact of this new law remains to be seen.

Canada’s response – New temporary and permanent residence pathways

• In addition to existing work and study options, an initiative launched for Hong Kong youth on February 8, 2021, provides open work permits of up to 3 years to those with post-secondary studies completed in the last 5 years and their eligible accompanying family members.

• On February 8, 2023, IRCC expanded eligibility to Hong Kong residents who have graduated within the past 10 years. The deadline for applications was also extended to February 7, 2025 (originally February 7, 2023).

• As of February 29, 2024, the Department had received over 44,400 applications for the open work permit since the beginning of the public policy (February 8, 2021). Out of the over 42,500 open work permit applications processed, over 36,000 were approved.

• In addition, a public policy creating two pathways to permanent residence was put in place on June 1, 2021.

o The first pathway (Stream A) is for those who have graduated from a post-secondary designated learning institution in Canada in the past 3 years with a degree, diploma, graduate or post-graduate credential. At least 50% of the program of study must have been completed while physically present in Canada (either in person or online). These individuals can apply directly for permanent residence.

o The second pathway (Stream B) targets former Hong Kong residents who have gained a minimum of one year of full-time authorized work experience in Canada (or the equivalent in part-time work experience in Canada) at any skill level in the last three years.

• On August 15, 2023, IRCC expanded Stream B of the PR pathway by removing the education requirement. Prior to this date, applicants for Stream B had to demonstrate that they had graduated in or outside Canada in the past five years with a degree, diploma, graduate or post-graduate credential. This change more closely aligns the program with the open work permit for eligible Hong Kong residents and further simplifies their transition from temporary to permanent residence, while streamlining the processing of permanent residence applications. The requirements of Stream A have not changed.

• Under both streams, eligible Hong Kong residents must have valid temporary resident status and be in Canada when they submit their application and when they are granted permanent residence. They must also meet the specified language requirements.

• As of February 29, 2024, 16,500 individuals have applied under Canada's permanent resident pathways for Hong Kong residents and over 7,000 have been approved.

Processing times

• The number of permanent residence applications submitted to IRCC has increased, due in part to more facilitative measures, such as the removal of the education requirement for permanent residence applicants under Stream B, and the extension and expansion of the open work permit public policy in February 2023.

• Processing times for permanent resident applications are calculated using the time 80% of complete applications were finalized by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) in the six months prior to the date indicated. As of the end of February, 2024, the processing time for applications submitted under both Hong Kong Permanent Resident Pathways was 6.5 months. However, as IRCC has received a higher volume of applications than originally designated for admissions, a backlog is being created and the processing times for clients for the two pathways to permanent residence will increase.
• For those who submit an open work permit under this public policy, including extensions, the processing time as at the end of February was 107 days. Data on IRCC’s website includes all work permit extension applications, not just those from the Hong Kong public policy and are updated weekly. Applications are processed on a first-in first-out basis.

• As IRCC has received a higher volume of applications than anticipated, processing times may increase and a backlog may be created.

• A new public policy will be launched in the coming weeks to let Hong Kong PR pathway applicants extend their status and get a new open work permit in Canada while they wait for a decision on their PR applications.
• Starting May 27, 2024, open work permits will be available to those who:
• applied for permanent residence under Stream A (in-Canada graduates) or Stream B (Canadian work experience) of the temporary public policy for Hong Kong residents in Canada; and,
• held a work or study permit in the three years before their application for permanent residence was received.

Asylum & Resettlement

• With regard to those fleeing persecution, Canada has a robust asylum system and, like all foreign nationals who are in Canada, Hong Kong residents have access to this protection.

• Individuals who are eligible to make a claim are referred to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB). To provide fair and efficient adjudicative justice, the IRB regularly monitors and updates country conditions in refugee-producing countries or regions. Refugee claims from Hong Kong before the IRB are actively examined and case management strategies applied to ensure the efficient and timely determination of these claims.

• From June 1, 2020 to March 31, 2024, there have been 140 asylum claims made by people from Hong Kong.

• In addition to the in-Canada asylum system, Canada offers protection through the Refugee Resettlement Program to persecuted people outside Canada who have fled their country of origin. Refugees who have fled persecution in Hong Kong and lack options to permanently settle elsewhere can potentially be sponsored by Canadian citizens or permanent residents or be referred by designated referral partners, such as the United Nations Refugee Agency.

Police certificates

• Canadian immigration officers consider applications on a case-by-case basis, carefully considering the unique circumstances presented by each applicant.

• Foreign nationals must disclose all past charges and convictions when applying for temporary status such as work or study permits or permanent residence status in Canada.

• Inadmissibility decisions are grounded in evidence, which may consist of police or intelligence reports, statutory declarations, as well as other relevant documents such as media articles and publicly-available information.

• Foreign nationals are inadmissible to Canada if:
o they were convicted outside of Canada of an offence that, if committed in Canada, would constitute an indictable offence under an Act of Parliament, or convicted of two offences from separate occurrences, that, if committed in Canada would constitute offences under an Act of Parliament; or
o they commit an act outside Canada that is an offence in the place where it was committed and that, if committed in Canada, would constitute an indictable offence under an Act of Parliament [pursuant to section 36 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act]

• More generally, visitors holding Hong Kong Special Administrative Region or British National Overseas passports are visa-exempt and need only an electronic travel authorization (eTA) before travelling to Canada. While police certificates are not required to apply for an eTA, an officer may ask for it in some exceptional cases.

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