Canada is processing up to 115,000 permanent residency (PR) applications from protected persons and their in-Canada dependants under a one-time, two-year initiative spanning 2026 and 2027.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is processing the PR applications as part of efforts to provide certainty and stability to people already living in the country who have recognized protected status and cannot safely return to their country of origin.
These individuals are already contributing to Canadian communities, and the processing is designed to occur without adding significant new pressure on housing or public services.
The program targets eligible protected persons who received their status through a decision by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada on an asylum claim, or through an IRCC pre-removal risk assessment, and who have submitted a permanent residence application.
It also includes in-Canada dependants (spouse, common-law partner, or child) listed as accompanying family members on those applications.
Applicants intending to live in Quebec are not eligible under this initiative. The government intends to grant permanent residence to 46,000 protected persons and their in-Canada dependants through the measure in 2026 alone.
Official progress data shows strong uptake: from January to August 2026, Canada admitted 31,300 new permanent residents under the initiative, reaching 68% of the annual target.
This one-time initiative sits outside the core 2026–2028 Immigration Levels Plan targets of 380,000 permanent residents per year. It forms one of two special measures (alongside an in-Canada workers pathway) aimed at recalibrating the system by transitioning people already in Canada to permanent status.
IRCC has emphasized that protected persons hold recognized status under domestic and international law and are not temporary residents on time-limited permits. Accelerating their permanent residence supports integration, a pathway to citizenship, and Canada’s humanitarian commitments.
The processing continues amid ongoing management of overall permanent residence inventories, where some applications wait for available spaces under annual levels targets. Recent IRCC data indicate hundreds of thousands of permanent residence applications remain not yet finalized across economic, family, and protection categories.
This focused effort on protected persons already in Canada represents a practical step toward reducing uncertainty for a specific group while the government works to stabilize overall immigration levels in line with infrastructure and service capacity. Applicants and stakeholders can monitor official IRCC updates for further progress reports and processing details.
Beyond the 115,000 protected persons, IRCC is executing parallel measures aimed at clearing backlogs for temporary workers and humanitarian applicants already living within Canadian borders:
33,000 In-Demand Skilled Workers: Fast-tracking applications for temporary workers employed in essential sectors, with an emphasis on regional and rural communities.
Legacy Program Backlogs: Accelerating processing for existing applicants waiting under closed initiatives, including the Start-Up Visa Program, Self-Employed Persons Program, Agri-Food Pilot, and Caregiver pathways.
