By Catherine Sas, K.C. and Victor Ing
Special to The Post

As immigration lawyers practicing with nearly 50 years of collective experience, we have been asked many times by prospective immigrants whether they should pursue studies in both official Canadian languages: English and French, to enhance their chances of qualifying for permanent residence in Canada. As we live and practice in British Columbia, most of these requests are from persons who have proficiency in English, having either studied or worked in Canada utilizing their English language skills.  Since the dawn of Canada’s Express Entry selection system on January 1, 2015, our answer has typically been that the reward is not worth the effort. With both of us personally having studied several languages in addition to English, we can tell you that pursuing language studies takes a considerable investment of time and effort.  (You can cram for a history or geography exam but not for a language exam!). However, the new Canadian immigration world order is a very different place and Canada is placing a premium on French language proficiency (outside of Quebec) such that this skill set provides an opportunity to acquire not only an education in Canada but also work experience and permanent residence! Let’s take a look at the options for a francophone applicant to achieve Canadian immigration status.

The Francophone Mobility Program

Canada has had a work permit program for French-speaking individuals since June 1, 2016, which was initially designed to help Canadian employers outside of Quebec to recruit highly skilled French-speaking temporary foreign workers. French language proficiency is measured against Canada’s Niveaux de Compétence Linguistique Canadiens (NCLC) scale, and those who meet the minimum language proficiency requirements are entitled to obtain a work permit if they have a job offer outside the Province of Quebec.

On June 15, 2023, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) relaxed the eligibility requirements for the Francophone Mobility Program. By lowering the language proficiency requirements to level 5 NCLC or higher (representing an intermediate level of proficiency) and removing the requirement for candidates to have a job offer to perform skilled work, IRCC greatly expanded the pool of candidates who could apply for Francophone Mobility work permits. The June 15, 2023 changes immediately created an excellent opportunity for Francophones to gain Canadian work experience because they could obtain work permits without the requirement for their prospective employers to obtain a Labour Market Impact Assessment.

Permanent Residence for French-speaking Skilled Workers

French speakers have distinct advantages when considering their Canadian immigration options, particularly if they are applying for permanent residence under Canada’s Express Entry system. One key benefit is the ability to earn additional points for their French language skills.

Candidates are only qualified to apply under the Express Entry system if they can demonstrate proficiency in either English or French, but those who can show proficiency in both languages will gain a significant boost in their Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points. Specifically, candidates with moderate English proficiency (measured at a Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) 5 or higher) who can prove their French language skills at NCLC level 7 or higher across all four language skills (speaking, listening, reading, and writing) will be able to earn up to 50 additional CRS points. Even candidates who do not have French proficiency at NCLC level 7 can benefit from having moderate proficiency in French – up to 24 CRS points may be awarded to native English speakers who also have French language skills.

Additionally, since June 2023, IRCC began the practice of issuing “category-based” draws to invite candidates who possess unique skills or have experience in occupations deemed important to the Canadian economy to apply for permanent residency. The practice involves lowering CRS requirements for these targeted foreign workers, including francophones who have been designated by IRCC as a priority group of candidates. Accordingly, since the summer of 2023, highly skilled workers who can demonstrate strong language proficiency (NCLC 7 or higher across all four language skills) are now being invited to apply for permanent residence at much lower CRS point scores compared to their non-French-speaking counterparts.

Recent data will assist us to put this practice into perspective. On October 22, 2024, 400 non-francophone skilled workers with Canadian work experience were invited to apply for permanent residence if they had CRS point scores of 539 points or higher. In contrast, on October 10, 2024, 1,000 francophone skilled workers who met the minimum French language proficiency requirements of NCLC level 7 or better were invited to apply for permanent residence if they scored 444 CRS points or higher. That is a 19% difference in CRS points. Put simply, it is currently much easier for a French speaker to qualify for Canadian permanent residency than it is for a non-French speaker.

Please refer to our most recent blog “Trudeau Giveth….Trudeau Taketh Away: Understanding Canada’s new immigration levels plan” for more information about how CRS point scores are calculated and why it has been so challenging in recent times to qualify for permanent residency: https://canadian-visa-lawyer.com/trudeau-giveth-trudeau-taketh-away-understanding-canadas-new-immigration-levels-plan/

The Francophone Minority Communities Student Pilot

This past summer, on August 14, 2024, the Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, introduced the new Francophone Minority Communities Student Pilot (FMCSP) program.  The FMCSP was launched on August 26, 2024, and is designed to attract international students from primarily French-speaking countries who wish to study outside the Province of Quebec. Interested candidates are currently eligible to apply to attend one of the 12 universities and colleges that are participating in this initiative, which are located in the Provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and New Brunswick.

This new pilot program implements several significant measures in recognition that candidates from primarily French-speaking countries in Africa, the Middle East and the Americas have historically experienced higher refusal rates, and these measures include the following:

ｷ Eligible students and their families will be exempted from having to demonstrate that they will leave Canada at the end of their temporary stay in order to improve overall approval rates.

ｷ The required financial threshold for FMCSP students will be reduced. Successful candidates will only be required to demonstrate that they have access to funding based on 75% of the low-income cutoff figures associated with the municipality where their intended school’s main campus is located.

ｷ Importantly, there will be a direct pathway to transition from temporary to permanent resident status after pilot program participants obtain their educational credentials in Canada.  In addition, program participants will have access to settlement services while studying, in order to facilitate successful integration into their communities.

ｷ Finally, the annual cap for international students, which was introduced in January 2024, will not apply to the pilot program for francophone international students.

These measures show a clear preference to increase the number of French-speaking newcomers to Canada to strengthen Canada’s national identity as a bilingual country.

The New Immigration Levels plan for 2025-2027

Perhaps the most telling indication of the benefits of pursuing an education in French can be seen in Canada’s new immigration plan.

The new levels plan announced at the end of October 2024 demonstrates the opportunity that embracing French studies may provide in achieving Canadian permanent residency.  A review of the recent non-Quebec francophone PR targets from 2019 to 2023 compared with the proposed levels for 2025 to 2027, confirms the government’s emphasis on increasing francophone immigration outside of Quebec:

Non-Quebec Francophone Immigration Target Levels

With a 2027 projected overall permanent immigration target of 365,000 immigrants and at an annual non-Quebec francophone target level of 10%, this adds up to 36,500 possible francophone speaking immigrants for the year!  Compare this to 2023 where the targeted non-Quebec francophone level was at 4.75 % welcoming 19,700 permanent residents. In only four years the number of Canadian permanent residents being welcomed under this program has more than doubled!

Conclusion

With the introduction of Canada’s Express Entry system, the process for qualifying for permanent residence in Canada has become increasingly more challenging year after year. As we have advised in many of our blogs, it is essential to develop a strategy that can lead to a path to permanent residence.  While obtaining proficiency in both of Canada’s official languages has always garnered higher points scores for permanent residence, with the introduction of these combined programs for francophone applicants living outside of Quebec and category-based draws, the ability for French speakers to qualify for permanent residence has increased dramatically.

The case for pursuing French language studies in order to obtain Canadian permanent residence is clear and many are now choosing this path as has been reported in the Canadian media: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-french-canada-immigration-permanent-residency/).

Perhaps the most telling indication of the benefit of pursuing an education in French can be seen in Canada’s new immigration levels plan where the targets under this category are more than doubling.  The current challenges to obtaining immigration status in Canada mandate a new approach. Canada’s combined temporary and permanent Francophone programs offer a solid path to achieve your immigration goals.

Catherine Sas, K.C. has over 30 years of legal experience. She provides a full range of immigration services and is a leading immigration practitioner (Lexpert, Who’s Who Legal, Best Lawyers in Canada).

Victor Ing is a lawyer at Sas & Ing Immigration Law Centre. He provides a full range of immigration services.

Go to canadian-visa-lawyer.com, or email catherine@sasanding.com or victor@sasanding.com.