By Catherine Sas, K.C.
Special to The Post

Last November 2025, Canada痴 Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), Lena Diab, introduced the annual levels plan which featured an 的n-Canada Focus・ for permanent residence including a repeat of the popular 典emporary Resident to Permanent Resident・ pathway specifically targeting 33,000 applicants. The TR to PR pathway was originally introduced in 2021 in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic which saw increased numbers of temporary residents in Canada and provided them with an opportunity to transition to permanent residency. See the Minister痴 announcement here: CIMM ・ Temporary Residence to Permanent Residence Pathways. With the levels of workers and students remaining at relatively high levels, IRCC’s “in-Canada focus” is good news for aspiring immigrants already working in Canada.

Since making the announcement this past fall, there has not been any specific introduction of the details of this program but recent news reports have indicated that the department is already selecting immigrants under this category. Last week the Toronto Star reported that the program is already underway and Minister Diab is quoted as saying that further details about the program are to be released in April. See Toronto Star痴 article. Without knowing the actual requirements of the TR to PR category, what should a prospective immigrant do?

The best guide to what the program might look like, is to look back to the requirements of the initial program introduced in 2021 which ultimately accepted over 100,000 immigrants. The TR to PR pathway had much lower requirements for acceptance than IRCC痴 standard PR program Express Entry (EE). EE is now in its 12th year of operation and features four separate sub-categories: Federal Skilled Worker (FSW), Canadian Experience Class (CEC), Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) and the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). The process of qualifying for permanent residency under EE involves scoring applicants on a variety of criteria such as age, education, language proficiency in either or both English and French and foreign and Canadian work experience. For the past few years, the points levels have been extremely high in order to garner an Invitation to Apply (ITA) with many hopeful immigrants being shut out of the application process. The initial TR to PR pathway criteria were significantly relaxed and required applicants to demonstrate a lower threshold of language proficiency and either one year of Canadian work experience or completion of a specified program of study. In order to qualify for PR under the TR to PR program, applicants needed to demonstrate that their foreign education equated to Canadian standards by providing an Educational Credential Evaluation (ECA) and a language test by an IRCC recognized language testing center. Not surprisingly, many of those who wanted to apply under this newly announced pathway were in a rush to obtain both an ECA and a language test! Testing centres were immediately swamped and many aspiring applicants were unable to obtain test results in time to meet the application deadline. Past history tells us that if you want to be able to qualify under this program, you need to be prepared! For more information, refer to: Changing Your Mind: Why some international students should withdraw their recent applications from the TR to PR Pathway.

The key aspects of the former TR to PR program required both an ECA and a language test as well as confirmation of employment in Canada of at least twelve months or completion of a selected educational program in Canada (Please note: We don稚 know what the specific requirements for this mini TR to PR program will be!). If you don稚 have either an ECA or a language test, it is highly recommended that you obtain them now. IRCC will only accept ECA results that are less than five years old and language tests that are less than two years old. If your ECA or languages tests have lapsed, or will soon expire, it would be wise to obtain them once again. Furthermore, proof of work experience is not a simple as getting a reference letter from your Canadian employer - IRCC has specific factors that they require for immigration purposes. For guidance on what those specific criteria are, please refer to our former blog Getting the Reference Letter Right!”.

The mini TR to PR pathway announced in the recent levels announcement is good news for those aspiring Canadian immigrants who are unable to qualify for an ITA under the current EE scoring levels. But experience has taught us that when specialized programs are introduced with relaxed criteria and specific levels of applicants, that these thresholds are met very, very quickly. As in most things in life, those who are prepared have the best chances of success!

Catherine Sas, K.C. has over 35 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). Go to canadian-visa-lawyer.com or email catherine@sasanding.com.