IRCC details 2027 measure to process remaining Hong Kong and Ukraine family PR applications

What changed

On November 10, 2026, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) published details of a new time-limited measure proposed in Budget 2026 for people already in Canada who are waiting for permanent residence. It includes a humanitarian cohort that would allow IRCC to accelerate processing.

The measure includes permanent resident admission space in 2027 that aims to process:

• all remaining applications under the Hong Kong permanent residence pathways, which stopped accepting new applications on August 31, 2026. These are expected to result in up to 32,000 admissions.
• all remaining applications under the Ukraine Family Reunification Pathway, which closed to new applications in October 2024. These are expected to result in up to 18,800 admissions.

Other groups named in the release

Under the same measure, IRCC would also help transition to permanent residence:

• up to 12,600 people already found eligible for permanent residence on humanitarian and compassionate grounds;
• up to 45,000 spouses, common-law partners and dependent children of Canadian citizens or permanent residents living in Canada;
• up to 100,000 workers in Canadian communities and their eligible family members, in collaboration with the provinces and territories.

IRCC states that this measure is in addition to the Humanitarian and Compassionate and Other category targets in the 2027–2029 Immigration Levels Plan.

What applicants should know

According to IRCC, the measure does not create new programs or re-open closed pathways. Applicants do not need to do anything or contact IRCC for their applications to be processed using these additional spaces.

Official text

Read the full news release: Canada takes action to efficiently process existing permanent residence applications for Ukrainians and Hong Kongers (IRCC, November 10, 2026).