Clarion Immigration Consulting

08/21/2026

08/05/2026

The Self-Employed Persons Program provides a pathway to permanent residence for self-employed artists and athletes who are exceptionally talented and are expected to make a significant contribution to the cultural or athletic life of Canada. These include painters, sculptors and other visual artists, coaches, photographers, actors, comedians and circus performers, theatre, fashion, exhibit and other creative designers, artisans and crafts persons, athletes, dancers, patternmakers - textile, leather and fur products, sports officials and referees, and others.

Broad eligibility criteria allowed nearly all foreign nationals with self-employment experience in cultural or athletic fields to apply. This has led to consistently high unprocessed application volumes that far exceed the program’s limited admissions capacity under the annual Immigration Levels Plans. As a result, the program experienced high refusal rates, lengthy processing times, and a significant application backlog – issues that risk undermining public confidence in both the program itself and the broader immigration system.

In April 2024, IRCC announced a full “pause” on the intake of new applications for the program until the end of 2026 to address the substantial backlog of applicants and assess options for its reform that are well-aligned with the objectives of economic immigration, and
designed with clear objectives and specific, measurable outcomes.

07/31/2026

IRCC announced that online passport renewal is now available to all eligible adult Canadians in Canada. The requirements to apply online are the following.

- You’re applying to renew your own passport.

- Your home and mailing address are in Canada, and you’ll be there to receive your passport.

- Your passport will expire in the next 6 months or is expired right now.

- Your current passport isn’t damaged or seized, or surrendered

- You’re not reporting a lost or stolen passport as found if it hasn’t already been returned to us.

Your current passport will be cancelled and will not be valid after you apply for your renewal. It can take up to 20 business days to process your application, plus mailing time. If you need your passport sooner, apply in person.

07/26/2026

Ontario Workforce Priority Stream – Applicant Requirements Summary

The Ontario Workforce Priority Stream provides a pathway to permanent residence for eligible skilled foreign workers with a qualifying Ontario job offer and work experience. Eligible self-employed physicians may also apply without a job offer.

1. Work Experience
Applicants must meet one of the following:
- For TEER 0–3 job offers: At least 6 months of consecutive, paid full-time work experience in the job offered within the 12 months before applying.
- Recent Ontario graduates: At least 3 months of consecutive, paid full-time work experience in the job offered within the previous 12 months.
- Engineers, pharmacists, practical nurses, registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses must have at least 24 months of cumulative paid full-time (or equivalent part-time) work experience in the same occupation within the previous 5 years.
- For TEER 4–5 job offers: At least 9 months of cumulative paid full-time work experience in the offered occupation within the previous 24 months.
- Transport truck drivers, bus drivers, subway operators and other transit operators must always meet the 6-month work experience requirement, even if licensed or are recent Ontario graduates.

2. Licensing
Where the occupation requires a mandatory Ontario or Canadian licence or authorization, applicants must hold a valid licence or authorization when applying and throughout the nomination process.

3. Language
- For TEER 0–3 positions: CLB 6 for non-skilled trade occupations, CLB 5 for skilled trade occupations. A language test is not required for applicants who graduated within the last 3 years from an eligible Ontario postsecondary program meeting the program criteria.
- For TEER 4-5 positions: CLB level 4 or higher.

4. Education
Applicants must meet the education requirements for the occupation:
- For TEER 0–3 positions (non-skilled trades): At least a one-year Canadian postsecondary credential (or equivalent).
- For Skilled trades positions: Canadian high school diploma (or equivalent).
- Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates: Ontario college certificate requiring at least one year of full-time study.
- For positions that require mandatory licensing or authorization: Proof of the required licence or authorization.
- TEER 4–5: Canadian high school diploma (or equivalent).

5. Legal Status
Applicants applying from within Canada must have valid temporary resident status (including maintained status) when they apply.

6. Intention to Reside in Ontario
Applicants must demonstrate their intention to live and work in Ontario after obtaining permanent residence. The OINP will determine this by examining your ties to Ontario

07/24/2026

The FMCSP provides a pathway from temporary residence to permanent residence pathway for French-speaking international students from world regions that face historically high study permit refusal rates and who are seeking to pursue postsecondary studies taught in French at select postsecondary designated learning institutions (DLIs) located outside Quebec.

To be eligible, for the FMCSP) the applicant must meet the following criteria.

- Be a citizen of one of certain countries that are members of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie in Africa, the Middle East and the Americas.

- Have a letter of acceptance from a participating designated learning institution (DLI) in Ontario / Manitoba / Saskatchewan / Alberta / British Columbia / Nova Scotia / New Brunswick or Prince Edward Island, that says you’re applying under the FMCSP.

- The study program must be at the post-secondary level, full-time, for 2 years of study or more, lead to a degree or diploma, and have French as the primary language of instruction (over 50% of the classes are taught in French)

- Prove that your French speaking, listening, reading and writing skills are at a level 5 or higher in the Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC) scale.

- Have enough money to pay for your tuition fees and living expenses

- Llive outside of Canada when you apply.

P.S. You may be able to bring your spouse or common-law partner and dependent children with you to Canada.

07/21/2026

Canada pauses the intake of new applications under the Parents and Grandparents Program. However, the processing of existing applications will continue, and the plan is to approve up to 15,000 people for permanent residence in 2026.

01/30/2026

Starting May 1, 2026, eligible beneficiaries of the Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP) will have to pay a portion of the cost of supplemental health services and products (psychologists and counselling therapists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and speech language therapists, assistive devices like prosthetics, mobility aids and hearing aids, home care and long-term care,
urgent dental care and limited vision care, medical supplies and equipment, as well as prescription medication.

This will apply to refugee (asylum) claimants, protected persons or resettled refugees, and others. IFHP beneficiaries will be asked to pay the following amounts directly to their health care providers when they receive IFHP-eligible supplemental products or services.

- $4 for each eligible prescription medication filled or refilled under the IFHP
- 30% of the cost of all other eligible supplemental health products and services, including dental care, vision care, counselling and assistive devices.