Canada Details 2027 PR Backlog Plan for Hong Kong, Ukraine and Families

Canada has released new details on how a time-limited 2027 permanent residence measure will prioritize people already living in Canada, including applicants under closed Hong Kong and Ukraine family pathways. The November 10, 2026 announcement explains which existing applications may benefit from additional processing capacity.

Which applications are included?

IRCC aims to process the remaining applications under the Hong Kong permanent residence pathways, with up to 32,000 expected admissions, and the Ukraine Family Reunification Pathway, with up to 18,800 expected admissions. The Hong Kong pathways closed to new applications on August 31, 2026; the Ukraine family pathway closed in October 2024.

The same measure would also support 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, and up to 100,000 workers in Canadian communities and their eligible family members in collaboration with provinces and territories.

Does this open a new immigration pathway?

No. IRCC explicitly says the measure does not create new programs or reopen closed pathways. Applicants do not need to submit a new application or contact IRCC to request accelerated processing through these additional spaces. Processing and admission remain subject to applicable requirements and decisions.

How does it relate to the 2027 Immigration Levels Plan?

The time-limited measure is designed to process existing in-Canada applications more efficiently, rather than bring these applicants into Canada as new arrivals. Its humanitarian spaces are additional to the regular Humanitarian and Compassionate and Other category targets in the 2027–2029 Immigration Levels Plan. The government's November 10 release gives cohort estimates, not individual approval guarantees.

What applicants should do

Applicants should continue monitoring their existing IRCC account and official correspondence, keep required information current, and respond to requests from IRCC. Those who did not apply before a pathway closed cannot use this announcement to enter that closed pathway.

Sources

IRCC news release — November 10, 2026

IRCC 2027–2029 Immigration Levels Plan supplementary information