The Canadian government’s “lifeboat” work visa for Hong Kong residents officially began accepting applications on Feb. 8, and according to Immigration Canada, the department has received more than 500 applications for work visas in the past three weeks. Remi Lariviere, a spokesperson for Immigration Canada, said, “As many young people in Hong Kong look overseas, we hope they will choose Canada.”
In response to the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Act in July last year, the Canadian government announced three “lifeboat” measures in November of the same year to facilitate Hong Kong people working in Canada and to create a pathway to citizenship. Among them, the “open” work visa for Hong Kong people was officially opened for application on February 8. Applicants only need to meet two conditions, namely, hold a SAR passport or British National Overseas Passport (BNO), and within five years before the application, graduated from a Canadian college or university or overseas equivalent, can apply, no age or language requirements. However, subject to additional entry measures under the restricted epidemic, overseas applicants need to be hired by a Canadian company, and the completion of 14 days quarantine in Canada.
Larivière said the authorities received 524 work permit applications between Feb. 8 and 28. In addition, he said, 15 applications for work permits were received. Remi Lariviere said, “At a time when so many young people in Hong Kong are looking overseas, we hope they will choose Canada.” The Canadian government can currently only provide statistics for the first three weeks after applications opened and could not immediately explain why it could not reveal figures for the subsequent six weeks to mid-April. In response, Richard Kurland, a Vancouver-based immigration lawyer, told the Globe and Mail that the early numbers do not seem to indicate that the number of Hong Kong people applying for such permits has increased from the past.
Kurland said statistics from 2014 to 2017 show that 4,100 Hong Kong people have applied for work permits or extended work permits in Canada each year in recent years. He said the applications so far do not indicate an increase in Hong Kongers’ interest in living here, “no real increase, or minimal increase.” Many voices in Canadian politics have urged the Trudeau government to create a dedicated asylum pathway for refugees from Hong Kong, but it has not taken shape. The policy introduced by the Trudeau government has also faced criticism that its work permit program is only useful for university graduates from the upper and middle classes of society, and does not take into account the realities of the average Hong Konger.
Canada shares the international community’s serious concerns about China’s national security legislation and strongly supports the rights to peaceful protest, freedom of expression and freedom of assembly,” Larivière said. We stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Hong Kong in this difficult time.” The Trudeau government said Ottawa will fast-track the necessary paperwork and will not bar entry to Hong Kong people charged under the national security law.
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