All programs and services: current status

How to read the status column

Status	Meaning
Open	IRCC or the province accepts applications from people who meet the eligibility rules.
Open by invitation	You register a profile or an expression of interest first and may apply only if the government invites you. Being open does not mean invitations are being issued now.
Paused	The government has stopped taking new applications for now and may reopen the program, possibly with new rules.
Closed	The program has ended or reached its limit. Applications accepted before the closing date are usually still processed.
Case by case	There is no intake window. A decision-maker assesses your facts; the outcome is never guaranteed.

A category page is a starting point, not an eligibility decision. Visa, permit, protection and citizenship rules depend on personal facts, dates, status and supporting evidence. Confirm current instructions on the official page before you file.

Visit Canada

Visitor visas, eTAs, super visas, business visits, transit and extensions. Applications are ongoing for all of these.

Guide	Status	What to know
Visit Canada: overview	Open	Which document you need to travel, what the border officer decides, and how to stay longer or recover your status.
Visitor visa (TRV)	Open	For visa-required travellers visiting family, travelling as tourists or coming for another temporary purpose.
Electronic travel authorization (eTA)	Open	For eligible visa-exempt travellers who fly to or through Canada. It is not available to Iranian citizens, who need a visa.
Super visa	Open	Parents and grandparents of Canadian citizens and permanent residents may stay up to five years per entry. Since March 31, 2026 there are two ways to meet the income requirement.
Business visitors	Open	Short business activities such as meetings and conferences, with work and income staying outside Canada. A visitor visa or eTA is needed, not a work permit.
Transit visa	Open	Travellers from visa-required countries need a visa even to change planes. The visa is free and covers connections of 48 hours or less.
Extend your stay (visitor record)	Open	You extend your status, not your visa. Apply before your current stay ends.

Work in Canada temporarily

Employer-specific and open work permits, extensions, the PGWP and employer processes. A job offer is not a work permit, and there is no general open work permit.

Guide	Status	What to know
Work permits: overview	Open	Which legal route fits the job, how employer and worker each take their steps, and how to keep status and work authorization aligned.
LMIA work permits	Open	The employer needs a positive labour market impact assessment from ESDC before the worker applies to IRCC.
LMIA-exempt work permits (International Mobility Program)	Open	Some jobs can be filled without an LMIA because of an international agreement or Canada's economic, social or cultural interests.
Open work permits	Open in listed categories	Available only under specific categories IRCC lists, and most can only be requested at certain times.
Spousal open work permits	Open, narrower since January 21, 2025	Eligibility depends on who the principal applicant is: a worker, a student, a sponsored spouse or a permanent residence applicant.
Bridging open work permit	Open at a set stage	For PR applicants in Canada, available only after the PR application reaches a specific stage.
Vulnerable worker open work permit	Open	For workers on employer-specific permits who are being abused, or are at risk of abuse, in connection with the job.
Post-graduation work permit (PGWP)	Open	An open work permit for graduates of eligible programs. Most conditions depend on the school, program and study permit dates.
Extend, change or restore a work permit	Open	Apply before expiry when possible. Maintained status and restoration follow different rules.
Active public policies and special measures	Time-limited	Targeted exceptions made by the Minister. Each has its own conditions and end date.

Study in Canada

Study permits, designated learning institutions (DLIs), the provincial or territorial attestation letter (PAL/TAL) or Quebec's CAQ, extensions, student work and post-graduation options. Applications are ongoing.

Guide	Status	What to know
Study permits: overview	Open	Choosing a school and program, the letter of acceptance, the attestation letter or CAQ, proof of funds, the application and permit conditions.
Apply for a study permit	Open	What IRCC needs to see, from the letter of acceptance to proof of funds and family members' files.
Extend or restore a study permit	Open	How to work out your real expiry date and what restoration means if the permit has expired.
Change school or program	Open	Each kind of change follows different rules; changing without the right application can cost you your status.
Work while studying	Open	On-campus, off-campus and co-op work each have separate conditions and hour limits.

Permanent residence: Express Entry

The federal online system for skilled workers. It is open, with rounds of invitations rather than an application window. Changes announced on October 16, 2026 take effect on November 3, 2026.

Guide	Status	What to know
Express Entry	Open by invitation	How the pool, CRS ranking and invitations work. From November 3, 2026 a Labour Market Integration factor is added and an LMIA is no longer required for a qualifying job offer; rounds will pause while scores are recalculated.
Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP)	Open through Express Entry	Skilled workers with experience in Canada or abroad who score at least 67 of 100 on the selection grid. No FSWP-only round has been seen in 2026.
Canadian Experience Class (CEC)	Open through Express Entry	At least one year of recent skilled work in Canada. CEC rounds have been held regularly in 2026.
Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP)	Open through Express Entry	Two years in a skilled trade and either a Canadian job offer or a certificate of qualification.
CRS score and ranking	Reference	Every current points table, and the Labour Market Integration factor announced for November 3, 2026.
Category-based selection	Open by invitation	A type of invitation round, not a fourth program. Ten categories are listed for 2026. Meeting a category does not guarantee a round.

The ten Express Entry categories for 2026

Category	Round held since February 20, 2026?	Key requirement
French-language proficiency	Yes	NCLC 7 or higher in all four French abilities.
Healthcare and social services	Yes	12 months of recent work in one of 37 listed occupations.
Trade occupations	Yes	12 months of recent work in one of 25 listed trades.
STEM occupations	No round so far	12 months of recent work in one of 11 listed occupations.
Education occupations	No round so far	12 months of recent work in one of 5 listed occupations.
Transport occupations	Yes	12 months of recent work in one of 4 listed occupations.
Physicians with Canadian work experience	Yes	12 months in Canada as a specialist, surgeon, general practitioner or family physician.
Senior managers with Canadian work experience	Yes	12 months in Canada in one of four senior-manager occupations.
Researchers with Canadian work experience	No round so far	12 months in Canada as a university professor, lecturer or post-secondary teaching or research assistant.
Skilled military recruits	Yes	Foreign military service of 10 or more years and a Canadian Armed Forces job offer.

Permanent residence: other economic routes

Guide	Status	What to know
Medical doctors	Open	An Express Entry category, up to 5,000 reserved provincial nomination spaces and faster work-permit processing. Medical licensing is a separate step.
Francophone immigration outside Quebec	Open (several pathways)	Federal, provincial and community pathways where strong French or Francophone settlement counts. Each has its own requirements.
Rural and Francophone Community Immigration Pilots	Open	IRCC lists 18 participating communities across the two pilots, and the rural pilot page shows it open. Confirm the Francophone pilot's status on IRCC's page before relying on it. Each community designates employers and has its own intake.
Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP)	Open	Employer-driven: a job offer from an employer designated by an Atlantic province and a provincial endorsement.
Regional and Quebec programs: compare your options	Reference	Compares community pilots, the AIP and Quebec selection by who controls the first step.
Agri-Food Pilot	Closed	Ended May 14, 2025. Applications accepted before that date are still processed.
Caregiver pathways	Closed	The Home Care Worker Immigration pilots are closed to new applicants. Intake was paused December 19, 2025.

Permanent residence: provincial and territorial programs

Eleven provinces and territories run nominee programs. Quebec and Nunavut have none. Each program sets its own criteria and nomination numbers, and IRCC decides permanent residence after nomination. Compare options with the PNP finder and the provincial points calculators; see the latest invitations on the draw results page.

Guide	Status	What to know
Provincial Nominee Programs: overview	Varies by province	How nomination works, and the difference between the Express Entry and non-Express Entry routes.
Express Entry PNP process	Process guide	An enhanced nomination links a provincial stream to your Express Entry profile and adds 600 CRS points.
Non-Express Entry PNP process	Process guide	A base nomination leads to a federal PR application outside Express Entry.
Alberta (AAIP)	Open by invitation	Four worker streams through a paid Worker Expression of Interest ($135 since April 7, 2026) and four entrepreneur streams.
British Columbia (BC PNP)	Open by invitation	Skilled Worker and Health Authority streams run on registration and targeted invitation, with three entrepreneur routes.
Manitoba (MPNP)	Open by invitation	Expression of Interest with a 1,000-point grid; three streams.
Ontario (OINP)	Open: one stream only	Since June 25, 2026 the Ontario Workforce Priority stream is the only open stream. No invitation rounds under it were posted on ontario.ca at the time of review.
Saskatchewan (SINP)	Open: worker categories	Most realistic routes need an approved Saskatchewan job offer. The Entrepreneur, International Graduate Entrepreneur and Farm categories closed permanently on March 27, 2025.
New Brunswick (NBPNP)	Open by invitation, with restrictions	Four streams and two pilots. Some sectors and occupations are excluded from the Skilled Worker and Express Entry streams in 2026.
Newfoundland and Labrador (NLPNP)	Open by invitation	Expression-of-interest model with five categories; the province publishes priorities, not a cut-off.
Nova Scotia (NSNP)	Open by invitation	Four consolidated streams since February 18, 2026. An application fee has applied since September 1, 2026.
Prince Edward Island (PEI PNP)	Open by invitation	Seven worker pathways and the Work Permit Stream for entrepreneurs. No business invitations in 2026 so far.
Northwest Territories (NTNP)	Open: draws held, next expected early 2027	Employer-Driven, Francophone and Business streams.
Yukon (YNP)	2026 intakes closed	The employer submits the expression of interest. Both announced 2026 intake periods have closed.

Permanent residence: Quebec

Quebec chooses its own economic immigrants. You first need Quebec's selection, confirmed by a Quebec Selection Certificate (CSQ), and only then does IRCC decide on permanent residence.

Guide	Status	What to know
Quebec skilled workers (PSTQ, PEQ, CSQ)	Open by invitation	The Skilled Worker Selection Program works through Arrima. The Quebec Experience Program reopened temporarily and takes applications only in defined periods.
Quebec business immigration	See the guide	Three programs: Investor, Entrepreneur and Self-Employed Worker. Each has mandatory conditions and no points grid.

Business immigration

There is no open general federal entrepreneur or investor program at the moment. Provincial and Quebec routes are separate and change their minimums and intake without notice.

Guide	Status	What to know
Business immigration: overview	See the guide	The federal Start-up Visa and Self-Employed Persons Program are paused. Quebec and several provinces run their own business routes.
Start-up Visa and Self-Employed Persons Program	Paused	The Start-up Visa closed to new applications on June 30, 2026, after a final window for holders of a 2025 commitment. The Self-Employed Persons Program has been paused since April 30, 2024, with no reopening date.
Provincial entrepreneur programs	Varies by province	Intake, minimums and status differ for every province and territory; some streams are closed.
Compare entrepreneur streams	Reference	Financial and language minimums of every provincial, territorial and Quebec business stream side by side.

Family, protection and special pathways

Guide	Status	What to know
Family sponsorship	Open, except parents and grandparents	Spouses, partners, dependent children, adopted children and eligible other relatives can be sponsored. The Parents and Grandparents Program has been paused since July 15, 2026, with no new interest-to-sponsor forms or invitations until further notice. The super visa remains available.
International adoption	Case by case	Combines the adoption process with citizenship or sponsorship for the child.
Refugees and asylum	Case by case	Claims made in Canada or at the border, and resettlement from abroad. Eligibility rules and deadlines decide many cases.
Humanitarian and compassionate (H&C)	Case by case	A request for permanent residence, or a waiver, because of exceptional circumstances. Never guaranteed.
Special permanent residence programs	Mixed	The state-care pathway is open until January 21, 2027. The Hong Kong pathways closed on August 31, 2026. The human rights defenders stream is by referral only.
Paused and closed programs	Reference	What you can no longer apply for, with dates and what happens to existing files.

PR card, citizenship and passports

Guide	Status	What to know
PR card, PRTD and PR status	Open	First card, renewal and replacement, the residency obligation, urgent requests and the permanent resident travel document.
PR card renewal	Open	Renew from inside Canada when the card expires in less than 9 months or has expired. The form can lead to a review of your residency obligation.
Replace a lost, stolen or damaged PR card	Open	The route depends on what happened to the card and where you are.
Permanent resident travel document (PRTD)	Open	For permanent residents outside Canada without a valid PR card who will return by commercial carrier.
PR residency obligation	Always applies	730 days in each 5-year period. Falling short does not end status automatically but can lead to a refusal, a report and an appeal.
Canadian citizenship	Open	Citizenship grant for adults and minors, physical presence, taxes, language proof, the test and ceremony, and proof of citizenship.
Canadian passports	Open	New and renewed adult passports, child passports, guarantors, fees, and travel documents for eligible non-citizens.

Topic	What it covers	Official guide
Employer-specific work permit	A permit normally tied to a named employer, occupation, location and period. The employer may need an LMIA or an LMIA-exempt offer number.	Employer-specific work permits
Canadian employers	LMIA, International Mobility Program offers, compliance fees and worker-recruitment rules are on the employer side of the process.	Hire a temporary foreign worker
Choose and verify a DLI	School and program choice can affect study-permit processing and future PGWP eligibility. Public master's and doctoral programs may be exempt from the attestation letter for applications after January 1, 2026, but a letter of acceptance is still required.	Designated learning institutions list
Refugee resettlement from outside Canada	Government-assisted and privately sponsored resettlement are referral or sponsorship processes, not direct asylum applications.	How to be resettled in Canada as a refugee
Private refugee sponsorship	On the date of review, IRCC marked Group of Five and Community Sponsor intake as paused and Sponsorship Agreement Holder intake as open.	Private sponsorship of refugees
Settling in Canada	Pre-arrival and newcomer services, language, employment, housing, health, taxes and community support. Eligibility varies by status and program.	Settling in Canada
Inadmissibility, rehabilitation and appeals	Medical, criminal, security, financial, misrepresentation and non-compliance grounds have different tests and possible remedies, including rehabilitation and temporary resident permits.	Find out if you are inadmissible
Fraud and authorized representatives	Verify that a paid representative is authorized, keep copies of submissions and report suspected immigration fraud. Our checklist for checking a representative explains how.	Protect yourself from immigration fraud

Every major Canadian immigration service, in one clear place.

How to read the status column

Visit Canada

Work in Canada temporarily

Study in Canada

Permanent residence: Express Entry

The ten Express Entry categories for 2026

Permanent residence: other economic routes

Permanent residence: provincial and territorial programs

Permanent residence: Quebec

Business immigration

Family, protection and special pathways

PR card, citizenship and passports

Tools, results and trackers

CRS calculator

Draw results

Processing times and status

PNP finder

All tools

High-wage occupations

Other topics: official IRCC guides

Official sources

Keep reading.

Rules explain the program. Evidence decides the case.

Every major Canadian immigration service, in one clear place.

How to read the status column

Visit Canada

Work in Canada temporarily

Study in Canada

Permanent residence: Express Entry

The ten Express Entry categories for 2026

Permanent residence: other economic routes

Permanent residence: provincial and territorial programs

Permanent residence: Quebec

Business immigration

Family, protection and special pathways

PR card, citizenship and passports

Tools, results and trackers

CRS calculator

Draw results

Processing times and status

PNP finder

All tools

High-wage occupations

Other topics: official IRCC guides

Official sources

Keep reading.

Immigrate to Canada

Paused and closed programs

Free assessment

Rules explain the program. Evidence decides the case.