Canada launches new immigration pathways for French speakers
Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has launched the Francophone Community Immigration Pilot (FCIP) immigration pathway.
This new immigration pathway was first announced in March of 2024, with further details revealed in December of last year.
Under this program, newcomers with an intermediate level of French ability-and who have an offer of employment in priority occupations sough by a community outside of Quebec-can be nominated and receive Canadian permanent residence (PR).
This article will cover the communities that have been chosen by the federal government to participate in the FCIP and provide a brief overview of candidate eligibility.
Which communities have been selected to participate?
For candidates to receive permanent residence (PR) through the FCIP, they must (in addition to meeting all other eligibility requirements) have an offer of employment for a priority occupation from an employer in one of the chosen communities, that has been designated by the IRCC-authorized economic development agency for that community.
Employers in a participating community can also apply to became a designated employer under the FCIP on IRCC’s website.
Per the government’s new release, IRCC has already begun training with economic development organization in selected communities. Each community will provide candidates can expect to have chance to apply.
IRCC has selected the following communities to participate in the FCIP:
Selected Community – Province
Acadian Peninsula – New Brunswick
Sudbury – Ontario
Timmins – Ontario
Super East Region – Ontario
St. Pierre Jolys – Manitoba
Kelowna – British Columbia
Four of the above communities (a portion of the Acadian Peninsula, Sudbury, Timmins and St. Pierre Jolys) are also enrolled in IRCC’s Welcoming Francophone Communities Initiative, a regional immigration program that helps welcome French-speaking newcomers to Canada and integrate and settle them in Francophone and Acadian communities outside of Quebec.
At the time of this announcement, the immigration department has not stated which economic organizations are also required to publish their list of priority occupations by March 31st, every year.
More details are expected to follow in the coming weeks.
Candidates eligibility
Eligibility requirements for candidates in the FCIP has been summarized in the table below:
Eligibility criteria – Description
Creation of recommendation – An application must have a certification of recommendation from an economic development organization at the time of making their application
Genuine offer of employment – An application must show that they have a genuine offer of employment from a designated employer that meets specific conditions.
Work experience – An applicant must have work experience that meets specific conditions. This requirement can also be waived for international graduates who meet certain conditions.
Language proficiency – The applicant must display French language ability equivalent to a Niveaux de competence Linguistique canadines (NCLC) level 5 in all language abilities.
Education – The applicant must have obtained at least a secondary school level credential.
Intent to reside – The applicant must demonstrate that they intend to reside in the designated community they will work in.
Necessary funds – Applicants must show that they have funds equivalent to one-half of the most recent Low-Income Cut-Off (LICO) criteria relevant to their designated community, for one year.
International graduates applying to the FCIP may be exempt from needing to show work experience provided that they meet certain conditions.
Newcomers applying for this program from within Canada must also ensure that they have valid temporary resident status (work permit, study permit, or visitor visa) in the country at the time of their application.
Once candidates have applied for PR through the FCIP, they may also be eligible for a work permit during the processing of their PR application. These work permit can be eligible to receive this work permit as long as they have:
- A job offer from the designated employer who initially offered them a job as part of the FCIP;
- A referral letter from their participating community; and
- Meet all other work permit eligibility criteria.
Brief background on the FCIP
In December of the last year, IRCC announced the FCIP as a new francophone immigration initiative as part of the department’s wider Francophone Immigration Strategy.
At the time the immigration department announced the basic eligibility and processes for the FCIP but did not elaborate would be participating in the program.
Within the FCIP there are three key stakeholder (apart from newcomers themselves):
Stakeholder – Description
Designated Communities – Communities outside of Quebec chosen by the Minister of Immigration to participate in the new program
Economic development organization – Organization in each community that have been chosen by the Immigration Minister to issue certificates of nomination to eligible newcomers
Designated employers – Employers chosen by the economic development organization to participate in the FCIC by hiring and employing eligible newcomers