Intake and completeness check for out-of-status construction workers in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA)
This section contains policy, procedures and guidance used by IRCC staff. It is posted on the department’s website as a courtesy to stakeholders.
This public policy has been extended until December 31, 2024, or until we approve 1,000 applications, whichever comes first. Spaces are filling quickly, so apply soon to secure your spot before capacity is reached.
All applicants must identify themselves to the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), which will determine whether they meet the public policy conditions. However, it is the delegated officer who will do the final determination whether the applicant meets the conditions. The CLC will
- issue a referral letter attesting that they meet these conditions
- forward complete applications in batches to IRCC
IRCC will process all complete applications received over the duration of the total of 4 years the public policies are in place (2020 to 2024), to a maximum of 1000 principal applicants being granted permanent resident status. To be considered eligible for processing, applications must be complete.
Applications received by IRCC on or before July 29, 2021, will continue to be processed as per the January 2, 2020, public policy provisions. Pending applications that have not been finalized on July 29, 2021, will be processed under the Temporary public policy to further facilitate access to permanent resident status for out-of-status construction workers in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).
Note: Individuals who have made a refugee claim in Canada, and failed refugee claimants, are not eligible under this public policy.
Urgent cases
When sending in the applications, the CLC will identify (by writing “Urgent” on the envelope) cases with active removal orders by writing “urgent” on the envelope. When a batch of application packages arrives at the intake office, an IRCC employee must first identify if any envelopes are flagged as urgent. The intake of these applications must be prioritized to enable the prompt issuance of a temporary resident permit and a stay of removal at stage 1 approval.
Once the intake of any urgent cases is finalized following a completeness check, the intake office will complete the intake of all other applications in the order that they were received. During any stage of the intake process, if it is found that an applicant has a removal order that was not flagged by the CLC, the application should also be treated as urgent and prioritized.
Completeness check
CLC is required to submit to the intake office, on behalf of applicants, their complete application, including
- all mandatory forms
- a CLC referral letter
- fees
- supporting documents
All applications must be date-stamped upon receipt and reviewed for completeness as per the requirements specified in both
- section 10 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR), and
- the application kit
If the application is incomplete, it will be returned, per section R12.
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