Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Lena Metlege Diab, has announced that in fulfillment of a promise made in the 2025 Budget individuals working on work permits will now be granted PR status on an expedited basis. The government has set a target to grant PR status to at least 20,000 workers in 2026.

The processing for the remaining eligible individuals is scheduled to be completed in 2027. Within just the first two months of 2026 (January–February), 3,600 individuals have already received Permanent Residence under this scheme. This policy by the Canadian government stands to benefit, most significantly, those individuals from Punjab who have been residing in Canada on work permits for a long time and have been awaiting their Permanent Residence status.