Parliamentary testimony from Hong Kong Watch urges Canadian government to address Hong Kong Pathway backlog
Yesterday, Hong Kong Watch’s Advocacy and Communications Officer, Landson Chan, testified before the Canadian Parliament’s Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration (CIMM) at a hearing titled ‘Attracting and Empowering Global Talent to Strengthen Canada’s Economy’. Hong Kong Watch called for urgent action to address the Hong Kong Pathway permanent residence backlog and retain skilled talent in Canada.
As of June 2026, approximately 34,150 people were awaiting permanent residence under the pathway, against an annual admissions target of just 800. At this rate, clearing the backlog would take more than 40 years.
Canada established the Hong Kong Pathway to offer recent graduates and skilled workers a faster route to permanent residence in response to the deteriorating human rights situation in Hong Kong. Yet, Hong Kongers who have already studied, worked and contributed to Canada now face years of uncertainty, while the temporary open work permit measure is set to expire in May 2029.
To address the backlog, Hong Kong Watch proposed three practical measures:
Targeted reallocation of permanent residence admissions: Temporarily reallocate spaces from the Refugees and Protected Persons category to increase the annual Humanitarian and Compassionate and Other allocations to 31,000 in 2027 and 2028, prioritizing existing applicants under the three pathways without increasing overall immigration levels.
Priority processing for doctors: Fast-track permanent residence applications from Hong Kong-trained doctors to help them access Canadian residency training and address healthcare workforce shortages.
Targeted Express Entry measures: Award Hong Kong Pathway applicants an additional 80 to 100 Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points or introduce dedicated draws with a minimum score of 460, within existing economic immigration allocations.
Hong Kong Watch emphasized that Canada has already attracted this talent. The priority now must be to empower these Hong Kongers to stay and thrive.
Hong Kong Watch sincerely thanks the Committee for the opportunity to present its recommendations and urges the Canadian Government to take meaningful action to deliver on the original promise of the Hong Kong Pathway.
You can watch the full hearing here.
香港監察向加拿大國會移民委員會作證 促政府緊急應對Hong Kong Pathway申請積壓
昨天，香港監察倡議及傳訊主任Landson Chan出席加拿大國會公民及移民常務委員會聽證會，就「透過吸納及賦權全球人才加強加拿大經濟」作供。香港監察呼籲政府緊急採取行動，應對「Hong Kong Pathway」永久居留申請積壓問題，挽留加拿大技術人才。
截至2026年6月，約有34,150人循此途徑等待永居，但相關年度移民目標配額只有800個。按此速度，清理積壓恐怕需要超過40年時間。
加拿大當初因應香港人權狀況不斷惡化，設立「Hong Kong Pathway」計劃，為近期畢業生和技術工人提供更快捷的永居途徑。可是，已在加拿大讀書、工作並作貢獻的香港人現時面對多年不確定的生活，而開放式工作簽證臨時措施將於2029年5月到期。
為解決積壓問題，香港監察提出三個切實可行的措施：
重新分配永居配額：暫時重新分配撥給「難民及受保護人士」類別的配額，從而增加2027年至2028年「人道及恩恤」及其他類別的年度配額至31,000 個，優先處理這三個途徑下現有申請人的申請，而毋須提高整體移民水平。
優先處理醫生申請：加快審批香港受訓醫生的永居申請，協助他們獲得加拿大駐院醫生培訓機會，應對醫療人手不足問題。
推出特快移民通道（Express Entry）：在「Hong Kong Pathway」申請人的綜合排名系統（Comprehensive Ranking System）分數上額外加80至100分，或在現有經濟移民配額內，設立最低分數為460分的專屬抽籤。
香港監察強調，加拿大已經吸納這些人才。現在當務之急是讓這些香港人能夠留在加拿大並蓬勃發展。
香港監察衷心感謝委員會給我們機會提出建議，並促請加拿大政府採取實質行動，兌現「Hong Kong Pathway」的原始承諾。
請在此處觀看完整聽證會。