Temporary residents are foreign nationals residing temporarily in Canada, including those who are here while working, studying, or visiting. Here’s how temporary residents can get IRCC settlement services.  

What Are Settlement Services? 

Generally, settlement services are free resources that help Canadian newcomers adjust to their everyday lives after they arrive. For instance, settlement services can help newcomers to Canada with language training, accessing community connection services, employment, etc. 

How Temporary Residents Can Get IRCC Settlement Services? 

According to IRCC, temporary residents can get IRCC settlement services. However, it is vital to note that settlement service providers across Canada have individual policies, eligibility criteria, and service offerings. This implies that the specific details of each organization’s settlement services, like eligibility criteria, are highlighted by the individual service provider instead of the government. In simpler terms, temporary residents will witness different eligibility criteria depending on who the service provider is funded by. 

IRCC notes that eligibility for certain federal settlement services is restricted because eligibility criteria for some services are age-dependent. 

Note: IRCC clarifies that the following groups of ‘eligible people’ include both the eligible dependents and the principal applicant.  

Workers 

  • Temporary foreign workers who possess a work permit under section 112 of the IRPR. It includes workers who have been initially approved for permanent residence under IRPR section 113.
  • Current temporary residents who any eligible employers have selected via IRCC’s Atlantic Immigration Program state that a group of temporary residents is eligible for a specific set of settlement services. The services include needs and asset assessment, referrals, and orientation program components. 

Those Transitioning To Permanent Residence 

Temporary residents who have completed their Application For Permanent Residence under the AIP or their APR under the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot:

  • To be eligible, individuals in this group of temporary residents must have obtained confirmation that their complete APR has been submitted and received by IRCC.
  • AIP applicants are eligible for a specific set of settlement services. The services include the ones that enable eligible settlement service users to access services, as well as needs and assets assessment, information, referrals, orientation, and community connections program components. 
  • RNIP applicants are eligible for settlement services that enable users to access services, as well as needs and assets assessment, information, referrals, orientation, and community connections program components.
  • As highlighted in IRPA section 14.1, these temporary residents are eligible for IRCC settlement services. 

Note: In IRCC’s words, RNIP applicants are eligible for settlement services ‘for the duration of the pilot.’ 

Humanitarian and Compassionate Grounds 

  1. Canada-Ukraine Authorization For Emergency Travel (CUAET)
  • Foreign nationals who have obtained a TR visa via CUAET.
  • Ukrainian nationals who possess a TR permit. 

Note: Ukrainian nationals in Canada as temporary residents are eligible for IRCC settlement services until March 31, 2025. 

  1. Gaza Public Policy 

Foreign nationals who obtain a TRV from IRCC as part of the department’s ‘Temporary Public Policy to Facilitate Temporary Resident Visas for Certain Extended Family Affected by Crisis in Gaza’ include: 

  • Foreign nationals with travel documents issued by the Palestinian Authority. 
  • This also includes certain family members who are not eligible for this temporary public policy.
  • These family members must have been issued a TRV based on IRPA or IRPR exemptions. The exemptions should be by a delegated officer in line with one of the following conditions: 
  • The TRV was issued on humanitarian and compassionate grounds between January 9 and December 31, 2024. 
  • The TRV was issued ‘where justified in the circumstances’ between January 9 and December 31, 2024.

The following are in-Canada temporary residents who arrived after departing from the Palestinian Territories with assistance from the Government of Canada. 

  • In order to be eligible, the temporary resident described above must have arrived in Canada between November 1, 2023 and December 31, 2024.
  • This group of temporary residents is eligible for IRCC-funded settlement services until March 31, 2027.      

If you seek information on how to begin your Canada immigration application process, you can talk to our NavaImmigration experts at 1800-918-8490, or you can drop us an email at [email protected].