Applicants seeking Canadian permanent residence under temporary public policies and requesting humanitarian exemptions will now face stricter regulations, as per recent instructions to officers.

On July 22, 2026, the Canadian immigration department released updated guidelines stating that officers cannot grant exemptions to applicants from conditions outlined in temporary public policies.

Typically, when a foreign national applies for permanent residence from within Canada, officers are required to assess requests for exemptions based on humanitarian and compassionate grounds (H&C).

However, the consideration of H&C exemptions, as outlined in subsection A25(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, is limited to exemptions from requirements within the Act and does not extend to temporary public policies.

Applications for permanent residence under temporary public policies must demonstrate full compliance with all policy requirements, without the possibility of seeking H&C exemptions to overcome any unmet conditions.

If an applicant seeks an H&C exemption to address unmet policy requirements, the application will be rejected, and there will be no separate consideration for permanent residence on H&C grounds.

Individuals refused under these circumstances would need to submit a new application specifically for permanent residence based on H&C grounds.

The immigration department has provided detailed instructions to officers in a publication titled “Humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) considerations: In-Canada permanent residence (PR) granting public policies where H&C requests were also made.”

In cases where H&C exemptions are permitted, officers may grant exemptions if they determine that the applicant or their dependent child(ren) would face significant hardship.

Temporary public policies are temporary directives issued by Canada’s immigration minister, offering exceptions to standard rules for cases that meet the policy’s specified conditions.