Canada changes rules for Express Entry permanent residence applications
If you’re applying for permanent residency through the Express Entry program, Canada recently updated its requirements.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced that those applying for permanent residence via Express Entry must undergo a medical examination before submitting their documents. These changes kicked in on Aug. 21, and won’t affect applications submitted before then.
In an email to Daily Hive, Mary Rose Sabater, spokesperson for IRCC, stated, “This is called an upfront medical examination. With an upfront medical examination, we don’t send any instructions for completing the medical examination. Once invited to apply, applicants must contact a panel physician directly.”
After the medical exam, applicants will receive a printout sheet with information or an IMM 1017B Upfront Medical Report form, which must be submitted with their application. Previously, IRCC required applicants to submit their complete application for permanent residence and wait for instructions for the medical examinations.
The upfront medical exam requirement isn’t new.
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In October 2023, IRCC launched a pilot program aimed at suspending upfront medical examination requirements.
Sabater explained that doing so allowed “the department to maximize the 12-month validity of the medical exam by providing medical instructions at the right stage of the program’s application processing timeline.”
“By deferring the medical examination from the application submission step to a later stage in the process, extra steps were needed to initiate medical examination requests,” she explained. “As such, the department has made the decision to end the temporary pilot on Aug. 2025.”
The current processing time for permanent residence applications through this program is six months. These requirements apply to applicants from across Canada, except Quebec, which doesn’t have an Express Entry program, as it manages its immigration programs independently.
IRCC has also made changes to other programs.
On July 29, the department increased the settlement funds required for the Rural Community Immigration Pilot (RCIP). It also increased the minimum annual income needed to sponsor parents or grandparents.