Am I eligible for IRCC settlement services as a temporary resident?

According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), some temporary residents (TRs) are eligible for certain settlement services funded by the federal government.

Temporary residents are foreign nationals in Canada temporarily, including those who are here while working, visiting or studying.

What are settlement services?

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

While settlement services are primarily for new Canadian permanent residents (who are eligible for almost all available services at every level of government in Canada), some temporary residents can also avail themselves of these services.

Click here for more information on free settlement services in Canada.

Discover if You Are Eligible to become a Canadian permanent resident

Am I eligible for IRCC’s settlement services?

According to IRCC, some groups of temporary residents in Canada can access federal settlement services.

It is important to note that settlement service providers across Canada have individualized policies, eligibility criteria, and service offerings. This means that the specific details of each organization’s settlement services, such as its eligibility criteria, are outlined by the individual service provider rather than the government.  In other words, temporary residents will see different eligibility criteria depending on who the service provider is funded by.

However, IRCC does note that there are restrictions to eligibility for certain federal settlement services, such as language training, because eligibility for some services is age-dependent.

Note: IRCC clarifies that the following groups of “eligible persons” include both the principal applicant and eligible dependents (spouse and children).

Students

Students may be eligible for some settlement services funded by municipal or provincial governments, despite being ineligible for federal government services. This eligibility is usually on a case-by-case basis, and must be inquired about to the service provider directly.

Despite this, students may often avail themselves of settlement services in the form of student supports at their Designated Learning Institution (DLI). Information on these services, including availability and eligibility, can usually be found at the school’s registrar, or at their respective international student centers.

Workers

In most instances, temporary foreign workers in Canada will only be eligible for municipal or provincial settlement services, except for the following groups who may also avail of federal services:

Temporary foreign workers (TFWs) who possess (or have been approved for) a work permit under section 112 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR)

- These are workers who were previously subject to a removal order but have since applied for and been approved by the Minister of Immigration for protection in Canada.
- This also includes TFWs who have been initially approved for permanent residence under the IRPR section 113
Current temporary residents (and incoming foreign nationals) who have been selected by eligible employers through IRCC’s Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP)
- This group of temporary residents is eligible for a specific set of settlement services: needs and assets assessment, referrals, and information/orientation program components

Those transitioning to permanent residence

Foreign nationals who have been selected by IRCC (either inside or outside of Canada) for permanent residence, and who have been informed by the immigration department via a letter, are eligible for settlement services. This includes:
- Temporary residents who have completed* their Application for Permanent Residence (APR) under the AIP. To be eligible, people in this group of temporary residents must have received confirmation that their complete APR has been submitted and received by IRCC.
  - AIP applicants are eligible for a specific set of settlement services: ones that enable eligible settlement service users to access services, as well as needs and assets assessment, referrals, information, orientation, and community connections program components

Humanitarian and Compassionate Grounds

Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET)

This group includes:

Foreign nationals who have received a TR visa (TRV) through CUAET;
Ukrainian nationals who are waiting for an extension of their status in Canada.

Note: Ukrainian nationals already in Canada as temporary residents under CUAET are eligible for IRCC settlement services.

Gaza public policy

Foreign nationals who received a TRV from IRCC as part of the department’s “Temporary Public Policy to Facilitate Temporary Resident Visas for Certain Extended Family affected by the Crisis in Gaza”
Foreign nationals with travel (or other eligible) documents issued by the Palestinian Authority
- This also includes certain family members (as defined in IPPR section 1(3)) of the above who are not eligible for this temporary public policy
  - These family members must have been issued a TRV based on Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) or IRPR exemptions by a delegated officer in line with one of the two 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
In-Canada temporary residents who arrived after departing from the Palestinian Territories with assistance from the Government of Canada
- 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