Canada Visa: Medical exams waived off for nearly 2 lakh applicants

Announcing the same, Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship took to Twitter earlier this week to say, permanent and temporary residence applicants who are already in Canada and meet certain criteria are exempt from immigration medical examinations

This new measure will help provide faster processing and will benefit more than 180,000 applicants in Canada, he added.

Official notice regarding the same reads, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has implemented a temporary public policy that exempts certain low-risk, in-Canada, foreign nationals from submitting an immigration medical examination (IME) as part of their application when their previous IME has expired. This supports faster processing of applications to help eligible foreign nationals quickly obtain temporary or permanent resident status.

Who are exempt:

• A new or pending application for permanent or temporary residence or a permanent resident visa, made from within Canada
• Completed an immigration medical exam within the last 5 years and posed no risk to public health or safety, or reported to public health authorities for monitoring, as required

However, the applicants must provide the unique medical identifier number from their previous medical exam while submitting the new application. This is applicable till October 6, 2024. Meanwhile, the applicants who are not eligible under this temporary public policy are required to undergo an IME as per usual health screening procedures. IRCC will contact individuals who are not eligible for the exemption to discuss next steps.

Currently, IRCC is looking at hitting the target of some 432,000 new permanent residents as part of the Immigration Levels Plan 2022-2024.

Each year IRCC releases a new plan year that outlines the number of immigrants Canada hopes to welcome over the coming three years, and further breaks it down into the class of immigration and their programs.

For 2022, the Immigration Levels Plan targets 55,900 new permanent residents through Express Entry. So far, between January and August 31, Canada has admitted just over 28,000 new permanent residents through Express Entry programs.