August and early September were busy, but almost none of it came through IRCC’s newsroom. The department published no immigration news release in the whole period. Everything of substance moved through notices and public policies instead, which is worth knowing if you follow the press page and concluded that nothing was happening.
Here is what actually changed, with dates and numbers.
Work permit holders can study without a study permit
Effective September 4, 2026, anyone holding a valid work permit can take a course or programme of six months or less without applying for a study permit. The policy expires December 31, 2027.
Full-time study still requires a study permit, and the exemption ends when your work permit does. IRCC stated explicitly that this is not a new pathway into Canada, and it grants nothing to anyone outside the country.
We have written this one up separately, because it is being widely misread: Can you study in Canada without a study permit?
The Hong Kong permanent residence pathways closed
Streams A and B stopped accepting new applications on August 31, 2026. Applications received on or before that date continue to be processed normally.
IRCC’s own figures, as of June 30, 2026: roughly 30,315 applications were received, covering 48,560 people. More than 8,600 applications, representing 13,485 people, had been approved, and approximately 13,370 people had become permanent residents.
If you were intending to apply and did not, open work permits under the May 2024 public policy remain available until May 2029. That is a meaningful runway, and it is enough time to build a different permanent residence plan around a provincial nominee programme, Express Entry, or one of the community pilots.
Eleven Express Entry rounds, and not one of them general
Between August 4 and September 4, IRCC held eleven rounds of invitations. Every single one was either program-specific or category-based. No general round was held in the period.
| Date | Round type | Invitations | CRS cut-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 4 | Provincial Nominee | 507 | 768 |
| Aug 5 | Canadian Experience Class | 3,000 | 516 |
| Aug 6 | French-language proficiency | 5,000 | 391 |
| Aug 7 | Transport occupations | 300 | 470 |
| Aug 17 | Provincial Nominee | 442 | 760 |
| Aug 18 | Canadian Experience Class | 1,000 | 523 |
| Aug 19 | French-language proficiency | 5,000 | 382 |
| Aug 31 | Provincial Nominee | 562 | 697 |
| Sep 1 | Canadian Experience Class | 2,000 | 521 |
| Sep 3 | Physicians with Canadian experience | 229 | 198 |
| Sep 4 | Healthcare and social services | 3,500 | 475 |
Two things stand out. French-language proficiency issued 10,000 invitations across two rounds, at cut-offs of 391 and 382. And the pool held 226,673 candidates as of August 30.
The practical reading is uncomfortable but clear. If you are sitting in the pool with a mid-range score and waiting for a general round, you are waiting for something that has not happened since July. A strong French score, or an occupation that falls inside one of the categories, is now worth considerably more than grinding out another ten CRS points. You can check where you stand with our CRS calculator.
No, CRS scores are not collapsing
The September 3 physicians round closed at a CRS of 198, and that number travelled quickly, usually attached to a claim that Express Entry is getting dramatically easier.
It is not. That round issued 229 invitations to a narrowly drawn category requiring twelve months of Canadian work experience as a physician under NOC 31100, 31101 or 31102. In the same week, Canadian Experience Class cut off at 521 and Provincial Nominee at 697.
A very low cut-off in a very small, very specific category tells you nothing about your own chances. What it does show is how much category-based selection now matters relative to raw score, which is the more useful lesson.
Manitoba opens a bridge for up to 2,700 workers
A public policy published on August 5, 2026 grants open work permits to people holding a Government of Manitoba support letter issued on or before December 31, 2025 confirming placement in the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program expression of interest pool, together with a letter of employment from their current employer.
It covers up to 2,700 people and runs to December 31, 2027. One of the three eligibility streams reaches people whose permits expired after May 7, 2024, with relief from the usual 90-day restoration limit.
Ontario’s Workforce Priority Stream is taking expressions of interest
Ontario opened the expression of interest portal for the new Ontario Workforce Priority Stream on August 4, 2026, following regulatory amendments announced in late June.
The stream covers job offers across all NOC TEER categories, 0 through 5, plus a separate pathway for self-employed physicians. Covering TEER 4 and 5 matters: those levels have been shut out of most economic routes for years.
We covered the redesign when it landed, in our August update.
What did not change
Worth saying plainly, because absence of change is also information.
Fees. No changes. The economic permanent residence application remains $1,590 including the right of permanent residence fee, or $990 without it. Biometrics remain $85 per person, capped at $170 per family.
Post-graduation work permits. No changes. Language thresholds and the field-of-study rules are as they were.
Family sponsorship. Nothing published between August 1 and September 14.
Express Entry categories. The ten categories for 2026 are unchanged.
RCIP and FCIP. The programme pages were refreshed on August 31, but the structure is unchanged: fourteen rural communities and six Francophone communities, with Sudbury and Timmins in both. Both pilots remain open. If you are weighing up the rural route, start with our RCIP guide.
The dates to put in your calendar
December 31, 2027. Two temporary measures end on the same day: the study exemption and Manitoba’s open work permit bridge. Neither has been announced as permanent. Plan on the basis that they expire.
May 2029. Hong Kong open work permits remain available until this date under the May 2024 public policy, even though the permanent residence streams have closed.
Where this leaves you
If you hold a work permit, there is a new short-course option open to you until the end of 2027. If you are in the Express Entry pool without a category or a French score, the realistic path now runs through a province or a pilot rather than through waiting. And if you were counting on the Hong Kong streams, that door closed on August 31 and the work permit runway gives you until 2029 to build something else.
If you want a straight answer about which of those applies to you, book a consultation. Sometimes that conversation ends with a plan, and sometimes it ends with us telling you honestly that a route will not work and naming the one that might.
All figures verified against IRCC and Government of Ontario sources on September 14, 2026. Immigration requirements can change. This is general information, not legal advice, and eligibility depends on your individual circumstances and current IRCC requirements. Always verify current requirements with IRCC.
