Today, Marc Miller, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, unveiled a new immigration pilot designed to attract more international students to Francophone communities across Canada.
The Francophone Minority Communities Pilot Program (FMCSP) aims to enhance admission opportunities and make the process fairer for students from Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas. Under this program, students and their families won’t need to prove they will leave Canada after their studies. Additionally, the financial requirements will be adjusted to 75% of the low-income threshold for the municipality where the educational institution is located.
Students in this program will benefit from a direct route to permanent residency upon completing their studies and will have access to various settlement services.
The pilot will launch on August 26, 2024, initially accepting 2,300 students, with the number to be reviewed in August 2025.
Eligibility Criteria
To qualify for the Francophone Minority Communities Pilot Program (FMCSP), students must:
- Obtain a letter of acceptance from a participating Designated Learning Institution (DLI) indicating their application under the FMCSP.
- Enroll in a study program that meets the following requirements:
- At the post-secondary level.
- Full-time.
- Duration of 2 years or more.
- Leads to a degree or diploma.
- Conducted primarily in French (more than 50% of classes in French).
Applicants must also be citizens of one of the following countries:
- Benin
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cabo Verde
- Cameroon
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Comoros
- Côte d’Ivoire
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Dominica
- Republic of the Congo
- Djibouti
- Egypt
- Equatorial Guinea
- Gabon
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Haiti
- Lebanon
- Madagascar
- Mali
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Morocco
- Niger
- Rwanda
- Saint Lucia
- São Tomé and Principe
- Senegal
- Seychelles
- Togo
- Tunisia
Participants in the FMCSP can also bring their spouses, common-law partners, or dependent children with them. Spouses and partners may qualify for a visitor visa, open work permit, or study permit.
Notably, FMCSP students are exempt from several recent changes affecting Canada’s international student program. They do not need to obtain a Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL) from their DLI and are not subject to the IRCC’s application cap for international students.
Expansion of the Welcoming Francophone Communities Initiative
Minister Miller has revealed that 10 additional Francophone communities will join the Welcoming Francophone Communities (WFC) initiative. This program is designed to assist in the reception and settlement of Francophone newcomers in designated Francophone and Acadian areas throughout Canada. It provides various settlement services, including community support, skills development, and employment assistance, through both IRCC and the local communities.
With this expansion, the WFC initiative will now encompass these new communities in addition to the 14 already involved.
This expansion brings the total number of communities involved in the Welcoming Francophone Communities (WFC) initiative to 24. The renewal of this initiative is part of Canada’s broader Francophone immigration strategy, which aims to enhance the use of both official languages—English and French—across the country, especially French outside Quebec.
Liane Roy, President of the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada (FCFA), highlighted the initiative’s significance in her remarks at today’s announcement:
“The WFC initiative showcases the dedication of Francophone and Acadian communities to the success of immigrants. These communities have organized activities to foster inclusion and cohesion, and have worked to make their regions more appealing in order to boost Francophone immigration.”
Canadas francophone immigration policy
The two new pilot programs are key components of Canada’s Francophone Immigration Policy. Earlier this year, the department set a goal for 6% of all new immigrants to be French-speaking.
Moreover, Canada’s Official Languages Act mandates that the immigration minister implement policies to boost the presence and vitality of French-speaking minority communities in Canada. This includes efforts to restore and grow their demographic representation.
These new programs are part of IRCC’s strategy to increase the number of Francophone immigrants. Additionally, the department is expected to issue a significant number of Invitations to Apply to Express Entry candidates who have French language skills through targeted selection rounds.
