On July 27, 2023, Matt Krupovich, the Communications Advisor of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), confirmed that the priority processing for residents of Hong Kong remains unchanged. IRCC will continue to prioritize the processing of Hong Kong applicants.

We have reviewed the updated instructions and determined that they were published in error. We continue to prioritize the processing of Hong Kong applicants. Residents of Hong Kong should not expect any changes in the processing times.

——Matthew Krupovich, Communications Advisor, IRCC

On July 24, 2023, IRCC announced an online program delivery update: Guidance for special measures to support Hong Kong residents coming to Canada. However, this announcement has already been deleted from the IRCC web page. The original announcement stated:

Sections referring to priority processing for family reunification, students, and permanent residence were removed. As a result, there is no longer priority processing for residents of Hong Kong.