Dictionary, Census of Population, 2021
Non-permanent resident type

Definition

Non‑permanent resident type refers to the category under which a non‑permanent resident has been authorized to enter Canada for temporary residence purposes.

In the 2021 Census of Population, data on the non‑permanent resident type are available for non‑permanent residents who arrived in Canada between January 1st, 1980 and May 11th, 2021.

Statistical unit(s)

• Non-permanent resident

Classification(s)

• Non-permanent resident type of non-permanent resident

Reported in

2021 (25% sample)

Reported for

Persons in private households who are from another country with a usual place of residence in Canada and who have a work or study permit or who have claimed refugee status (asylum claimants) since 1980. Family members living with work or study permit holders are also included, unless they are already Canadian citizens or landed immigrants or permanent residents.

Question number(s)

Data on non‑permanent resident type were obtained from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada's (IRCC) administrative records.

Responses

The standard classification for non‑permanent resident type is 'Asylum claimant,' 'Non‑permanent resident with work permit only,' 'Non‑permanent resident with study permit only,' 'Non‑permanent resident with work and study permit' and 'Other non‑permanent resident type.'

Remarks

In the 2021 Census of Population, data on non‑permanent resident type are available for non‑permanent residents who arrived in Canada between January 1st, 1980 and May 11th, 2021.

'Non‑permanent resident' refers to a person from another country with a usual place of residence in Canada and who has a work or study permit or who has claimed refugee status (asylum claimant). Family members living with work or study permit holders are also included, unless these family members are already Canadian citizens or landed immigrants or permanent residents.

While Statistics Canada uses the concept of “non-permanent resident” to refer to asylum claimants and permit holders (work or study), Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada's (IRCC) temporary residents refer to visitors, temporary workers and international students, whereas asylum claimants is a separate concept. As a result, the NPR concept used by Statistics Canada and IRCC’s temporary resident concept cannot be used interchangeably. For more information, please refer to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

To better understand the relationship between the concepts of immigration and place of birth, please refer to Figure 2.5.

To better understand the relationship between the concepts of immigration and citizenship, please refer to Figure 2.6.

For more information on immigration variables, including information on their classifications, the questions from which they are derived, data quality and their comparability with other sources of data, please refer to the Place of Birth, Generation Status, Citizenship and Immigration Reference Guide, Census of Population, 2021.

Related 2021 data products

• Non-permanent resident type by place of birth: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts (98-10-0361-01)