Barriers to Permanent Residency and the Exclusion of Disabled Migrants in Canada: Rethinking Canadian Immigration Through Critical Perspectives on Disability and Social Work

Abstract

Canada’s immigration system prioritizes economic utility when selecting permanent residents, systematically excluding disabled migrants. Disabled migrants, despite the opportunity to be recruited as migrant workers, face more compounded barriers embedded in neoliberal immigration policy, nation-state border enforcement, and systemic ableism when they apply for permanent residency. This paper situates medical inadmissibility provisions within the broader critiques of neoliberalism and disability, showing how disabled migrants are positioned as economic liabilities rather than social and cultural contributors. Situated within critical perspectives on disability and anti-oppressive social work, we integrate ecological theory to examine how justice should be promoted for migrants with disabilities across micro, mezzo, and macro levels. We argue that social workers must recognize both their complicity in state-aligned systems and their potential role in resisting exclusion by collaborating with disabled migrants and disability justice movements. The paper concludes with recommendations for disability-inclusive immigration reform and concrete strategies for social workers and researchers to contest neoliberal ableism and advance migrant and disability justice in Canada.