Canada Halts In-Country Applications for Work Permits by Visitors

Effective August 28, individuals on a visitor visa in Canada are no longer able to submit applications for work permits if they are within the borders of Canada. This measure revises a temporary provision established in August 2020 that aimed to support visitors stranded in Canada due to international border shutdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Visitors were then granted a unique opportunity to apply for work visas from within Canada, offering a legal means to seek employment while awaiting the results of their work permit applications, especially for those who had prior work permits that had lapsed into visitor status within the last year.

Initially set to terminate in February 2025, this policy has been discontinued earlier by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) as part of strategic adjustments to control temporary residency numbers and uphold the immigration system’s integrity. The IRCC has indicated that all applications filed under the said policy until August 28 will still be processed as usual.

The policy revocation is also a response to the exploitation of the system by unscrupulous entities, who have reportedly been encouraging foreign nationals to work unlawfully in Canada. This is in line with IRCC’s ongoing battle against immigration fraud. Notably, last year, 700 Indian students became victims of fake acceptance letters from Canadian educational institutions. Since then, IRCC requires educational institutions to validate letters of acceptance shortly after receiving an international student’s application, and it has fixed a quota on the number of international student admissions for the upcoming two years.

Moreover, this week witnessed significant amendments designed to reduce the temporary foreign workforce in Canada. On August 26, IRCC declared that starting September 26, 2024, they would hold back on processing Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) applications for candidates under the Low-Wage Stream in regions marked by a 6% or higher unemployment rate. Furthermore, the maximum percentage of temporary foreign workers an employer is allowed to hire is now capped at 10%, and the period of employment for low-wage temporary workers has been shortened to one year.

These major shifts indicate a recoil from deregulations enacted during the pandemic to fulfill labor shortages. Last May, the rollback of these temporary measures began, following a joint announcement by Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault and Immigration Minister Marc Miller, who also introduced the historic step of including temporary resident levels in Canada’s annual Immigration Levels Plan.

Conclusion:
The measures introduced by IRCC convey a clear message regarding the importance of maintaining the veracity of the immigration system while balancing the temporary workforce in Canada. As the landscape of immigration transforms, individuals and employers alike will need to navigate these new regulations carefully. It remains paramount for potential applicants to stay informed and ensure compliance with ever-evolving policies.

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