Canada has terminated a temporary measure that allowed visitors to apply for work permits while in the country. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced the immediate end of this policy on August 28, 2024, ahead of its originally planned expiration date of February 28, 2025.
The policy, introduced in August 2020 amid COVID-19 travel restrictions, permitted visitors to apply for work permits without leaving Canada. It also allowed those who had held a work permit in the previous year to work legally while awaiting decisions on new permit applications after changing their status to “visitor.”
IRCC cited two main reasons for ending the policy early: to manage the number of temporary residents in Canada and to preserve the integrity of the immigration system. The department also noted concerns about misuse, stating that some “bad actors” were exploiting the policy to mislead foreign nationals into unauthorized work in Canada.
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This change is part of a broader effort to recalibrate Canada’s temporary foreign worker levels. Just days earlier, IRCC announced a pause on processing certain Labour Market Impact Assessment applications under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program’s Low-Wage stream, effective September 26, 2024. This pause will affect areas with unemployment rates of 6% or higher.
Additional restrictions have been implemented, including limiting employers to hiring foreign workers for only 10% of their workforce under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. The maximum employment term for low-wage stream workers has also been reduced from two years to one.
IRCC has assured that applications submitted before August 28, 2024, under the now-terminated policy will continue to be processed.
These changes mark a reversal of multiple immigration measures implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the height of COVID-19, Canada temporarily allowed employers to hire up to 30% of their workforce through the low-wage stream and extended the Labour Market Impact Assessment validity to 12 months.
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