Canada ends policy allowing visitor visa holders apply for work permits from within the country
Canada has ended the policy allowing visitors on temporary visas to apply for work permits from within the country, initially introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision is part of a strategy to maintain the integrity of its immigration system and manage temporary foreign worker levels.
Temporary residents in Canada on a visitor visa are no longer permitted to apply for a work permit from within Canada.
The policy was introduced in August 2020 to assist visitors in Canada who were unable to return home because of border closures related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under the policy, they could apply for a work permit without having to leave Canada. Also, anyone who had held a work permit within the preceding 12 months but had changed their immigrations status to “visitor” became eligible to “work legally in Canada while waiting for a decision on their new work permit application.”
Canada says applications submitted under the policy before August 28 will continue to be processed, as per a CIC News report.
Why was the step taken?
Canada says that part of this early rollback is because it has been made aware that “bad actors were using the policy to mislead foreign nationals into working in Canada without visa
On August 26th, the Department announced it would pause the processing of some Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) applications for some applicants under the Low-Wage stream of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) by September 26th, 2024. This will impact applicants in Census Metropolitan Areas with an unemployment rate of 6% or higher.
Canada also announced restrictions on the number of foreign workers that employers in Canada can hire under the TFWP (10% of their total workforce), and that the maximum term of employment for workers in the Low-Wage stream would be reduced to one year from two.
