As of August 28, 2023, temporary residents in Canada on a visitor visa are no longer allowed to apply for a work permit from within the country. This change marks the end of a special policy introduced in August 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The original policy was intended to help visitors who were unable to leave Canada due to border closures. It allowed them to apply for a work permit without having to exit the country. Additionally, those who had previously held a work permit within the past 12 months and had changed their immigration status to “visitor” were eligible to work legally while awaiting a decision on their new work permit application.
Key Points of Policy Change for Temporary Residents on Visitor Visas
- The policy allowing temporary residents on visitor visas to apply for work permits from within Canada, initially set to expire on February 28, 2025, ended earlier on August 28, 2023.
- This policy was introduced in August 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic to assist those unable to return home due to border closures.
- The early termination of this policy is part of the government’s broader efforts to manage the number of temporary residents in Canada and uphold the integrity of the immigration system.
- Applications submitted before the policy ended on August 28 will still be processed.
Crackdown on Immigration Fraud
- The early rollback is also a response to concerns that “bad actors” were exploiting the policy, misleading foreign nationals into working in Canada without proper authorization.
- This move is part of ongoing efforts by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to combat immigration fraud and reduce temporary resident levels.
- A notable example of such fraud involved 700 Indian international students found in Canada with fraudulent letters of acceptance. In response, IRCC now requires Designated Learning Institutions (DLIs) to verify all acceptance letters within 10 days of receiving an application and has capped the number of international students accepted for the next two years.
Broader Changes to Temporary Foreign Worker Levels
- Alongside the end of the visitor visa work permit policy, IRCC has announced additional measures to reduce temporary foreign worker levels.
- By September 26, 2024, the Department will pause the processing of some Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) applications under the Low-Wage stream of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) in areas with an unemployment rate of 6% or higher.
- Other restrictions include a cap on the number of foreign workers that Canadian employers can hire under the TFWP (limited to 10% of their total workforce) and a reduction in the maximum term of employment for Low-Wage stream workers from two years to one.
Repeal of Pandemic-Era Policies
- Many of these changes represent a rollback of policies introduced during the pandemic to address labor shortages. For example, during the pandemic, the cap on hiring through the Low-Wage stream was increased to 30% of the workforce, and the validity period of an LMIA was extended to 12 months.
- These changes began to be reversed in May 2023 following a joint press conference by Employment Minister Randy Boisterousness and Immigration Minister Marc Miller, who also introduced temporary resident levels to the annual Immigration Levels Plan for the first time in Canadian history.
Future Considerations
- Immigration continues to be a key focus in Canada, with ongoing discussions on managing and potentially reducing the levels of temporary residents and considering changes in permanent residence levels in the coming years.
With the end of this policy, foreign nationals on a visitor visa must now apply for a work permit from outside Canada if they wish to work.
