By admin (August 29, 2024)
Visitors in Canada Now Restricted from Applying for Work Permits
On 28th of August, individuals holding a visitor visa to Canada became ineligible to apply for a work permit from inside the country. This was put in place back in August 2020 to assist in the application process for a work permit for visitors who were stranded in Canada due to the COVID-19-related closure of the borders, without having to apply outside the country. It also allowed people who had been working in Canada within the past 12 months but changed their status to “visitor” to continue working legally in Canada while waiting for a decision on their new work permit.
The policy has an expiration date of February 28, 2025. IRCC is ending it sooner to “recalibrate the number of temporary residents in Canada and maintain the integrity of the immigration system”. Those who apply before August 28th will still be processed under the policy.
Bad Actors Crackdown
IRCC said the early end of the policy is one way to help crack down on misuse, including by ‘bad actors’ using it to dupe foreign nationals into working in Canada under false pretenses.
This move is part of the constant measures that IRCC takes toward addressing problems related to immigration fraud and optimizing levels of temporary residents. For example, last year alone, in Canada, there were 700 Indian students whose acceptance letters to Designated Learning Institutions (DLIs) were fraudulently obtained, which most of them had no idea about.
As a response, IRCC now demands that DLIs confirm all AIPs within ten days of reception of a student application and has capped how many international students Canada will admit for a two-year upcoming period.
Temporary Foreign Worker Level Get Larger Changes in Canada
Larger changes to temporary foreign worker levels in Canada The expiry of this work permit temporary policy is part of several larger changes that have been designed to lower the number of temporary foreign workers that come into Canada.
It was the case on August 26, when the government announced that by September 26, 2024, it would halt the processing of some LMIA applications for low-wage jobs in jurisdictions where the unemployment rate is 6%. It also set limits on the share of foreign workers that employers can hire in the TFWP-a cap of 10% on their workforce-and lowered the maximum period of employment for the workers in the Low-Wage stream from two years to one year.
These changes represent a return to immigration policy settings pre-pandemic, which were put in place in response to labor market needs unprecedented before the pandemic. For example, in response to the unprecedented conditions of the pandemic, for a period of time the IRCC, in collaboration with Employment Social Development Canada (ESDC), permitted employers in Canada to hire up to 30% of their workforce through the TFWP’s LowWage stream, with the LMIA remaining valid for 12 months.
These policies began to be eroded last May, after a joint press conference on the matter, with Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault and Immigration Minister Marc Miller. At the time, Minister Miller announced that Canada was for the first time in history going to include temporary residents in its annual Immigration Levels Plan.
Immigration is once again becoming a core topic in Canada, with the slew of announcements this year centered on keeping track and chipping away at the numbers of temporary residents. This week, Minister Miller also hinted at the levels of permanent residence that would change in Canada over the coming years.