IRCC extends a policy that allows visitors to obtain work permits if they have valid job offers.
According to CIC NEWS (the voice of Canadian immigration) Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced that any foreign national who receives a job offer while in Canada will be able to apply for, and receive a work permit.
This Policy was supposed to expire on February 28 2023 but will remain effective till February 28, 2025.
This measure was initially introduced to help employers in Canada fill urgent labor shortages when COVID-related travel restrictions were in place, making it difficult for newcomers to arrive from abroad.
Canada has a high number of job vacancies, and with this, Canada is working towards filling job vacancies and reducing the labor shortage. Statistically as of January, Canada’s rate of unemployment stands at 5%.
Also, Canada still has about 848,000 vacancies, and several key sectors need more employees to fill in-demand positions. for example, there were 149,800 vacancies in the healthcare and social assistance sectors, as well as 108,000 in accommodation and food services, and 100,200 in retail trade.
To be eligible to apply, an applicant looking to benefit from this temporary public policy must:
- Have valid status in Canada as a visitor on the day they apply
- Have a valid job offer.
- Submit an application for an employer-specific work permit no later than February 28, 2025
- Meet all other standard admissibility criteria.
A valid job offer is defined as a written offer of a full-time, non-seasonal job for one year or more if you are accepted as a permanent resident and must have a positive or neutral Labour Market Impact Assessment from Employment and Social Development Canada.
An LMIA is an application that an employer makes to Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) to evaluate if hiring foreign workers will have a positive, neutral, or negative impact on the Canadian economy. If ESDC deems the impact is negative, the employer will not be eligible to hire foreign nationals.
Before the initial policy change, anyone applying to work in Canada would generally need to apply for a work permit before arriving. To get a work permit after arriving in Canada, a foreign national with visitor status would need to leave the country to be issued a permit. This policy makes this step unnecessary.
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