Canada Ends Policy Allowing Visitors To Apply For Work Permits From Within The Country

Canada has now formally ended one policy decision that the country would allow temporary residents who are visitors to apply for work permits while in the country on visitor visas from August 28th. This policy was launched in August 2020 as a measure to deal with the effects of the closure of borders occasioned by COVID-19 of allowing international visitors who found themselves in Canada to apply for work permits from within its territory.

Policy Background and Changes

The policy was to complete on February 28, 2025, but the completion has been made earlier than the formulated date. In its press release, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) explains that the need for adjustment of temporary population in Canada and to address the concerns on the integrity of the immigration system has been some of the key reasons for this move.

Processing of Existing Applications

Any applications which were made before August 28 about the policy shall be expected to go through its intended process.

Other modifications in the Temporary Foreign Worker Program

The abolition of the visitor work permit policy is in line with many shifts that occurred within Canada’s TFWP known as the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. On August 26 the government declared a temporary suspension of the LMIA applications on the Low-Wage stream in any CMA that has an unemployment rate of 6% or more.

Other measures include the employer’s maximum permissible ceiling for foreign workers’ recruitment (10% of the total workforce) and the lowering of the duration of employment for the Low-Wage stream down to one year.