IRCC Extends its Policy to Allow Visitors Obtaining Work Permits with Valid Offers

Highlights:

• IRCC extends the temporary policy of 2020 allowing visitors to apply for a work permit while in Canada.

• Visitors must have a valid job offer to be able to apply for a work permit while in Canada.

Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced that foreign nationals who receive a job offer while in Canada, will be able to apply for, and will be granted a work permit allowing them to stay and work for a Canadian employer.

This new announcement comes as an extension to the temporary COVID-19 era public policy of 2020, which was set to expire on February 28th, 2023.

Before this policy change in 2020, people willing to work in Canada had to apply for a work permit beforehand. Now, with the latest developments in immigration policy, if a person with visitor status is willing to get a job permit after arriving in Canada, he or she must leave the country to get a work permit issued for working in Canada.

Individuals who currently have visitor status and have held a valid work permit for more than 12 months can follow special instructions to get an interim work authorization until their work permit is finalized.

This extension in the policy comes owing to the huge labor shortage in the Canadian labor market. Although the unemployment rate in Canada stands low based on historic standards and the statistics show a fall in overall vacancies, some essential sectors such as healthcare and social assistance services, technology, accommodation, food services, and retail trade still need a huge number of people to fill in-demand positions.

Now let’s discuss the eligibility criteria for applying for a work permit as a visitor in Canada.

Who is Eligible?

To be eligible to apply for a work permit as a visitor, you need to meet the following criteria:

• You must have a valid visitor status in Canada on the day of application.
• You must have a job offer supported by the Labor Market Impact Assessment or an LMIA-exempt offer of employment.
• Submit an application for an employer-specific work permit before 28th February 2025.
• Meet all the standard admissibility criteria.

A labor market impact assessment is made to determine if employing a foreign national will have a positive, negative, or neutral impact on the economy of Canada. The Employment and Social Development Canada authorities assess the impact and allow or reject the application of a Canadian employer requesting permission to employ foreign nationals.

Do you want to work in Canada?

With the new immigration plan in action and the latest extension of the temporary policy to allow visitors with a job offer to apply for a work permit in Canada, it is a great time to opt for a career in Canada.

Among the top in-demand sectors, healthcare, tech, food, and accommodations have one of the highest numbers of vacancies right now. So, if you are looking to start your career in either of these sectors, Canada can be the best option for you.

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