Temporary residents who came to Canada on a visitor visa can no longer apply for a work permit. This decision was taken as part of the fight against excessive migration. Find out what this program is and why the Canadian leadership decided to close it

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Canada is actively working on changes to immigration legislation. The state recently introduced a new policy that prohibits people temporarily residing in the country on visitor visas from applying for a work permit. The new rules came into effect on August 28, 2024.

Work visa Canada for temporary residents with visitor visa - what is this program?

The Work Visa for Temporary Residents Arriving on a Visitor Visa is a program introduced in August 2020 to support visitors stranded in Canada due to border closures due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Thanks to this permit, foreigners who were in Canada received the right to work and could support themselves while living in the country.

The policy was supposed to be in effect until February 28, 2025, but given the large number of migrants Canada has accepted over the past 2 years and the prevalence of permit fraud, the decision was made to close the program early.

Work visa fraud for temporary residents with visitor visas

Cases of fraud have increased within the framework of the program. In particular, after the end of the pandemic, some foreigners came up with the following scheme: visitors arrived in Canada ostensibly for a tourist trip, but then stayed in the country, looking for work and ways to permanent residence.

For its part, border services have increased controls at points of entry to more carefully check whether visitors are genuine travelers. However, canceling the visa program will completely overcome this problem.

How many temporary residents have arrived in Canada in the last 2 years?

During the pandemic, Canada eased rules for international students and migrant workers to address labor shortages. The country also actively accepted refugees from Ukraine and Afghanistan. This policy has contributed to a rapid increase in the number of temporary residents in Canada, in particular, from 1.4 million temporary residents in Canada in 2022 to 2.8 million people today.

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The new plan of the Canadian government is to reduce the number of temporary work permits by 65,000

In addition to canceling the visa program, new rules came into effect in Canada on September 26, 2024, ending the validity of permits for low-wage foreign workers in regions with high unemployment.

It is predicted that in this way Canada will reduce the number of temporary foreign workers by approximately 65 thousand.

Canada's new rules for temporary foreign workers

To address the issue of excessive migration, the following changes came into effect in Canada on September 26, 2024:

- Permits for low-wage temporary foreign workers in communities with an unemployment rate of 6% or higher have been suspended.

- The share of low-paid temporary foreign workers among employers' workforce was limited to 10%.

- The validity period of the work permit Canada for a low-paid temporary foreign worker was reduced from two years to one.

Only the sectors of agriculture, food industry, construction and health care were exempted from the new restrictions.

In total, Canada issued almost 183,820 temporary work permits to foreign workers last year, an 88% increase over 2019. By approving the new rules, Canada is working on streamlining its migration legislation and fighting the high level of unemployment currently observed in the country.

We will remind you! In 2024, Canada made a number of important changes to its visa and migration policies. In particular, the country changed the rules and procedures for international students, introduced a new pilot program for issuing permits for caregivers, and expanded the list of people eligible for citizenship by origin.

Igor Usyk - Head of Migration department at VisitWorld

For safe relocation to Canada, obtaining refugee status and employment, use the advice of an international lawyer.

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