Thursday, January 1, 2026
ADVT 
National

Visitors can continue applying for work permits inside Canada

Darpan News Desk IANS, 02 Mar, 2023 11:50 AM
  • Visitors can continue applying for work permits inside Canada

Toronto, March 2 (IANS) Foreign nationals who are in Canada as visitors and who receive a valid job offer will be able to apply for and receive a work permit without having to leave the country, the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced.

The move, an extension of a Covid-era temporary public policy that was set to expire today, has now been extended by two years, until February 28, 2025.

Visitors applying under this public policy who held a work permit within the last 12 months will also continue to be able to request interim work authorization to begin working for their new employer more quickly.

Prior to this temporary policy change, those applying to work in Canada would typically need to apply for their initial work permit before they came to Canada.

If they were already in Canada with visitor status when they were approved for a work permit, they would need to leave the country to be issued their work permit.

With this policy in place, leaving Canada isn't necessary.

Those looking to benefit from this temporary public policy must have valid status in Canada as a visitor on the day they apply, and have a job offer that is supported by a labour market impact assessment (LMIA) or an LMIA-exempt offer of employment.

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, according to CIC News.

Under the policy, applicants must also submit an application for an employer-specific work permit no later than February 28, 2025.

IRCC said that continuing this policy makes visitors an option for employers in Canada, many of whom are facing significant labour shortages during a period of economic expansion.

There was an overall decrease in the number of vacancies to 848,000 from over one million, according to Statistics Canada data from December 2022.

However, key sectors like healthcare, food and social assistance still need more employees to fill in-demand positions.

MORE National ARTICLES

Liberals reject NDP call to hike GST rebate

Liberals reject NDP call to hike GST rebate
Singh wants Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to fund the benefit increases by redirecting a $2.6-billion tax credit promised in the recent budget to help companies build carbon capture and storage systems. 

Liberals reject NDP call to hike GST rebate

WATCH: Soul Counsel- a new way to leave a legacy behind

WATCH: Soul Counsel- a new way to leave a legacy behind
Find out about some of the services of Soul Counsel such as state planning, dispute resolution, succession planning, and much more with Founder and Chief Vibes Officer, Sukhminder Virk.    

WATCH: Soul Counsel- a new way to leave a legacy behind

Women being followed by a white van near Tamanawis Secondary according to social media post

Women being followed by a white van near Tamanawis Secondary according to social media post
The Surrey RCMP Special Victims Unit (SVU) was advised of the social media post and has reached out to the individual who posted it in order to seek more information. To date, SVU have not received any reported incidents of women being followed by men in a white van. 

Women being followed by a white van near Tamanawis Secondary according to social media post

Burnaby RCMP is looking to identify two suspects that were involved in two break-ins and mail theft incidents in March.

Burnaby RCMP is looking to identify two suspects that were involved in two break-ins and mail theft incidents in March.
On March 21, 2022 at approximately 2:30 p.m., two suspects broke into two residential complexes in the 7200-block of Collier Street and proceeded to pry the main panel of the mailboxes open and steal all the mail.

Burnaby RCMP is looking to identify two suspects that were involved in two break-ins and mail theft incidents in March.

Winters hotel fire victims identified

Winters hotel fire victims identified
The hotel, built in 1907, had been the home to dozens of low-income residents. The fire department said at the time of the blaze that when crews arrived, it was too dangerous to try to enter the building, and they couldn’t determine if anyone else was still inside.    

Winters hotel fire victims identified

'Upward trajectory' on NATO, Norad spending: Anand

'Upward trajectory' on NATO, Norad spending: Anand
Anand also says she's in the process of working on the "unwritten chapter" of Canada's defence strategy: modernizing the outdated continental defence system it shares with the U.S.

'Upward trajectory' on NATO, Norad spending: Anand