Saturday, July 4, 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

Interest rate hike won't cool housing, say experts

Interest rate hike won't cool housing, say experts
While the interest rate’s impact on prices may be limited, the increase Wednesday will affect some mortgage holders immediately. Interest rate hikes typically weigh on homeowners with variable-rate mortgages because many banks use the central bank’s key rate to dictate how they should change their prime interest rate. 

Interest rate hike won't cool housing, say experts

Trudeau says sanction solidarity surprises Putin

Trudeau says sanction solidarity surprises Putin
Trudeau says Putin likely never imagined that Germany would freeze its lucrative Nord Stream 2 pipeline project with Russia or decide to send anti-tank weapons and surface to air missiles to Ukraine.

Trudeau says sanction solidarity surprises Putin

Surrey RCMP need help locating missing male Jimsher Sidhu

Surrey RCMP need help locating missing male Jimsher Sidhu
Jimsher Sidhu is described as a 25 year old South Asian male, 6’3” tall, 250 lbs.  He has short  black hair and brown eyes. There is no clothing description at this time. 

Surrey RCMP need help locating missing male Jimsher Sidhu

Bank of Canada hikes key interest rate to 0.5 percent

Bank of Canada hikes key interest rate to 0.5 percent
The central bank increased its key rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 0.5 per cent on Wednesday in a bid to help fight inflation which is at its highest level since 1991.

Bank of Canada hikes key interest rate to 0.5 percent

Security guard killed at UBC Okanagan identified as Harmandeep Kaur

Security guard killed at UBC Okanagan identified as Harmandeep Kaur
Harmandeep Kaur was an International student and had just received her Permanent Residency card 3 weeks ago. She wanted to pursue a career as a paramedic. 

Security guard killed at UBC Okanagan identified as Harmandeep Kaur

WATCH: Billionaire Businessman Bob Gaglardi donates $10M to Thompson Rivers University

WATCH: Billionaire Businessman Bob Gaglardi donates $10M to Thompson Rivers University
Gaglardi is the name behind Northland Properties, a global company under whose flagship are some of the most well known hotel chains, restaurants, and sports bars.    

WATCH: Billionaire Businessman Bob Gaglardi donates $10M to Thompson Rivers University