The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) ended the temporary measure that allowed the conversion of visitor visa to work permit in Canada on 28th August 2024. This is breaking news which came as a complete surprise since originally, the measure was set to end on 28th February 2025.
No new work permit applications will be accepted as of 28 August if they were applied by tourists or temporary residents who came to Canada on a visitor visa. To apply for a work permit, the visitor must not be in Canada.
The reason behind the early closure of the measure is to curb temporary resident levels and safeguard innocents from immigration fraud. IRCC has observed and taken into account that “some bad actors were using the policy to mislead foreign nationals into working in Canada without authorization.”
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Upcoming Changes in Temporary Resident Levels
In this year, IRCC introduced many changes regarding temporary residents who are living in Canada and will arrive in future. All the decisions announced by IRCC regarding temporary residents led to curbing the population and limiting the intake of temporary residents.
Some of the main changes are:
- Cutting down of the number of study permits to be issued in 2024
- Introduction of Provincial Attestation Letters (PAL or TAL)
- Quebec’s recent restriction on issuing LMIAs
- Federal government’s decision of not issuing LMIAs for areas with 6% or higher unemployment rate
- Employers can only employ 10% of foreign workers of their total employees
Permanent Residents To Benefit
Even though IRCC is restricting the arrival of temporary residents, it does not mean that permanent resident levels will be compromised as well. With less temporary residents in Canada, if you become a PR, you will be exposed to a job market full of opportunities.
This is also the reason why IRCC is reducing the number of temporary residents, so that Canadian citizens and permanent residents can benefit and grow.
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