This is by far the most prompt enactment of a rule from Canada ever since it started to clamp down on immigrants and reset the whole system. All those who came on visitor visas will not be able to change it to work permission effective August 28. This is the biggest setback for anyone who arrived in Canada on a visitor visa and had plans to apply for a work permit while staying in the country.
This facility to convert your visitor visa to a work permit was introduced by Canada in August 2020. The move aimed to help people stuck in the country as international borders were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This rule made sense at that time as those stuck because of the lockdown could not work and support themselves while they had to live there for an extended period.
Those who keep themselves aligned with the latest immigration rules from Canada must be aware that this rule was already due to expire on February 28, 2025. Canada sensed that many more people are taking advantage of this rule, and are applying for visitor visas even though their primary objective is to work in the country and not to tour the place. The sudden enactment must have caught many off guard who were on the brink of executing such a plan.
Spoiling the Game of Bad Actors
One of the primary reasons for rolling back the enactment date is that Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada became aware that many foreign nationals are misusing the policy and are working in Canada without authorisation. This move is part of Canada’s effort to make its immigration system error-free and to ensure that no one is misusing the system.
Recently, it was found that many international students in Canada are allegedly in the country on false letters of acceptance from Designated Learning Institutions (DLIs). The surprising thing was that most of the students were unaware of the fact that their letters were not genuine. Such findings have forced Canada to bring in additional restrictive measures such as the DLIs should verify the letters of acceptance within ten days of receiving them.
A Week of Big Changes in Canada
One of the most preferred destinations for immigrants in the world, Canada has for the first time in a distant memory inked a week of big changes. Along with ending the temporary policy that allowed visitors to apply for a work permit, a few other policies were introduced to reduce the level of temporary foreign workers.
On August 26, 2024, IRCC decided to pause the processing of some Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) processing under the low-wage stream. This step was taken as the unemployment rate in some Census Metropolitan areas had reached six per cent or higher. The number of foreign workers an employer in Canada can hire has also been specified, or more accurately, restricted. In the future, there will be at most 10% foreign workers in the total workforce. The time duration for which you can work in the low-wage stream will be reduced to one year from two.
All these policies are of pandemic-era which were rolled out to deal with the labour needs of the time. Now, as the time has changed such policies have no use, more so, they are being misused by many to bypass the system. One such rule was the temporary policy to hire up to 30% foreign workers along with increasing work duration.
Justification for Bringing Down These Policies
Removing the option for tourists to apply for work permits is somehow a negative move. Even though this facility has largely been misused, it will also cut away people who came to explore the place and landed a genuine opportunity to work there. It highlights the importance of applying for a visa that aligns with your intention and that you stick to it throughout.
Those who want to work in Canada can now consider options to apply for work permits through Express Entry, the Provincial Nominee Programme (PNP), or other pathways designed specifically to award work permits. The checklist to apply for a work permit differs from that of a visitor visa, and by bringing this rule into practice, the Canadian government plugs this loophole. If we take a look from the side of Canada, this is a misuse of the facilities provided by them.
We should remind ourselves that all these policies were introduced temporarily by Canada and they were supposed to be taken away sooner or later. However, due to the overexploitation of these facilities, the implementation of these rules is now occurring sooner than initially planned. Plan and prepare to immigrate to Canada legibly by talking to immigration consultants in Chandigarh.
The Takeaway
Policies are implemented and after some time they are brought down, for time never remains the same and neither do policies. Such changes, however, make life quite difficult for those who are in the middle of their immigration planning. We should not blame the rule makers completely for they are somehow forced to come out with such strict rules. Stay informed, plan ahead, and ensure your immigration strategy aligns with current policies.
