The deadline for this policy is February 28, 2025.
Any foreign individual who obtains a job offer while in Canada will be allowed to apply for and receive a work visa, according to a statement from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
This is an extension of the COVID-19-era temporary public policy that was set to expire today.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible to apply, an applicant looking to benefit from this temporary public policy must:
- have valid status in Canada as a visitor on the day they apply
- have a job offer that is supported by a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) or an LMIA-exempt offer of employment
- submit an application for an employer-specific work permit no later than February 28, 2025
- fulfill every other standard criterion for admissibility
If you are recognized as a permanent resident and receive a favorable or unfavorable Labour Market Impact Assessment from Employment and Social Development Canada, a documented offer of full-time, non-seasonal work for one year or more is considered to be genuine (or the job is LMIA-exempt).IRCC allows work permits.
An employer submits an LMIA to Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) in order to determine if hiring foreign labour will have a positive, neutral, or adverse impact on the Canadian economy. The company will not be permitted to hire foreign nationals if ESDC determines the impact to be detrimental.
Anyone in Canada with visitor status who had a work permit in the last year but does not presently have one can follow special guidelines to obtain temporary work authorization to begin working for their new company before their work permit application is approved.
Anybody seeking employment in Canada prior to the initial regulation change was typically required to apply for a work permit before traveling. A foreign individual with visitor status would need to leave the country in order to obtain their work permit after landing in Canada. This policy eliminates the need for this action. IRCC allows work permits.
High number of vacancies in Canada
While COVID-related travel restrictions were in place and it was challenging for foreign immigrants to enter the country, the policy was initially put in place to assist employers in Canada fill critical labour shortages.
Canada is making efforts to reduce the labour deficit and fill open positions. Canada’s unemployment rate as of January is 5%, which is low by historical standards.
However, according to Statistics Canada statistics from December 2022, there were 848,000 fewer job openings overall than there had been earlier in the year, down from over a million. To fill roles that are in high demand, some important sectors still require more workers. For instance, there were 149,800 open positions in the healthcare and social support industries, 108,000 in the lodging and food services industry, and 100,200 in the retail trade industry.
