Are you an international visitor currently living in Canada with a job offer? Luckily, you can now get a work permit without leaving the country.
According to a recent media release, the Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), allowing foreign workers to trade in the country is a newly formulated policy that will go into effect at once. The directive, issued on August 24, comes as good news to immigrants who are currently living in Canada with a job offer. However, it does not apply to anyone arriving in the country after the date mentioned above.
The newly penciled work-permit policy is limited to foreigners who meet the requirements laid down by the IRCC. Thus, only Super Visa holders, business-class visitors, and immigrants who entered the country via a Global Skills Strategy work permit exemption can apply for a work permit under the new temporary immigration policy.
The new immigration policy for foreign workers brought changes to the way things were done previously. Before August 24, international visitors who wished to obtain work permits would only do that after filing an initial application before traveling to the country. In case they were already living in the country when they were approved for a work permit, they needed to leave the country and travel back in the bid to activate their permits.
A Relief to Canadian Employers
Employers also felt the benefits of the new work permit policy. Most of them have expressed their happiness, considering the fact that the Canadian job market has been hard hit with labor shortages during the Covid-19 health crisis.
“The federal government has heard the plight of our employers during the coronavirus pandemic. They are facing difficulties hiring the best talents in their respective industrial sectors,” said Canada’s Minister for Immigration, Marco Mendicino. “Our decision to deviate from the standard work permit issuance policies is a measure of removing barriers to ensure we have a strong workforce that leverages on foreign workers with valuable skills and experience to revamp and stabilize our country’s economy.”
