Information received from Tippet-Richardson has confirmed that the Canadian authorities have officially ended the temporary public policy that permitted visitors to apply for work permits from within Canada. The change became effective on 28 August, 2024.

Originally introduced in August 2020 to assist visitors unable to leave the country due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, this policy allowed visitors in Canada to apply for work permits without having to exit the country. It also enabled foreign nationals who had held a work permit in the previous 12 months but had switched to ‘visitor’ status to work legally in Canada while their new work permit application was under review.

Although the policy was initially set to expire on February 28, 2025, IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) has decided to terminate it early as part of broader efforts to manage the number of temporary residents in Canada and to safeguard the integrity of the immigration system. Additionally, concerns have been raised about the policy being exploited by some bad actors to mislead foreign nationals into unauthorised work in Canada.

Applications submitted under the policy before August 28, 2024, will continue to be processed.

For more details follow this link.

https://www.tippetrichardson.com/