Visitors now have until February 28, 2023, to submit an employer-specific work perm
On March 1, 2022, IRCC announced that it would be extending the public policy allowing foreign nationals with a visitor status to apply for an employer-specific work permit from inside Canada, regardless of when they arrived in Canada.
Visitors now have until February 28, 2023, to submit an employer-specific work permit application.
The temporary public policy was first introduced on August 24, 2020, as a response to help employers who faced difficulties finding workers, and temporary residents who were stranded in Canada without any financial means due the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since August 2020, the public policy was extended three times, thereby allowing more than 1,000 temporary residents to apply for a work permit.
Eligibility Requirements
To qualify, the foreign national must comply with the following requirements at the time the employer-specific work permit application is submitted:
be physically in Canada;
hold a valid temporary resident status (e.g., visitor or maintained status);
have a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA);
remain in Canada with valid status following the application submission; and
submit the application on or before February 28, 2023.
Interim Authorization to work
The public policy also provides an opportunity for foreign national who meet these criteria and had a valid work permit in the past 12 months to begin working for a new employer while waiting for their work permit application to be approved.
To get the authorization, eligible applicants must request the interim authorization to work using the IRCC Web form. The following text must be copied and pasted into the Your enquiry section:
Priority Code VISIT2WORK2020: I am requesting consideration under the Temporary Public Policy to Exempt Certain Visitors in Canada from Immigration Requirements during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic and ask that the applicable exemptions be granted until a decision is made on my work permit application or it is withdrawn.
My previous work permit number [U#########] expired on [Date].
I have submitted my application for a work permit online. OR I have submitted my application on paper and the postal/courier tracking number is NUMBER.
I intend to work for [employer NAME] / [occupation] as specified in the aforementioned work permit application.
I understand that providing false, misleading or incorrect information is a violation of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and may result in enforcement measures against me.
For more information on your immigration needs please reach out to Jessica Yuan at jyuan@jtlaw.ca, 416-497-5220.
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