Work Permit

If you have a work permit that is going to expire or you want to make changes to the conditions of your work permit, you must submit a new application at least 30 days before your work permit expires. You are legally allowed to stay in Canada while Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) processes your application.

There are many options for foreign nationals in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) sector looking to work in Canada

Statistics Canada reports that 58% of internationally educated healthcare professionals (IEHPs) in Canada find work in their field, though this lags behind Canadian-educated counterparts. With 500,000 healthcare workers set to retire soon, IEHPs are crucial.

The job vacancies portion of this update revealed that Canada had over 1,000,000 job vacancies in May of this year.

Two thirds of Canadian businesses surveyed hire talent from abroad

Canada works hard to position itself as an ideal home for the best and the brightest global talent across all industries.

The Business Council of Canada (BCC) recently released a report in which 80 Canadian businesses were surveyed about how they use Canada’s immigration programs to hire skilled workers. The businesses surveyed cumulatively employ over 1.6 million workers. Two thirds of companies surveyed say they recruit talent overseas using Canada’s immigration system. The remaining third hires immigrants who have already relocated to Canada.

Canada’s Immigration Levels Plan 2022-2024 looks to welcome over 450,000 new permanent residents per year by 2024. Canada offers a multitude of work permit and economic class immigration pathways.

According to the BCC survey, all employers agree that Canada’s labour shortage is widespread, and they face real difficulty finding skilled workers across all industries. Labour shortages are particularly pronounced in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia.

Canada’s tech sector has been hit hardest by labour shortages as industry growth and demand is outpacing the number of skilled workers. Professions such as computer science, engineering and information tech are in high demand.

Improvement factors:

Only half of respondents agree that the Immigration Levels Plan for 2022-2024 is adequate to address their business needs and the growing labour shortages. The remaining half indicated that the number of economic immigrants needs to be increased but acknowledged that this is not practical until the government has a plan in place to ensure there is adequate housing and other infrastructure to support new immigrants, such as childcare and healthcare.

Employers also believe they have a role to play in helping immigrants settle. This can take the form of language training, assisting employees in obtaining recognition of foreign credentials and relocation assistance.

Canadian businesses expect that competition for skilled immigrants will intensify over the next few years. This is especially true of recent graduates who they say face significant barriers in obtaining permanent residency in Canada due to the time it takes to gain sufficient work experience.

Canada is one of the world's most attractive destinations for international students.

Last year, Canada welcomed 450,000 new international students, an all-time record.

Effective May 1st, Alberta is lifting restrictions on the hiring of new temporary foreign workers.

Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has updated its policy regarding the collection of biometrics for permanent resident applicants.

Some in-demand occupation categories experienced increases in offered wages even higher than the national average, including:

British Columbia invited immigration candidates in four targeted draws under its Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)

126 skilled workers and international graduates with a minimum score of 85 points through the BC PNP Tech stream.

Immigration Minister Sean Fraser has announced a new temporary measure aimed at alleviating Canada's historic labour shortages. Fraser says this will allow over 500,000 international students already in Canada to potentially work more hours.

IRCC has also launched a new website to allow the public to track the immigration backlog.

This move comes as part of Canada’s attempt to mitigate driver shortages in the busing and transport trucking industries across the country.

Learn how a foreign national coming to Canada to conduct international business activities is considered a business visitor, presuming that they will not enter the Canadian labour market.

Yes, if you applied for a permit extension/change before your original permit expired, you can continue working under the same conditions as your original permit while your new application is being processed.

In some situations, international students in this country may need – or be required by their Canadian Designated Learning Institution (DLI) – to defer their program’s start date to the following semester.

Although most Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) holders will be ineligible to apply for a permit extension, this article will detail if you may be eligible for an extension and the options available if you are not eligible.

International students and their spouses or partners may be eligible to work during their studies.

Yes, but only with a work permit.

If you are sponsoring your spouse or partner in Canada, they can apply for an open work permit when they apply for permanent residence.

Canada has now extended the validity of interim work authorization for international graduates to 180 days, up from 120 days, to support their transition into the workforce while waiting for work permit decisions.