The Honourable Marco E.L. Mendicino, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (IRCC) has recently announced a new temporary policy:
Visitors who are currently in Canada and have a valid job offer will be able to apply for an employer-specific work permit and, if approved, receive the permit without having to leave the country.
This temporary policy will benefit
- employers who are facing difficulties finding workers as our economy reopens
- temporary residents who’d like to contribute to Canada’s recovery from COVID-19.
To be eligible, an applicant looking to benefit from this temporary public policy must
- have valid status in Canada as a visitor on August 24, 2020 and remain in Canada
- have a job offer
- submit an application for an employer-specific work permit that is supported by a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) or an LMIA-exempt offer of employment, no later than March 31, 2021
- meet all other standard admissibility criteria
This temporary public policy also provides the opportunity for applicants who meet these criteria and who had a valid work permit in the past 12 months to begin working for their new employer before their work permit application has been fully approved. To do so, they need to follow the instructions for the process described here: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/work-canada/permit/temporary/after-apply-next-steps.html#visitors
