Can Visitor Visa Holders Apply for Work Permit from Within Canada
June 21, 2023
Immigration
Generally speaking, before the covid-era immigration measures visitor visa holders could not apply for a work permit while in Canada and would have to do so before arriving. In February of this year the IRCC announced that visitor visa holders in Canada who receive a job offer will be able to apply for, and receive, a work permit. This is an extension of the COVID-19-era temporary public policy, which was set to expire on February 28, 2023. The measure was initially introduced to help employers in Canada fill urgent labour shortages when COVID related travel restrictions were in place, making it difficult for newcomers to arrive from abroad. The extension will now run until February 28, 2025, providing current visitor visa holders an extended opportunity to look for work within Canada. See details at: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/news/notices/visit-to-work.html
Who is eligible?To be eligible to apply, an applicant looking to benefit from this temporary public policy must:
- 1. have valid status in Canada as a visitor on the day they apply
- 2. have a job offer that is supported by a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) or an LMIA-exempt offer of employment
- 3. submit an application for an employer-specific work permit no later than February 28, 2025
- 4. meet all other standard admissibility criteria
What is a valid job offer?
A valid job offer is defined as a written offer for one year or more of full-time work. The job offer must also be supported by a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) or must be an LMIA-exempt offer of employment.
What is a Labour Market Impact Assessment?
A LMIA is an application that an employer makes to Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) to evaluate if hiring foreign workers will have a positive, neutral or negative impact on the Canadian economy. If ESDC deems the impact is negative, the employer will not be eligible to hire foreign nationals.
Canada’s high number of job vacancies
Canada is working towards filling job vacancies and reducing the labour shortage. As of January, Canada’s rate of unemployment stands at 5%, which is low by historic standards.
Additionally, Statistics Canada data from December 2022, shows there was an overall decrease in the number of vacancies to 848,000 from over one million earlier in the year. Still, several key sectors need more employees to fill in-demand positions. For example, there were 149,800 vacancies in the healthcare and social assistance sectors, as well as 108,000 in accommodation and food services and 100.200 in retail trade.
