New IMP work permit for Global Hypergrowth Project

On April 15, 2024, IRCC introduced a new employer-specific LMIA-exempt work permit under the Innovation Stream pilot.

This work permit can be issued for up to five years.

To qualify for this work permit, a foreign national must have a job offer in a high-skilled occupation from an employer participating in the Global Hypergrowth Project:

• Ada Support Inc.
• AlayaCare.
• CellCarta.
• Clarius Mobile Health.
• Clio.
• Duchesnay Pharmaceutical Group (DPG).
• Lightspeed Commerce.
• Vive Crop Protection.

Foreign nationals with occupations in NOC TEER 0 or 1 may be eligible for faster processing of their work permit applications under this stream.

The Innovation Stream is set to be in place until March 22, 2026.

New work permit for PNP nominee candidates

Effective August 11, 2024, IRCC introduced a new temporary public policy, under which foreign nationals could apply for open work permits.

To qualify, a foreign national had to

• Have a support letter from the province or territory for which they are a nominee candidate;
• Have a letter of employment from their current employer; and
• Fall into one of the following three situations:
  • One: hold a valid work permit, and have submitted an application for a new work permit.
  • Two: Have held a valid work permit on May 7, 2024, which has since expired, and have submitted an application for a new work permit, and an application for an extension of their authorization to remain in Canada as a temporary resident, or restoration of their temporary resident status.
  • Three: Have been authorized to work on May 7, 2024, and have a pending or approved work permit extension application, and have submitted an application for a new work permit, and an application for an extension of their authorization to remain in Canada as a temporary resident.

IRCC implemented this policy to allow foreign nationals to continue to have legal authorization to work in Canada while being considered as Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) candidates.

Alberta, Manitoba, and Yukon moved forward with implementations under this policy.

This temporary public policy expired December 31, 2024.

End of temporary public policy to exempt certain visitors in Canada from immigration requirements during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic

IRCC ended this temporary public policy on August 28, 2024.

While this temporary public policy was in force, it had allowed foreign nationals to submit job-offer supported work permit applications from within Canada, provided that they

• Were in Canada with valid temporary resident status;
• Were in Canada when the policy took effect, and have since remained in Canada; and
• Held a valid work permit 12 months prior to having submitted their application.

Provided a foreign nationals met all these conditions, they would

• Not be required to meet certain requirements normally needed for being allowed to apply for a work permit from within Canada;
• Be exempt from the requirement that they not have worked in Canada without legal authorization; and
• Be legally authorized to work while a decision was pending on their application.

This was a pandemic-era measure intended to serve two purposes:

• To allow visitors stranded in Canada due to the pandemic to work to support themselves; and
• To provide additional workers to fill gaps in the Canadian labour market during the pandemic.

Prior to the announcement ending this policy in August, the policy had been set to expire on February 28, 2025.

Updated instructions regarding ICTs under the IMP

On October 3, IRCC updated its instructions to officers regarding work permits issued to intra-company transferees (ICTs) under the International Mobility Program (IMP).

These changes made it more difficult for foreign nationals to qualify for ICT work permits. The major changes were

• Guidance to officers on the requirement to ensure that the foreign enterprise qualifies as an existing multinational corporation (MNC); and
• Clarification on the definition of “specialized knowledge,” how to assess whether an applicant has specialized knowledge, and whether a position requires specialized knowledge.

The guidance to officers also reinforced that ICTs are not meant to be used “as a means to transfer an enterprise’s general work force to affiliated entities in Canada.”

Extension of TR to PR temporary public policy

On 17 Dec, 2024, IRCC extended the temporary public policy allowing for open work permits to be issued to applicants applying for permanent residence under the temporary resident to permanent resident pathway (TR to PR pathway).

The TR to PR pathway was a limited-time pathway to permanent residence which closed on November 5, 2021.

The extension of the temporary public policy applies to foreign nationals with applications still being processed under the TR to PR pathway.

Eligible foreign nationals can apply for this open work permit if they have a valid work permit expiring in four months or less, and meet the other requirements. Their family members may also be eligible to apply for open work permits.

This temporary public policy has been extended until December 31, 2026. IRCC may revoke the policy at any time without notice.

Ban on flagpoling

Flagpoling is the term for a temporary resident leaving Canada at a port of entry, and then immediately seeking re-entry into Canada, in order to gain same-day processing of an immigration application, such as a work permit application or extension.

Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced this ban on 17 Dec, 2024, and the ban took effect on 23 Dec, 2024.

Prior to the ban, flagpoling was a legal and accepted practice available to foreign nationals within Canada.

There are several exceptions to this ban on flagpoling:

• Citizens and lawful permanent residents of the United States;
• Professionals and technicians under free trade agreements with the US, Mexico, Chile, Panama, Peru, Colombia, and South Korea;
• Spouses off professionals and technicians under free trade agreements with Panama, Colombia, and South Korea;
• International truck drivers holding work permits, when required to depart Canada for work, who held maintained status on account of having applied for renewal prior to departing; and
• People who have existing appointments booked with CBSA.

Foreign nationals who do not qualify for an exception can no longer flagpole; they will have to apply from within Canada and wait for processing.

On 21 June, 2024, IRCC had banned flagpoling for PGWP applicants.

Targets for net new IMP work permits

On 24 Oct, 2024, IRCC released its annual Immigration Levels Plan—the first to include targets for net new temporary residents.

IRCC established the following targets for net new IMP work permits:

These targets are for the issuance of net new work permits under the IMP, so do not include renewals or extensions of IMP work permits for foreign nationals already in Canada.

The establishment of targets for temporary resident levels and the planned reduction of net new work permits issued under the IMP align with IRCC’s objective to reduce the number of temporary residents as a percentage of Canada’s overall population.

IRCC intends to reduce this percentage from 2024 levels of 7%, to 5% by 2026.

Restricting eligibility for SOWPs

On September 18, 2024, Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced the government’s intention to further restrict eligibility for SOWPs “in the near future.”

On 14 January, 2025, the government announced that the new restrictions on eligibility for SOWPs will take effect January 21, 2025.

For international students, eligibility will be limited to spouses of international students enrolled in

• Doctoral programs;
• Master’s programs of at least 16 months in length; and
• Certain vocational programs.

Prior to this change, a student’s master’s program did not need to be at least 16 months in length for their spouse to be eligible for a SOWP.

For foreign workers, eligibility will be limited to spouses of workers employed in

• TEER 0 occupations;
• TEER 1 occupations; and
• Select TEER 2 and 3 occupations.

The government will release the complete list of select occupations on January 21. These occupations will be linked to labour shortages and government priorities.

The foreign worker must also have at least 16 months remaining on their work permit at the time that their spouse applies for the SOWP.

Prior to this change, eligibility for a SOWP was not dependent on the spouse’s occupation, and dependent children of foreign workers were also eligible for open work permits.

These new limitations in eligibility do not apply to spouses of workers covered by free trade agreements, or to spouses of workers transitioning to permanent residence.

Major changes to TFWP and PGWP work permits in 2024

The above changes align with the federal government’s policy trajectory of tightening immigration throughout 2024.

CIC News has observed this pattern in our year in review articles for the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) and for the international student program, including Post-Graduation Work Permits (PGWPs).

Major changes to the TFWP and PGWP included

• Introducing targets for temporary residents in the annual Immigration Levels Plan;
• Introducing field of study requirements for PGWP eligibility for graduates from programs other than university bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs;
• Introducing language test requirements for PGWP eligibility;
• Increasing the wage requirements for the high-wage stream of the TFWP; and
• Freezing processing of LMIA’s for the low-wage stream of the TFWP in census metropolitan areas with an unemployment rate of 6% or higher.