Canada has stopped issuing work permits to foreigners applied from within the country. Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) stated that it has discontinued a temporary public policy that permitted visitors to apply for a work permit from within Canada, effective immediately.

As part of an attempt to slow down the spike in temporary immigration that followed the pandemic, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated on Monday that the Canadian government will lower the percentage of temporary foreign workers in the low-wage stream that firms can hire. “The labour market has changed. Now is the time for our businesses to invest in Canadian workers and youth,” said Trudeau.

IRCC introduced the policy in August 2020 to help visitors who were unable to leave the country due to COVID-19 pandemic–related travel restrictions. Under the policy, visitors in Canada could apply for a work permit without having to leave the country.

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Allowing visitors to apply for work permits associated with a job offer while in Canada gave foreign nationals with visitor status the ability to support themselves during their time in Canada while also addressing employer needs.

In addition, foreign nationals who had held a work permit in the previous 12 months but who changed their status in Canada to visitor could apply to work legally in Canada while waiting for a decision on their new work permit application.

While the temporary policy was set to expire on February 28, 2025, IRCC is ending the policy as part of our overall efforts to recalibrate the number of temporary residents in Canada and preserve the integrity of the immigration system. IRCC is also aware that some bad actors were using the policy to mislead foreign nationals into working in Canada without authorization.

IRCC will continue to process applications submitted before August 28, 2024 under the policy.

The temporary public policy permitted eligible foreign nationals with valid temporary resident status to apply for a job offer-supported work permit from inside Canada and also exempted eligible foreign nationals from the requirement that a work permit not be issued if they had not complied with certain temporary resident conditions. Further, it allowed eligible former temporary foreign workers to work while a decision on their work permit application was pending.