Mexican Passport Visa Requirement Lifted

Effective December 01 2016, citizens of Mexico will no longer require a passport visa in order to travel to a Canadian port of entry. After this date, an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) will be needed, as is the case for most passport-visa-exempt nationals. This means that Mexicans will not need to apply to a visa […]

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International Mobility Program Compliance Measures

In February of 2015, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC, formerly Citizenship and Immigration Canada) introduced provisions for review of employer compliance with the terms and conditions of temporary work permits issued under the International Mobility Program (i.e., work permit exempt from the Labour Market Impact Assessment or LMIA). These measures are similar to provisions […]

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Problems with the Employer Portal and Compliance Applications

Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship (IRC, formerly Citizenship and Immigration Canada) is acknowledging on their web site that there are technical problems with the recently implemented Employer Portal. These issues are effectively preventing the submission of mandatory employer compliance filings; any attempt to log into the system is causing users to get kicked back out to […]

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Extension of Pilot for Open Work Permits of Inland Sponsored Spouses

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has announced that it is extending the pilot program allowing for the issuance of open work permits to spouses or partners of Canadians (citizens or permanent residents) sponsored inland and following approval in principle. The program has been extended until December 22 2016, or for roughly one additional year. An […]

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Changes to Employer Compliance Filing Process

In February of this year, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) introduced new provisions for LMIA exempt work permits. This required that employers file the offer of employment with the government prior to an application for the Canadian work permit. If such a filing is not made in advance, the work permit application would not be […]

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Canada has elected a new Government. What does it mean for work permits?

After leading the government of Canada since 2006, the Conservative party was handed a significant defeat last night, as the Liberal Party was elected to a majority leadership. The Conservatives have been known for implementing many changes in the past several years, many of them surrounding permanent and temporary immigration programs. Some of these changes […]

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Expansion of Exemption for Technicians Working on Equipment in Canada

Many repair technicians conducting work under the original sale or lease warranty for equipment in Canada are exempted from the requirement of a work permit under after-sales service provisions that classifies them as business visitors. However, work outside of such warranty or cases that do not otherwise fit into these provisions do require a work […]

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Four Year Rule for Temporary Work Permits in Canada

Roughly four years ago, Citizenship and Immigration Canada implemented rules restricting the issuance of many classes of work permits to a total duration of four years. For the most part, all major classes of permits (e.g., LMIA-based, LMIA exempt, and work permit exempt) are covered by this rule, with some exceptions (see below). These rules […]

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Compliance Measures for IMP Work Permit Applications

In June of 2014, the Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) introduced a significant increase in the processing fees charged for Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) applications. A significant component of the new fees was intended to improve compliance monitoring of employers that receive LMIA approvals and thereby employ temporary foreign workers. Citizenship and Immigration […]

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Hiring a Caregiver Already in Canada

There are scenarios in which an in-home Caregiver who is already in Canada may wish to change employers or in which a new employer may be interested in recruiting such a Caregiver. In order to have been originally admitted to Canada in the Caregiver Program (formerly, the Live in Caregiver Program), the prior employer would […]

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