Limit on off-campus work hours to be lifted temporarily

October 7, 2022—Ottawa—Employers are facing unprecedented challenges in finding and retaining the workers they need during this period of economic recovery and growth. The Government of Canada is continuing to take concrete actions to address current labour needs.

The Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, today announced the temporary lifting of the 20-hour-per-week cap on the number of hours that eligible post-secondary students are allowed to work off-campus while class is in session.

From November 15, 2022, until December 31, 2023, international students who are in Canada and who have off-campus work authorization on their study permit will not be restricted by the 20-hour-per-week rule. Foreign nationals who have already submitted a study permit application, as of today, will also be able to benefit from this temporary change, provided their application is approved.

This month, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is also launching a pilot project to automate the processing of study permit extensions. The types of applications being included in this pilot have a consistently high approval rate, as all applicants have previously been approved to study in Canada. The pilot will involve a small group of applicants who could see their extended study permit processed much faster, with the goal of improving client service. Should the pilot be successful, it will be expanded in order to help reduce processing times and allow officers to focus on more complex applications.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/news/2022/10/international-students-to-help-address-canadas-labour-shortage.html 

Through another temporary public policy implemented in August 2020, foreign nationals in Canada as visitors have been able to apply for an employer-specific work permit without having to leave Canada. Recognizing that those with visitor status in Canada may also wish to stay and find meaningful employment, this temporary public policy has been extended to February 28, 2023.

Finally, the Minister announced new measures for those who applied for permanent residence through the temporary resident to permanent resident pathway last year. The limited-time pathway was launched in 2021 to invite a broad range of individuals already working in Canada to apply to stay permanently. While closed to new applications since November 2021, the processing of applications will continue for some time.

Taking effect this summer, the policy changes announced today include:

Applicants will no longer be required to remain in Canada while their application is being processed.

Applicants who apply for an open work permit while waiting for their permanent residence application to be finalized will be able to get work permits valid until the end of 2024. This will ensure that all permanent residence applications will be finalized before applicants will need to apply to extend their temporary status again.

To support family reunification, immediate family members who are outside Canada and who were included in a principal applicant’s permanent residence application will be eligible for their own open work permit.

Minister Fraser also announced today a new temporary policy that will give recent international graduates with expiring temporary status an opportunity to stay in Canada longer, so that they can continue to gain work experience and have a better chance at qualifying for permanent residency. Starting in summer 2022, former international students who are in Canada and have a post-graduation work permit expiring between January and December 2022 will qualify for an additional open work permit of up to 18 months. We are exploring a simplified, expeditious process for this, and details will be made available in the weeks ahead.

Today, the Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced that Express Entry draws will soon resume and that invitations for candidates to apply for permanent residence will begin in early July.

Travel restrictions throughout most of 2020 and 2021 delayed the processing of overseas applications, which led to an increase in the size of the processing inventory. To manage this inventory, we temporarily paused invitations to apply under the federal high-skilled streams, including the Canadian experience class, federal skilled worker class and federal skilled trades class. Invitations to apply will resume in early July, and the vast majority of new applications will be processed within the 6-month service standard.

How Express Entry works

Express Entry is an online system that we use to manage immigration applications from skilled workers.

There are 3 immigration programs managed through Express Entry:

Canadian Experience Class

• for skilled workers who have Canadian work experience
• work experience must have been gained in the 3 years before you apply

Federal Skilled Worker Program

• for skilled workers with foreign work experience
• must meet criteria for education and other factors

Federal Skilled Trades Program

• for skilled workers who are qualified in a skilled trade must have a valid job offer or a certificate of qualification

If you’re eligible for one of the above programs, you can also apply through Express Entry for the Provincial Nominee Program. If you’re nominated, you’ll get extra points so you can be invited to apply quickly.

Step 1: Find out if you’re eligible

There are 2 ways to find out if you’re eligible for a program that is part of Express Entry:

• answer a few questions to see if you meet the minimum requirements 
• read the detailed requirements for each program

Step 2: Check your score

If you’re eligible for one or more of the Express Entry programs and submit your profile, you’ll be ranked in the Express Entry pool using the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS).

The CRS is a points-based system we use to assess and score your profile and rank it in the Express Entry pool

To be invited, you need to have a score above the minimum points score for your round of invitations.

Use the CRS tool to estimate your score.

Step 3: Get your documents ready

If you decide to fill out a profile, you’ll need documents, such as language test results, to show you’re eligible for Express Entry.

Some documents take a long time to get, so you should get them ready early.

Get the documents you need

Step 4: Fill out your profile

Your Express Entry profile is where you give us information about yourself.

If you’re eligible, we’ll accept you into our pool of candidates and give you a CRS score.

Submit your profile

Step 5: Get an invitation and apply

We send invitations to apply to the candidates with the highest scores in the pool. If we invite you to apply, you’ll have 60 days to submit your application.

We’ll process most complete applications that have all supporting documents in 6 months or less.

Apply through Express Entry