Canada mulling extension of Canada PR visa program for temporary workers

Temporary foreign workers are possibly going to get an extension to their TFW program which is due to expire on November 5, 2021. The TFW program gives foreigners at work in Canada on a temporary basis to apply for Canada PR.

The program was announced in May 2021. The program was intended to serve up to 90,000 healthcare workers, workers in other essential jobs, and international students with the chance to get permanent residence in Canada.

This new pathway had slots for 20,000 new immigrants in the healthcare sector. But as yet, 14,000 of those slots are still not filled up.

Canada’s Minister of Immigration Marco Mendicino is now considering the extension of the program. He wants to open the program to refugees.

Canada is still clear about the fact that immigration is essential for its economic recovery in the short term and economic growth in the long term. The influx of skilled foreign workers in fields like healthcare is more of a necessity than an ambition. Nevertheless, having more skilled immigrants arriving in Canada also gives Canadian enterprises the essential manpower that will solve labor market shortages.

Besides that, these immigrants will also add to the flourishing population of Canada. In the light of these considerations, offering more opportunities to TFWs to get Canada PR is a plan that will be taken in the best interests of the country.

Another interesting fact is that in the first 8 months of 2021, TFWs constituted 70% of the new Canada PR visa holders.

More about the new pathway

Open work permits were issued by Canada under a pathway to Canada PR announced earlier this year. Under this pathway, essential TFWs including international students, healthcare workers, and other essential workers it was agreed this year by the government that they will be issued new open work permits.

For students or TFWs to be eligible for this pathway, they must be legally employed in Canada while applying for Canada PR. They must also maintain their temporary residency until any decision is made on their application for Canada PR.

The open work permits issued under the temporary policy have validity till the end of 2022.

How to qualify?

To qualify for this open work permit (one time) pathway, applicants are required to:

• have submitted an application successfully under one of the streams of the new permanent residence pathway
• hold a work permit that's valid and is set for expiry within the next 4 months
• have held a valid work permit or were authorized to work without a work permit, when their application for Canada PR was submitted
• have the status of a temporary resident, a maintained status, or had eligibility to restore their status when they submitted their application for an open work permit
• have been employed in any occupation when their application for Canada PR was submitted
• be in Canada when submitting their application for an open work permit
• meet the stream’s language requirements when their Canada PR application was submitted

Under this policy, the spouse/common-law partner, as well as dependent children (at least 18 years of age) of the applicant, are also eligible to file an application for an open work permit. They just need to be in Canada.

The new immigration pathway accepts:

• 20,000 applications for TFWs in healthcare
• 40,000 applications for international students who did their graduation from a Canadian institution deemed eligible
• 30,000 applications for TFWs in other chosen essential occupations

To sum up, the new streams choose workers in 40 healthcare jobs and 95 other jobs deemed essential. These include caregivers, distribution workers, and workers in food production.

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Note:

PR – Permanent Residence