Canada has extended temporary COVID-19 measures by allowing people with temporary resident visa (TRV) status, who are in Canada, and wish to apply for a work permit backed by a job offer, to process their application without leaving the country. These pandemic measures, originally introduced in August 2020, will now be in place until February 28, 2023.
Public policy not only allows people with a TRV in Canada to apply for work permits from within Canada, but also allows eligible visitors to start working even before receiving the work permit. This is a temporary regulatory change, as normally foreign workers who are in Canada in a TRV cannot change status without leaving the country.
Requirements to be eligible:
- Be in Canada.
- Have submitted an application for a work permit
- Have remained in Canada with status since you applied;
- Submit the application by February 28, 2023.
There is the possibility to start working before receiving the work permit
Before the pandemic, a person with TRV status could not apply for a work permit within Canada. They were forced to submit a work permit application while in Canada at their home country’s visa office. If the work permit was approved, he needed to physically leave Canada and re-enter for the work permit to take effect.
This is known as “flagpoling” when people leave Canada and return in order to activate a temporary state. However, due to COVID-19 measures, people could no longer leave as such, in August 2020 (IRCC) began allowing people with TRV to submit work permit applications to IRCC from within Canada. This was also a way to combat the staff shortage that existed at the time due to the pandemic and border closures.
Although you can apply for a work permit from within Canada, you cannot work until IRCC approves the work permit. This process can take approximately 3 months.
To address this issue, IRCC introduced what is called a “Provisional Authorization to Work.” Assuming you meet the eligibility criteria, you can get this authorization quickly. This would allow you to start working while IRCC processes your work permit application. The purpose is to allow those with a specific job offer from the employer to start working immediately.
A person’s work permit application may be rejected while on a Provisional Authorization, but if the work permit application is approved, provisional Authorization allows TRV holders to start working more quickly.
Requirements for obtaining a provisional authorization to work
Provisional authorization is not automatic. If you are a visitor who is applying for a work permit in Canada and had a valid work permit in the last 12 months, you can apply to be allowed to work while the IRCC processes your application.
To meet the eligibility criteria, you must:
- Be physically present in Canada when you apply;
- Be a visitor with valid status when applying for the work permit;
- If your visitor status has expired, you will need to restore your visitor status before applying for a work permit;
- Applied for an employer-specific work permit between August 24, 2020 and February 28, 2023; and
- Have had a work permit that was valid in the 12 months prior to applying for a new work permit.
