Visitors can no longer apply for work permits while in Canada

Visitors coming to Canada can no longer apply for work permits during their stay as the federal government tightens its rules for foreign workers amid abuse concerns.

On Wednesday, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) ended the COVID-19-era policy that was introduced to help visitors who couldn’t leave the country due to pandemic-related travel restrictions.

Foreign nationals can still apply for a work permit from outside Canada and in some special cases, inside the country.

The temporary policy, which allowed visitors in Canada to submit work permit applications from within the country, was introduced in August 2020 and was set to expire on Feb. 28, 2025.

But IRCC said it was scrapping it early as part of “overall efforts to recalibrate the number of temporary residents in Canada and preserve the integrity of the immigration system.”

This comes as Ottawa is moving to restrict the number of low-wage temporary foreign workers in Canada, with the exception of some sectors.

Starting Sept. 26, the government will refuse applications for low-wage temporary foreign workers in regions with an unemployment rate of six per cent or higher.

For employers, there will be a cap of 10 per cent of employees coming from the low-wage stream of the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program and a reduction of maximum duration of employment from two years to one, according to Employment and Social Development Canada.

In June, the federal government also announced that foreign nationals will no longer be able to apply for a Post Graduate Work Permit (PGWP) at the U.S.-Canada border in an attempt to curtail “flagpoling,” which allows temporary residents to bypass normal wait times and receive same-day immigration services.

Meanwhile, a cap