Ottawa, August 28, 2024 – IRCC will be immediately ending the temporary policy that allowed visitors to apply for a work permit from within Canada.

This policy, which was introduced in August 2020 to help visitors who could not travel home because of COVID-19 travel restrictions, introduced an avenue for visitors to apply inside Canada for a work permit. The policy also allowed foreign nationals who had been in Canada with a work permit within the last 12 months and then changed their status to “visitor” on or after January 31, 2020 to legally work in Canada while waiting for a decision on their new application for a work permit.

Although the policy was to expire on February 28, 2025, IRCC is discontinuing it in the hope of managing the volume of temporary residents better and safeguarding the integrity of the system. The decision will also reduce the possibility of misusing this policy by offering certain individuals unauthorized work by misrepresenting the foreign nationals.

Any application made prior to August 28, 2024, would be subject to the processing of the temporary policy.