Canadian Employment Archives - NK Immigration Consultants

The program delivery instructions (PDIs) on the Global Skills Strategy (GSS) have been updated to provide clarifications on the short-term (15 or 30 days) work permit exemption, the short-term (120-day) work permit exemption for researchers, and priority processing (14 days) for work permits under the GSS.

For the short-term work permit exemption PDIs, background information has been added about the public policy established on June 12, 2017.

Programs

Short-term (15 or 30 days) work permit exemption

Short-term (15 or 30 days) work permit exemptions are for certain high-skilled work and apply to foreign nationals coming to Canada to perform work that complies with the following conditions:

be of a short duration (15 consecutive calendar days or 30 consecutive calendar days)
be in an occupation that is listed in skill type 0 (management occupations) or skill level A in the matrix of the National Occupational Classification (NOC)

On June 12, 2017, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), in coordination with Employment and Social Development Canada, launched the Global Skills Strategy and introduced, among other changes, new work permit exemptions for certain high-skilled work of a short-duration.

The Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship has established a public policy under section A25.2 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act that justifies the granting of a work permit exemption to certain highly skilled foreign nationals coming to Canada for 120 consecutive days to perform work in a publicly funded Canadian degree-granting institution (or its affiliated research institution).

Changes to the short-term (15 or 30 days) work permit exemption

instructions under “Conditions” replaced with new instructions
new instructions added on the following topics:
- evidence
- renewals
- working with multiple employers
- implied status
- visitor records
- sections removed:
  - Initial inland applications
  - Applications submitted before June 12, 2017

Short-term (120-day) work permit exemption for researchers

The 120-day work permit exemption allows eligible researchers to exit and re-enter Canada within the 120-day time frame. However, the number of consecutive days cannot be extended beyond the initial 120 days. The 120 days begin on the date the exemption was granted.

The Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship has established a public policy under section A25.2 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) that justifies granting a work permit exemption to certain highly skilled foreign nationals coming to Canada for 120 consecutive days to perform work in a publicly funded Canadian degree-granting institution (or its affiliated research institution).

Changes to the short-term (120-day) work permit exemption for researchers

clarifications made to the conditions to meet the requirements of the work permit exemption to reflect the language of the public policy
instructions under “Considerations” revised
new instructions added on the following topics:
- required documentation
- renewals
- working with multiple employers
- implied status
- visitor records
list of Canadian publicly funded degree-granting institutions updated.
topics removed:
- port of entry processing
- initial inland applications
- applications submitted before June 12, 2017

Priority processing (14 days) of work permits under the Global Skills Strategy

As part of the Global Skills Strategy (GSS), Ministerial Instructions on the priority processing of work permit applications were issued on June 12, 2017. Theses instructions allow certain highly skilled foreign nationals applying from outside Canada to be eligible for a 2-week (14 calendar days) processing period.

This applies to any of the following e-applications:

received by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) on or after June 12, 2017
for a work permit from outside Canada [R197]
- the related e-applications for temporary residence [R179(a)]
- the electronic travel authorization (eTA) [R12.04]
for a work permit or study permit for a family member of an applicant whose work permit e-application meets the conditions established by the instructions

These instructions do not apply to International Experience Canada applications for an employer-specific work permit under either the Young Professionals category or the International Co-op Internship category.

Changes to priority processing (14 days) of work permits under the GSS

background information added about the Ministerial Instructions that were issued to put into effect the priority processing under the GSS
clarifications made and new instructions added to guidance under “Conditions”
new instructions added to the following sections:
- ESDC’s Global Talent Stream
- Family members of work permit applicants under the GSS

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Canada launched a fast-track visa program for highly-skilled workers on Monday, as it seeks to take advantage of a tougher immigration environment in the United States.

The move comes at a critical time for Canadian technology companies, who are looking to lure top global talent who otherwise flock to Silicon Valley, a major employer of foreign workers.

“In a world where people are becoming more and more inward, where there is a rise in populism, there’s a lot of Islamaphobia, a lot of xenophobia, there’s a lot of anti-immigrant sentiment, Canada is uniquely positioned,” said Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains on the program’s launch at a tech startup accelerator.

Bains and the other government officials at the launch were careful not to mention U.S. President Donald Trump by name, instead focusing on selling the positives of their new scheme, which aims to help domestic companies exhibiting growth of at least 10 per cent.

But tech executives in attendance were less circumspect.

Roy Pereira, the founder of an artificial intelligence company called Zoom.ai, said Trump’s policies had led to more interest in Canada from workers currently living in the U.S. than he had ever seen in his 20-year career.

Of the 150 total applications he received for three recent job postings, 50 came from U.S.-based applicants, he said, with most of the 10 he subsequently interviewed citing the political climate there as a factor in their decision to look north.

“They were concerned about some of the musings of the current administration down in the U.S.,” he said.

The Trump administration has sought to ban visitors from several Muslim-majority countries in a move that has been stymied by U.S. courts, and has also broadened the scope of who could be targeted for immigration violations.

The Canadian plan, unveiled in November as part of a broader strategy to stoke economic growth, aims to shorten the work permit and visa issuing process to two weeks, compared to current drawn-out, bureaucratic process typically lasting six months to a year.

“Investment follows talent,” said Ahmed Hussen, Canada’s minister of immigration. “Investment will not come to Canada if the talent is not there,” he said.

The government has not set a quota on the amount of foreigners who could join the plan in its first two years.

By Sean Kilpatrick from the Financial Post.

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