Effective July 1, 2024, the immigration provisions of the Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement (“CUFTA”) came into effect. This now brings new avenues for citizens and permanent residents of Ukraine to work in Canada or enter Canada as business visitors. The CUFTA’s immigration provisions contain similarities with other free trade agreements- like the Canada-United States-Mexico-Agreement, the […]
An individual is a Canadian citizen under section 3 of the Citizenship Act[1] (the “Act”) by right (ie. typically by birth or decent) or by a grant of citizenship under section 5, (ie. typically to a permanent resident after certain conditions are met). In addition to these usual paths to Canadian citizenship, subsection 5(4) provides […]
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC”) has announced that international student graduates can no longer apply for a post-graduation work permit (“PGWP”) at a port of entry when entering Canada. This also means an end to applying for PGWP by way of flagpoling – a legal practice of leaving Canada and re-entering in order to […]
End of the Second-Generation Born Abroad Rule and Lost Canadians Following the Ontario Superior Court’s ruling in Bjorkquist et al. v. Attorney General of Canada, 2023 ONSC 7152 (CanLII), in which the Court deemed unconstitutional the ineligibility to Canadian citizenship of those born outside of Canada to a Canadian parent who had been born outside […]
Over the course of two (2) weeks, starting on May 21, 2024, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC”) will invite 35,700 potential sponsors to apply to sponsor their parents or grandparents. However, only those who submitted an interest to sponsor form in 2020 are eligible to be invited. The intake for new expressions of interest […]
End of Policy Allowing Work Over 20 Hours Per Week During the COVID-19 pandemic, the government implemented a public policy allowing full-time international students to work off-campus for over 20 hours a week during regular academic sessions. This policy was intended to alleviate labour shortages and facilitate the staffing of many low-wage, low-skilled jobs during […]
End of Workforce Solutions Road Map Special Measures As part of the government’s continuing efforts to limit the number of temporary residents coming to Canada due to increased pressures from the housing and cost-of-living crises, as of May 1, 2024, the following changes will occur: Labour Market Impact Assessments (“LMIAs”) will only be valid for […]
Update to Public-Private College Partnerships for Students The government previously announced that it would cancel the eligibility for post-graduation work permits (“PGWPs”) for students attending programs at private colleges that are subject to public-private curriculum licensing agreements. As part of the its ongoing efforts to limit the number of international students amidst increasing public opposition […]
Today, the Minister of Immigration Refugee Protection Canada (IRCC) announced that the federal government will aim to shrink the number of temporary residents in Canada over the next three years. Temporary residents make up 6.2 percent of Canada’s population in 2023 and the government will seek to reduce that share to 5 percent by 2027. […]
Recently, the federal government announced significant new limits to the international student program to reduce the intake of international students in Canada amidst increasing pressure during the housing and cost of living crises. As part of further restrictions, beginning today, March 19th, 2024, the government is restricting the availability of open work permits to spouses […]
