The major changes to LMIA-exempt work permits in 2024 – year in review

In 2024, the Canadian federal government made major changes to LMIA-exempt work permits.

This article will review the most significant changes impacting foreign nationals seeking to work in Canada, excepting under the Labour Market Impact Assessment-based Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), and the Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP).

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The major changes were as follows:

Change	Summary of change(s)	Effective date for the change(s)
Mexicans no longer TRV exempt	Mexicans require visas in order to enter Canada and must meet tightened requirements for eTAs.	February 29, 2024
Removal of eligibility for SOWPs for spouses of some students	Spouses of students in college programs and university bachelor’s programs no longer eligible for SOWPs.	March 19, 2024
New IMP work permit for Global Hypergrowth Project	Creation of a new closed, LMIA-exempt work permit for employees of certain companies.	April 15, 2024
New work permit for PNP nominee candidates	Some PNP candidates can receive open work permits.	August 11, 2024
End of temporary public policy to exempt certain visitors in Canada from immigration requirements during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic	Revocation of measures that allowed eligible foreign nationals with valid expired visitor status to apply for job-offer supported work permits and to work while their application is pending.	August 28, 2024
Updated instructions regarding ICTs under the IMP	To qualify for a work permit as an ICT, the foreign national must be an employee of a multinational corporation, and must have specialized knowledge.	October 3, 2024
Extension of TR to PR temporary public policy	Policy has been extended allowing applicants to receive open work permits.	December 17, 2024
Ban on flagpoling	Temporary residents within Canada can no longer obtain same-day service for immigration applications at ports of entry.	December 23, 2024
Targets for net new IMP work permits	For the years 2025 through to 2027, there have been established target numbers for the issuance of net new work permits under the IMP.	2025
Restricting eligibility for SOWPs – spouses of some students, temporary workers	Spouses of students in master’s programs less than 16 months in duration will no longer be eligible. Spouses of temporary workers only to be eligible for workers in certain occupations and sectors.	Unknown

Mexican nationals no longer TRV exempt

As of 29 February, 2024, Mexican nationals are no longer exempt from requiring a temporary resident visa (TRV) to enter Canada. There are also tightened requirements for them to be eligible for electronic travel authorizations (eTAs).

Prior to this change, Mexican nationals were TRV exempt, allowing them to apply for some work permits at Canadian ports of entry.

Under the new rules, Mexican nationals can no longer apply for work permits at Canadian ports of entry. They also require visas in order to enter Canada, unless they qualify for ETAs under the new, tightened eTA requirements.

To qualify for an eTA now, Mexican nationals must meet all the following requirements:

Be transiting through a Canadian airport to another destination, OR be flying into Canada;
Be coming to Canada for a temporary stay (e.g., 6 months or less); and
Either hold a valid US nonimmigrant visa, or have held a Canadian visitor visa in the past 10 years.

The Canadian government implemented this change in response to a rise in asylum claims from Mexican nationals in 2023.

Removal of eligibility for SOWPs for spouses of undergraduate and college students

On January 22, 2024 IRCC announced that they would remove eligibility for Spousal Open Work Permits (SOWPs) for spouses of students in most university bachelor’s programs and college programs. This change took effect on March 19, 2024.

Spouses of university master’s students and doctoral students remained eligible for SOWPs after this change.

IRCC also made exceptions for certain university vocational programs. Spouses of students enrolled in the following programs would also remain eligible for SOWPs:

Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS, DMD).
Bachelor of Law or Juris Doctor (LLB, JD, BCL).
Doctor of Medicine (MD).
Doctor of Optometry (OD).
Pharmacy (PharmD, BS, BSc, BPharm).
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM).
Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN, BSN, BNSc).
Bachelor of Education (B. Ed.).
Bachelor of Engineering (B. Eng., BE, BASc).

On 18 Sept, 2024 IRCC went on to announce further pending restrictions on SOWP eligibility (see below), but the changes announced in Sept have not been implemented as of 10 Jan, 2025.

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New IMP work permit for Global Hypergrowth Project

On April 15, 2024, IRCC introduced a new employer-specific LMIA-exempt work permit under the Innovation Stream pilot.

This work permit can be issued for up to five years.

To qualify for this work permit, a foreign national must have a job offer in a high-skilled occupation from an employer participating in the Global Hypergrowth Project:

Ada Support Inc.
AlayaCare.
CellCarta.
Clarius Mobile Health.
Clio.
Duchesnay Pharmaceutical Group (DPG).
Lightspeed Commerce.
Vive Crop Protection.

Foreign nationals with occupations in NOC TEER 0 or 1 may be eligible for faster processing of their work permit applications under this stream.

The Innovation Stream is set to be in place until March 22, 2026.

New work permit for PNP nominee candidates

Effective August 11, 2024, IRCC introduced a new temporary public policy, under which foreign nationals could apply for open work permits.

To qualify, a foreign national had to

Have a support letter from the province or territory for which they are a nominee candidate;
Have a letter of employment from their current employer; and
Fall into one of the following three situations:
- One: hold a valid work permit, and have submitted an application for a new work permit.
- Two: Have held a valid work permit on May 7, 2024, which has since expired, and have submitted an application for a new work permit, and an application for an extension of their authorization to remain in Canada as a temporary resident, or restoration of their temporary resident status.
- Three: Have been authorized to work on May 7, 2024, and have a pending or approved work permit extension application, and have submitted an application for a new work permit, and an application for an extension of their authorization to remain in Canada as a temporary resident.

IRCC implemented this policy to allow foreign nationals to continue to have legal authorization to work in Canada while being considered as Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) candidates.

Alberta, Manitoba, and Yukon moved forward with implementations under this policy.

This temporary public policy expired December 31, 2024.

End of temporary public policy to exempt certain visitors in Canada from immigration requirements during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic

IRCC ended this temporary public policy on August 28, 2024.

While this temporary public policy was in force, it had allowed foreign nationals to submit job-offer supported work permit applications from within Canada, provided that they

Were in Canada with valid temporary resident status;
Were in Canada when the policy took effect, and have since remained in Canada; and
Held a valid work permit 12 months prior to having submitted their application.

Provided a foreign nationals met all these conditions, they would

Not be required to meet certain requirements normally needed for being allowed to apply for a work permit from within Canada;
Be exempt from the requirement that they not have worked in Canada without legal authorization; and
Be legally authorized to work while a decision was pending on their application.

This was a pandemic-era measure intended to serve two purposes:

To allow visitors stranded in Canada due to the pandemic to work to support themselves; and
To provide additional workers to fill gaps in the Canadian labour market during the pandemic.

Prior to the announcement ending this policy in August, the policy had been set to expire on February 28, 2025.

IRCC generally establishes set end dates for temporary public policies when the policies are fist established, while retaining the power to end those policies at any time without prior notice.

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Updated instructions regarding ICTs under the IMP

On October 3, IRCC updated its instructions to officers regarding work permits issued to intra-company transferees (ICTs) under the International Mobility Program (IMP).

These changes made it more difficult for foreign nationals to qualify for ICT work permits. The major changes were

Guidance to officers on the requirement to ensure that the foreign enterprise qualifies as an existing multinational corporation (MNC); and
Clarification on the definition of “specialized knowledge,” how to assess whether an applicant has specialized knowledge, and whether a position requires specialized knowledge.

The guidance to officers also reinforced that ICTs are not meant to be used “as a means to transfer an enterprise’s general work force to affiliated entities in Canada.”

Extension of TR to PR temporary public policy

On 17 Dec, 2024, IRCC extended the temporary public policy allowing for open work permits to be issued to applicants applying for permanent residence under the temporary resident to permanent resident pathway (TR to PR pathway).

The TR to PR pathway was a limited-time pathway to permanent residence which closed on November 5, 2021.

The extension of the temporary public policy applies to foreign nationals with applications still being processed under the TR to PR pathway.

Eligible foreign nationals can apply for this open work permit if they have a valid work permit expiring in four months or less, and meet the other requirements. Their family members may also be eligible to apply for open work permits.

This temporary public policy has been extended until December 31, 2026. IRCC may revoke the policy at any time without notice.

Ban on flagpoling

Flagpoling is the term for a temporary resident leaving Canada at a port of entry, and then immediately seeking re-entry into Canada, in order to gain same-day processing of an immigration application, such as a work permit application or extension.

Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced this ban on 17 Dec, 2024, and the ban took effect on 23 Dec, 2024.

Prior to the ban, flagpoling was a legal and accepted practice available to foreign nationals within Canada.

There are several exceptions to this ban on flagpoling:

Citizens and lawful permanent residents of the United States;
Professionals and technicians under free trade agreements with the US, Mexico, Chile, Panama, Peru, Colombia, and South Korea;
Spouses off professionals and technicians under free trade agreements with Panama, Colombia, and South Korea;
International truck drivers holding work permits, when required to depart Canada for work, who held maintained status on account of having applied for renewal prior to departing; and
People who have existing appointments booked with CBSA.

Foreign nationals who do not qualify for an exception can no longer flagpole; they will have to apply from within Canada and wait for processing.

On 21 June, 2024, IRCC had banned flagpoling for PGWP applicants.

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Targets for net new IMP work permits

On 24 Oct, 2024, IRCC released its annual Immigration Levels Plan—the first to include targets for net new temporary residents.

IRCC established the following targets for net new IMP work permits:

Year	2025	2026	2027
Target	285,750	128,700	155,700

These targets are for the issuance of net new work permits under the IMP, so do not include renewals or extensions of IMP work permits for foreign nationals already in Canada.

The establishment of targets for temporary resident levels and the planned reduction of net new work permits issued under the IMP align with IRCC’s objective to reduce the number of temporary residents as a percentage of Canada’s overall population.

IRCC intends to reduce this percentage from 2024 levels of 7%, to 5% by 2026.

Restricting eligibility for SOWPs

On September 18, 2024, Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced the government’s intention to further restrict eligibility for SOWPs “in the near future.”

In this announcement, Miller announced that spouses of master’s students were only to be eligible for SOWPs if the master’s program was at least 16 months in duration.

Miller also said that spouses of work permit holders were only to be eligible for SOWPs if the work permit holder’s occupation was in a specialized occupation or a sector with labour shortages, and provided the following examples: