Canada Announces 1-Year Transitional Work Permits To Reprieve Temporary Foreign Workers

04 Feb 2015

In a major decision to give reprieve for some temporary overseas employees in Alberta under Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program, the federal government has announced 1-year transitional work permits, which allows foreign workers to remain in the country for more one-year period until their permanent residence applications are processed.

The Employment Minister Jason Kenney said that employees under TFW program who abide criteria will receive 1-year transitional work permits.

According to the announcement temporary foreign employees in Alberta gets more time to become Canada permanent residents as they experience an issue of visa deadline for departing the country.

Jason Kenney also said that to a leading news channel that  the, transitional work permits offers reprieve to certain employees employing under Temporary Foreign Worker program in Alberta so that they can reside some more time till the PR applications are processed.  

The new laws introduced by the federal government during last June barring employers from recruiting  low-wage short-term overseas employees in regions where unemployment rate is over 6%, and requiring employers to limit the number of overseas employees  they recruit at 10% by 2016.

Under the program, 1 April 2015, is the deadline for employees, who are residing in the province since 2011 or former, to leave the country in line with the Labor Market Impact Assessment criteria.

Presumably, Canada ‘s Employment and Social Development provides a one-time exemption to foreign employees from being included under the limit on low-wage employees compulsory on employers provided they fulfill the criteria.

Moreover, Canada’s Citizenship and Immigration is offering one-year bridging work permit to short-term overseas employees, subjected to four-year cumulative duration limit, which provide reprieve to some employers who have TFWs and have applied for immigration,  and are waiting for the applications to be processed.

This reprieve is applicable to only workers who have submitted their applications to the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program by 1 July 2014 and hold work permit that expires in 2015.

Though there are 10,000 employees on the queue waiting for permanent residency, however due to the Express Entry program specifics, it is doubtful that a many of individuals abide the criteria for permanent residency.

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