Canada has increased the duration of a work permit for visitor visa to four years. Also, foreign students might no longer need to pay full tuition to obtain study permit in Canada.
The Canadian government said visitors in the country who have valid job offer will no longer need to leave Canada but apply for work permit extension for another two years.
They can stay in Canada for 4 years as the policy lasts till 2025.
What Is A Valid Job Offer?
A valid job offer in Canada is a written offer for 12 months or more that allows a visitor to work full-time in Canada.
The offer must be from an employer.
Also, the job offer must be backed by a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) or must be an LMIA-exempt offer of employment.
LMIA is an assessment criteria by Canada that categorizes jobs by way of importance to the country.
Meanwhile, in a statement on Tuesday, the country’s immigration body, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IRCC , announced the COVID-era temporary public policy extension.
According to the IRCC, the policy allows for foreign nationals visiting the country to apply for a work permit while still in Canada if they have received a valid job offer.
Also, visitors who applied under the policy and hold public work permit within the last 12 months can also apply for the extension and not leave the country.
The visitor work permit policy was measures put in place for economic recovery during the Covid-19 pandemic that struck in 2020.
Why The extension:
Canada is facing serious labour shortages right now.
What this means is that employers are looking for labour because there are much jobs to be done with just few labour.
Employers in the country are facing labour shortages and want the gap closed. Consequently, Canada has extended the work permit policy for visitors so that they can stay and provide labour for employers.
Implication of the policy:
Before the extension, visitors in the country would have to leave Canada after the duration of their visa period which is usually two years.
Also, visitors could not apply for work permit and still stay in Canada. They had to leave the country when they apply for work permit and come back in if its approved.
It was only after re-entering would their approved work permit take effect.
This policy was adjusted during Covid-19 era to allow visitor obtain work permit and not leave Canada.
They could then work in Canada with the approved work permit but it was to last only till February 2023.
However, with this recent extension, visitors will no longer need to leave Canada again after February 2023.
Instead, they will apply for extension of the work permit and stay in Canada till 2025. This brings it to, at least, four years.
Eligibility Criteria To Benefit From The Policy Extension:
Those who wish to benefit from the policy extension must meet the following eligibility criteria:
1. Applicants must have valid status in Canada as a visitor on the day they apply.
2. The Applicant must have a job offer supported by a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) or an LMIA-exempt offer of employment;
3. An applicant must submit an application for an employer-specific work permit no later than February 28, 2025.
4. Such an applicant must also meet all other standard admissibility criteria.
US also extends tourist visa to five years:
Canada is not the only country that has extended the tourist visa.
Recently, US also increased tourist visa to five years, making the rout more lucrative to Nigerians seeking to Japa.
Read Full report here..
Getting US Visa Appointment in one day or a week:
Getting tourism visa for US is not easy to come by. In fact, you would still need to battle and get a visa appointment.
It takes many months, in some countries, years before you can get a US visa appointment.
This is because, there are thousands of people in the queue waiting to get a US visa appointment.
However, it will interest you to read about about our report on 11 countries where you can get your US visa appointment in just one day or a week.
READ it here.
Also, Techuncode has reported how many Nigerians are taking various routes to Japa from the country.
In one of the reports, Techuncode presented 11 routes that Nigerians are using to Japa.
Read it here..
Full Tuition No Longer Needed To Get Canadian Study Permit:
Meanwhile, in another swoop, foreign students no longer need to pay full tuition to get Canada study permit.
In fact, according to a ruling by a Canadian Federal Court, foreigners no longer need to pay full or even part of the tuition to obtain a study permit in Canada
According to the court’s ruling, as long as the applicant can prove that he or she has the ability to pay their tuition and other expenses when required, Canada can invite them to apply for study permit.
Also, the court ruled that such applicants will not be penalised by Canada if they fail to pay their tuition during the application submission stage.
Implication of the ruling:
By this ruling, the barriers foreign students face while applying to Canada for study visa has been taken away.
Consequently, Nigerians, Indians and other foreign nationals can apply and get their Canadian study permits even if they have not paid their full tuition.
What is a visitor Visa?
Another term for visitor visa in Canada is Temporary Resident Visa (TVR).
TVR or visitor visa is an immigration document that allows foreign nationals to travel to and enter Canada.
The visa allows foreigners to enter Canada regardless of if they are coming as students, temporary workers or simply to visit.
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