Immigration Minister Sean Fraser recently announced the following 6 tactics to attract tech experts to Canada from different parts of the world.
- New Open Work Permit Pathway For US H-1B Visa Holders
- Dedicated PR Pathway For STEM Occupations
- Restoration of Faster Processing Under The Global Talent Stream
- New Innovation Stream Without Job Offer
- Digital Nomad Strategy
- New Improvements To Startup Visa Program
New Open Work Permit Pathway For US H-1B Visa Holders
Canada is set to launch a new open work permit stream from 16 July 2023, permitting 10,000 H-1B visa holders from the US to live and work in Canada.
H-1B visa holders under this stream can work for any employer in Canada without facing employer-specific restrictions.
In addition to this, accompanying family members of those H-1B visa holders will also be qualified to obtain a study or work permit.
Only primary applicants will be included in the quota of 10,000 applications. It means their accompanying family members will not be a part of the cap.
Dedicated PR Pathway For STEM Occupations
Sean Fraser also announced a new and dedicated permanent residency (PR) pathway for people employed in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) sector.
This marks the re-announcement of targeted Express Entry draws specifically for the STEM sector.
This could mean that 24 STEM sector occupations will have a higher weightage in the next targeted Express Entry draws.
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Restoration of Faster Processing Under The Global Talent Stream
Immigration Minister also revealed that the processing time for the Global Talent Stream (GTS) will return to 2 weeks.
The GTS is the fastest immigration route for people working for eligible employers and hoping to migrate to Canada.
New Innovation Stream Without Job Offer
Sean Fraser also mentioned introducing an Innovation Stream to attract talented individuals to Canada under the International Mobility Program.
The new stream will have the following 2 pathways;
- Open Work Permits with a validity of up to 5 years for highly trained workers in in-demand occupations without requiring any job offer
- Employer-specific work permits valid for up to 5 years for workers who will be employed at an organization selected by the Canadian government to support the Canadian industrial innovation objectives
Digital Nomad Strategy
Canada plans to launch a digital nomad strategy for people working for foreign employers to live and work in Canada for 6 months.
A digital nomad refers to an individual who can execute their job remotely from any part of the world.
Needless to say, this new policy will help foreign nationals who can work remotely to apply for a visitor visa without any difficulties.
Moreover, it will help those visa holders get significant exposure to Canadian communities.
It is safe to say that this step is aimed at promoting community integration and economic activity by letting digital nomads live and contribute to Canadian communities.
Digital nomads will be allowed to live and work in Canada if they get a job offer from a Canadian employer while living in the country.
New Improvements To Startup Visa Program
The Startup Visa Program for entrepreneurs possessing extraordinary potential has received more applications than available spots while facing some challenges. However, now it is set to get new improvements to solve the problems applicants incur.
IRCC will now prioritize applications that come with capital funding from an angel investor group, business incubator, or a recognized Canadian venture capital fund.
Open work permits with a validity of 3 years will be given to the applicants and their family members to work in Canada until their application in the normal queue is processed.
In addition to this, IRCC will also change the temporary work permit option for applicants under the Startup Visa Program. Consequently, those applicants will now be allowed to go for an open work permit of up to 3 years instead of applying for a closed work permit of only a year.
As a result, entrepreneurs can work for other Canadian employers instead of being tied to their startups.
IRCC recently expanded the available spots from 1,000 per year to 3,500.
This will make relocating to Canada more enticing for applicants while they wait for the approval of their permanent residency application.
Everyone on the business team can apply for a work permit instead of only those on the entrepreneurial team, deemed as urgently required in Canada by the organization supporting the startup.
IRCC is expected to announce more plans to reduce visa processing times and improve the efficiency of different immigration programs.
We hope you found this information helpful. Follow our blogs for the latest updates and informative content on Canadian immigration.
