Canada | IRCC rescinds July 29 guidance on C20 reciprocal employment category

On July 29, 2026, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) published updated guidance on the C20 reciprocal employment category as part of the International Mobility Program. On Aug. 6, 2026, IRCC rescinded the July 29 guidance and updated the reciprocal employment general guidelines webpage, reverting to previous guidance.

Key takeaways:

The July 29 IRCC guidance has been rescinded, which would have required foreign national applicants to be currently employed by a company abroad to demonstrate reciprocity. Existing employment abroad is no longer a requirement to qualify for the C20 reciprocal employment category under the Aug. 6 guidance.

Applications will continue to be assessed under previous guidance. The fact that an employer does not currently employ a foreign national applicant outside Canada will not, on its own, result in a negative assessment. Multinational companies can still demonstrate reciprocity as long as they create or maintain similar opportunities for Canadian citizens or permanent residents in any of the company’s operations globally.

IRCC has not released an official statement about the rescinded guidance.

BAL will continue to monitor related developments and provide updates.

This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice Group.

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