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The Canadian government announced the opening of a new border crossing facility in Sainte-Aurélie.
Key Points:
Additional Information: Officials stated these new facilities are designed to deliver the border of the future and support the CBSA’s commitment to security while meeting environmental standards and allowing officers the ability to serve travelers more efficiently while protecting the community. The new Sainte-Aurélie border facility is one of the first examples of a “Base Compact” model port of entry, which the government designed for remote areas with lower volumes.
This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice Group.
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The Canadian government has closed the Student Direct Stream (SDS) and Nigeria Student Express (NSE) programs as of Nov. 8.
Additional Information: The SDS was open to legal residents of Antigua and Barbuda, Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, India, Morocco, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Senegal, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and Vietnam. Prospective university students from Nigeria had a similar process with the NSE.
Officials stated that this change will not adversely affect eligibility for those who wish to apply for a study permit from a country where the SDS or NSE initiatives have been offered. All students, regardless of whether they were eligible for the SDS or NSE, are invited to apply through the regular study permit stream and are required to meet Canada’s study permit application requirements.
BAL Analysis: Canadian officials stated the goal of the closure is designed to strengthen program integrity, address student vulnerability and give all students equal and fair access to the application process as well as a positive academic experience.
The Canadian government announced new rules for multiple-entry visas, giving officials more discretion on validity and entry limits.
Additional Information: A multiple-entry visa can still be valid if affixed in a full or complete passport or travel document. The holder must also be in possession of a newer and valid passport or travel document and must present both documents to the airline carrier to travel and/or seek entry.
The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada guidelines for issuing single- or multiple-entry visas are based on factors such as purpose of visit, funds, medical or other matters, including strong ties to home country, previous travel to Canada and outside of an individual’s home country, and any previously visa refusals. When determining the validity period, officers may also consider factors such as short-term purpose for the visit, status in current country of residence and the economic or political conditions in the applicant’s home country.
BAL Analysis: Canadian officials stated, “Guidance has been updated to indicate that multiple-entry visas issued to maximum validity are no longer considered to be the standard document. … Officers may exercise their judgment in deciding whether to issue a single- or multiple-entry visa and in determining the validity period.”
The Ministry of Immigration, Francization and Integration submitted Québec’s Immigration Plan for 2025.
Additional Information: The Québec Immigration Levels Plan is presented each year to indicate the number of new immigrants the province intends to admit in the coming year. As BAL reported, the Canadian government also recently released its Immigration Levels Plan for 2025-27, stating that it would be cutting permanent resident admissions over the next three years to 395,000 in 2025, 380,000 in 2026 and 365,000 in 2027.
BAL Analysis: Officials stated these measures are designed to manage Québec’s permanent immigration population and reassess of its overall immigration strategy.
The Canadian government announced the 2025-27 Immigration Levels Plan, forecasting reduced targets across multiple immigration streams over the next two years.
Additional Information: Earlier this year, IRCC announced a plan to decrease the number of temporary residents from 6.5% of Canada’s total population to 5% by 2026. The Levels Plan supports these efforts to reduce temporary resident volumes in conjunction with the temporary resident reduction measures announced in September and over the past year. Officials stated that the temporary population will decrease over the next few years as significantly more temporary residents will transition to being permanent residents or leave the country compared to new ones arriving.
The government has also implemented additional reforms, including raising the cost-of-living financial requirement for study permit applications and tightening eligibility requirements for temporary foreign workers to reach the targeted decrease of the temporary resident population to 5% over the next two years.
BAL Analysis: The Levels Plan is expected to result in a marginal population decline of 0.2% in both 2025 and 2026, before returning to a population growth of 0.8% in 2027. The transitional Levels Plan is designed to alleviate pressures on housing, infrastructure and social services and pause population growth in the short term to achieve well-managed, sustainable growth in the long term.
The Canadian government announced an extension of a temporary public policy that exempts certain low-risk, in-Canada foreign nationals from needing an additional immigration medical examination (IME) as part of their application.
Additional Information: IRCC officials stated that this measure supports faster processing of applications and improves client service for eligible foreign nationals. The temporary public policy has benefited more than 286,000 clients in its two-year inception period.
The Canadian government announced an increase to the starting hourly wage for the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program high-wage stream.
Additional Information: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada officials also announced that employers seeking to sponsor foreign workers under the TFW Program will no longer be able to use attestations from professional accountants or lawyers to prove their business legitimacy, effective Oct. 28.
BAL Analysis: As BAL reported, the government has taken steps to strengthen the integrity of the TFW Program recently to ensure it remains responsive to labor market needs and protect temporary foreign workers from fraud and abuse. Officials stated the TFW Program is designed as an extraordinary measure to be used when a qualified Canadian is not able to fill a job vacancy, and further adjustments will be made if needed to help ensure that only compliant employers with demonstrable labor needs can access the TFW Program. A greater number of jobs are expected to be subject to the stricter rules of the low-wage stream after this wage threshold change.
The Canadian government announced changes to its post-graduate work permit, effective November 1.
Additional Information: Earlier this year, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada announced a plan to decrease the number of temporary residents from 6.5% of Canada’s total population to 5% by 2026. The proposed reduction of temporary residents will be reflected in the 2025–2027 Immigration Levels Plan, which is expected to release by Nov. 1.
The Canadian government has updated its guidance for intra-company transfers (ICT).
Additional Information: IRCC officials stated that ICT should not be used to transfer an enterprise’s general workforce to affiliated entities in Canada. The government is also redefining “specialized knowledge” and whether certain positions require specialized knowledge. The government is releasing policy updates affecting temporary work permit applications, including the changes announced here for intra-company transfers.
BAL Analysis: Employers should be aware of these important changes. BAL will continue to monitor developments and will provide more information as it becomes available.
The Canadian government announced additional measures to manage the volume of temporary resident arrivals, including a further reduction in the intake cap on international student study permits in 2025.
Additional Information: Earlier this year, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada announced a plan to decrease the number of temporary residents from 6.5% of Canada’s total population to 5% by 2026. As BAL previously reported, a national cap on study permit applications for 2024 was first announced on Jan. 22 to address the rapid increase of international students in Canada and meet this goal. Since then, the government has announced additional reforms, including raising the cost-of-living financial requirement for study permit applications and reforming the International Student Program to manage the increase of temporary residents. Officials are now also tightening eligibility requirements for temporary foreign workers to reach the targeted decrease of the temporary resident population to 5% over the next three years.
BAL Analysis: The Canadian government continues to implement updates to policies concerning international students and temporary workers to recalibrate the number of temporary resident arrivals. Employers should be aware of these policy updates and consider them in their employment strategies and recruitment efforts.