There has been an important change in the cumulative duration of the temporary foreign worker program of the Canadian government’s immigration department. The cumulative duration (which was four years) has been eliminated.

This means that, if an application is in progress, as of December 13, 2016, it can no longer be subject to the cumulative duration. This is applicable for applications with or without a work permit. Those whose applications are within the restoration period can re-apply for the work permit while those who do not have a work permit that is valid and cannot apply for restoration due to ineligibility can still apply for a work permit, but from outside Canada.

If you have been an applicant that has been told to provide further evidence that you are within the four-year limit, you would no longer have to provide evidence since the cumulative duration is not applicable anymore, but this is something that the processing officer has to contact you and notify you about. However, it is still mandatory that applicants must be eligible under the laws of the country, such as the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations as well as that the Labor Market Impact Assessment needs are met.

For those applications where a decision was reached before December 13, 2016, the cumulative duration of four years is still applicable. This means that if a file has been closed, it will not be reconsidered. However, if your application was refused on the basis of Paragraph R200(3)(g), as long as other eligibility criteria is met, a new work application can be submitted.

For those who wish to stay in Canada on a work permit and extend their stay, they can do so if they have worked for more than four years and have met all other criteria for eligibility.

For those who have already exited the country on meeting the four year duration limit, they can still apply for a new permit even without staying outside the country for four years.

For more information and application support for Temporary Foreign Worker Program please get in touch with us at Career Abroad.

To apply online click here.