The Canadian government has made some notable updates to processing for some temporary immigration applications:

• • • Temporary Resident Visas: The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has updated its guidance and now specifies that multiple-entry temporary resident visas (TRV) will no longer be the standard. The duration of the TRV to be issued will be left to the discretion of the visa officer.  While we have previously expected a multiple-entry visa to be issued to clients travelling on business, we now anticipate that moving forward most visa offices will issue trip-specific visas unless there is enough supporting information to permit ongoing entries to Canada over the course of the applicant’s passport validity.

• • • Prevailing Wages: We anticipate that IRCC’s annual prevailing wage update will be released in late November/early December 2024. While prevailing wages do not necessarily impact foreign workers entering Canada under trade agreements, we expect wage guidance for these categories to be updated shortly. While Intra-Company Transfer (ICT) work permit holders are not required to meet the prevailing wage throughout the entire duration of their permit (i.e., if the prevailing wage increases after the ICT permit is issued, only at the renewal is the ICT permit holder required to meet the wage under the current roles) the updated wages will be relevant in the context of an audit. For example, in the case of an audit, we expect the IRCC to draw negative inferences when wages lower than the prevailing wage are being paid.

• • • Visitor Record Validity After Departure from Canada: Occasionally, we are starting to see individuals with long duration Visitor Records (often to match a spouse or parent’s work permit duration) have their Visitor Records reset to the standard 6-month period upon returning from a trip abroad. As a result, we will be recommending to our clients that upon return to Canada from a trip abroad, they should request to be processed by a Canada Border Services Agency officer rather than an automatic kiosk. Doing so will help ensure there is a stamp in their passport that notes the Document Number of the Visitor Record and the end date of authorized entry.