Canada Updates Work Permit Rules for Temporary Foreign Workers

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) updated its guidance on October 28, 2026, to remove the 90-day decision limit for certain work permit applications. Officers are now instructed to wait for the outcome of an employer’s Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) rather than issuing a refusal based on a set timeframe.

This adjustment applies to concurrent processing, which allows eligible workers currently in the country to apply for a permit while their employer's assessment is still in progress. To qualify, an applicant's current permit must be set to expire within two weeks, and the employer must have submitted their assessment application in a timely manner.

Workers who apply before their existing permit expires are entitled to maintained status, allowing them to continue working while their application is pending. IRCC noted that this change does not waive the requirement for an employer to obtain a positive or neutral assessment result.

Applicants are required to include the code CPTS2026 in their intended occupation field to assist with departmental tracking. While the new policy offers more flexibility, officials emphasize that the employer’s application must still be complete and filed early enough to reasonably expect a decision before the worker's permit expires.