As part of efforts to attract a larger number of digital nomads, Canadian Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Sean Fraser, has introduced a new plan which, among others, would permit them to work in Canada for more than six months.
The Digital Nomad visa permits internationals to come to Canada and live and work remotely for companies or clients located outside the country.
The Minister announced the new changes during the Collision Conference in Toronto, VisaGuide.World reports.
“And should they receive a job offer while they’re here, we’re going to allow them to continue to stay at work in Canada,” Fraser noted, according to a CTV News report.
At present, there is a program that allows internationals who have a job offer to transition to a work permit. However, the Minister stressed that as part of the digital nomad strategy; a tech worker with a job at a foreign employer could reach Canada at present and also continue to work for that employer.
During the Conference, the Minister said that he wouldn’t set a number regarding how many people could benefit from this program and that it would be driven by demand instead of an artificial limit imposed by the government.
Fraser noted that it’s all part of the plan to attract the most talented professionals from worldwide countries to work in Canada. In addition, the plan includes a new dedicated pathway announced for permanent residents who employ workers or work in the STEM sectors.
He went on saying that a skilled global plan that was launched five years ago in order to bring to the country talent but hampered by processing delays, would also be improved. The recent changes would speed up processing of work permits to two weeks, in order for the companies to have access to the talent they need, when they need.
Fraser re-announced a surge in the number of spaces in Canada’s visa program from 1,000 spaces a year to a total of 3,500, thus creating a pathway “to permanent residency for entrepreneurs who create companies that would hire Canadians.”
He unfolded plans to issue open work permits for three years for those who are in the queue and their families to be in Canada while they wait for their requests to be completed.
“As of July 16, we will have a stream that will allow 10,000 H-1B visa holders in the United States to come and work in Canada,” Fraser noted.
The Minister emphasized that at present there are nearly 400,000 H-1B visa holders in the United States.