New Business Immigration Measures: What Your Foreign Workers Need to Know

Flexibility of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) Comes Into Effect

The Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) requirements for external posting and demonstration of recruitment efforts in the province of Québec have been made more flexible for some specific occupations. This will allow companies to be exempted from external posting and to demonstrate their recruitment efforts in Québec to staff low-skilled or unskilled occupations (D-level) which are currently affected by the labour shortage.

Three flexibility measures to the TFWP have been announced on August 4 in an agreement between the government of Canada and Québec:

• Increase from 10 to 20% of the threshold for the number of temporary foreign workers per workplace, in the low-wage category, for given economic sectors.
• Broadening eligibility for simplified processing to include low-skilled occupations identified by Québec (C-level);
• Exemption from the application of denial of treatment for certain micro-economies.

To learn more about these flexibilities, read the Conseil du patronat du Québec’s press release.

Effective January 15, 2022, International Students, Athletes and Workers Must Be Fully Vaccinated to Enter Canada

As of January 15, 2022, certain groups of travelers, who are currently exempt from entry requirements, will be required to be fully vaccinated with one of the vaccines approved for entry into Canada. These groups include:

• People travelling to reunite with family (unvaccinated children under the age of 18 will retain their exemption if they are travelling to reunite with an immediate or extended family member who is a Canadian, permanent resident, or a person registered under the Indian Act);
• International students 18 years of age and over;
• Professional and amateur athletes;
• Persons with a valid work permit, including temporary foreign workers (except those working in the agriculture and food processing industry); and
• Essential service providers, including truck drivers.

After January 15, 2022, unvaccinated or partially vaccinated foreign nationals will only be admitted to Canada if they meet the limited exceptions criteria that apply to certain groups such as agriculture and food processing workers, ship's crew members, persons entering the country for humanitarian reasons, new permanent residents, resettled refugees, and some children under the age of 18. Non-exempt, non-vaccinated travellers will continue to be subject to testing, quarantine and other entry requirements. Non-exempt foreign nationals who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated will be denied entry into Canada.

Omicron: New Rules for Travel to the United States

The regulations regarding travel to the United States are changing every day according to new guidelines. Here are the most recent updates:

• Testing rules for entry into the U.S.: all incoming international travelers must be tested within one day prior to departure to the U.S., effective December 6, 2021.
• One-day window: the one-day window is used to provide greater flexibility for air travelers.
• Mandatory testing for children: air passengers 2 years of age and older must be screened.
• Mandatory testing at land borders and seaports: Mandatory screening applies to air travelers only.
• Quarantine and testing after arrival in the U.S.: No measures in effect at this time after arrival in the U.S.
• Countries covered by the new U.S. travel ban: As of November 26, visitors from Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe are not permitted to enter the United States.

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