The government has just announced that they have eliminated, effective immediately, the four year cumulative duration rule. The rule, introduced by the previous Conservative government, set a four year maximum on the time that most temporary foreign workers could work in Canada. Under the cumulative duration rule, after working in Canada for four years, temporary foreign workers needed to stop working in Canada for another four years before once again being eligible for a Canadian work permit.
The government’s move to eliminate the four year cumulative duration rule was made “in order to prevent unnecessary hardship and instability for both workers and employer”.
This change will affect the strategies that many employers use to retain employees that have been on work permits for a significant period of time, and relieves one of the significant pressures faced by valuable long-time temporary foreign workers.
The full government backgrounder can be found here: http://news.gc.ca/web/article-en.do?nid=1168949&tp=1
Please contact one of our Edmonton Immigration Lawyers to discuss how this change may affect you or your workforce.
