Job loss due to COVID-19 in Canada, re-employment, and work permit

Unemployment and Staying in Canada



Those who have been working in Canada with various forms of work permits will be put in different employment and visa situations in the face of the current COVID-19 situation.

First of all, it is a case where employment is maintained despite the COVID-19 situation and normal work is being done at the office, workplace or home. At this time, you can work as planned without any worries or worries and prepare to apply for permanent residence as soon as the requirements are met.

The problem is when you lose your job. Especially in the case of a Closed Work Permit that belongs to a specific employer through LMIA, a lot of confusion is inevitable. If you lose your job, it is a big concern about whether it is possible to stay in Canada and how it will affect the process of permanent residency.

However, even if you become unemployed, there is no problem staying in Canada for the remaining period of your work permit if you want to continue working in Canada as there is a way where there is a will. In addition, you can wait for the opportunity to re-employment through receiving 4 months of emergency unemployment benefits CERB and then employment insurance (EI). If you receive a job offer from your existing employer again, you do not have to reapply for LMIA. This is because the COVID-19 situation is a reasonable temporary layoff.

However, if the existing employer company closed or downsized due to Corona 19 and cannot return to work, you must find a new employer and apply for a new LMIA. At this time, if the existing work permit period is expected to expire before finding a new employer, you can continue your stay by changing to a visitor visa.



The situation is a little different for open work permits such as post-graduation work visa (PGWP) or spouse work permit. Since the relationship with the employer is not specified with the open work permit, you are free to find an existing or new employer for the remaining period.

Seeking a new career path



However, what everyone with a Closed Work Permit or an Open Work Permit should consider is whether the unemployment situation caused by COVID-19 will not be repeated in the future.

If it is likely to be repeated, there is an increased risk that the full-time employment requirement will continue to be challenged and any planned federal or state permanent residency plans canceled. In the case of state immigrants, there is a high possibility of not only maintaining full-time employment, but also being excluded from selection for certain industries themselves.

Even if it is not repeated, it is expected that it will take a considerable amount of time for industries that have been severely hit by COVID-19 or companies that have been under financial pressure to stabilize their employment in the future as the economy recovers. Therefore, in this case, you should seriously consider changing the field of employment.

In order to get a job in another field, you need appropriate job training to work in that field. Unfortunately, most of the jobs impacted by the COVID-19 crisis are service or clerical jobs that do not require much on-the-job training.

If your field of employment was service or simple office work, and you want to change your job at this opportunity, you need to turn your attention to a more stable technical field, and even in the COVID-19 crisis, fields that are classified as essential or work from home are possible. Due to the 19th, we need to pay attention to the fields where the demand for manpower is rapidly increasing.



If a person with a work permit (work permit) in Canada applies for a student visa (study permit) with a letter of admission to a public college or ESL school to receive full-time vocational training, it is classified as a visa extension and is approved without problems in most cases. 

If you are currently unemployed due to COVID-19 while on a work visa in Canada, it would be a good idea to use this period as an opportunity for self-development and new career exploration while receiving government subsidy.