Bengaluru
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced that, effective immediately, the four-year cumulative duration rule will no longer apply to temporary foreign workers in Canada. This rule, also known as the “four-in, four-out” rule, meant that certain foreign workers became ineligible to work in Canada for four years upon completion of four years of work in Canada.
The rule was originally put in place by the previous Conservative government in April, 2011. At that time, the government stated that the provision was implemented primarily to prevent situations in which workers remain in Canada for such a prolonged period that they begin to lose ties with their country of origin without gaining permanent residence in Canada.
On December 13, 2016, IRCC, together with the Ministry of Employment, Workforce Development, stated that it was immediately ending the four-in, four-out provision ‘in order to prevent unnecessary hardship and instability for both workers and employers.’
The statement added, ‘for those temporary foreign workers who do not currently have access, the government is committed to further developing pathways to permanent residency so that eligible applicants are able to more fully contribute to Canadian society. Work on this issue continues.’
