An India Today investigation published on 5 January 2026 warns that policy shifts under Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney could leave more than a million Indian temporary residents undocumented over the next 18 months. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) data show that 1.05 million work permits held by foreign nationals—nearly half of them Indians—expired in 2025, with another 927,000 set to lapse in 2026.
Ottawa has capped permanent-residence admissions at 380,000 for 2026 and tightened Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) criteria, shrinking pathways for permit holders to extend status or transition to PR. The government argues the cuts will relieve pressure on housing and healthcare, but advocacy groups fear a surge in underground employment and exploitation.
For Indian IT consultancies, construction firms and trucking companies that rely on Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program, the bottleneck threatens project delivery and could accelerate talent repatriation to India or redirection to the Gulf. Employers must now initiate LMIA renewals at least six months in advance and budget for higher processing fees introduced last month.
![Over one million Indian workers in Canada risk losing status as bulk work-permit expiries collide with tighter rules]()
In this fraught environment, VisaHQ’s India platform (https://www.visahq.com/india/) offers step-by-step guidance on Canadian and other international visa categories, real-time document checklists, and deadline alerts, helping temporary residents avoid lapses while they explore longer-term immigration strategies.
Students are also squeezed: study-permit quotas for 2026 have been trimmed 7 %, and off-campus work hours for international students will revert to the 20-hour cap in March, limiting income streams needed to qualify for post-graduate work permits.
Indian missions in Ottawa and Toronto are setting up helplines to assist affected nationals, but they caution that Canada’s 90-day restoration window offers limited respite. Immigration lawyers advise starting PR applications early under Provincial Nominee Program streams, although those, too, face new occupation-based limits.
Ottawa has capped permanent-residence admissions at 380,000 for 2026 and tightened Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) criteria, shrinking pathways for permit holders to extend status or transition to PR. The government argues the cuts will relieve pressure on housing and healthcare, but advocacy groups fear a surge in underground employment and exploitation.
For Indian IT consultancies, construction firms and trucking companies that rely on Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program, the bottleneck threatens project delivery and could accelerate talent repatriation to India or redirection to the Gulf. Employers must now initiate LMIA renewals at least six months in advance and budget for higher processing fees introduced last month.
In this fraught environment, VisaHQ’s India platform (https://www.visahq.com/india/) offers step-by-step guidance on Canadian and other international visa categories, real-time document checklists, and deadline alerts, helping temporary residents avoid lapses while they explore longer-term immigration strategies.
Students are also squeezed: study-permit quotas for 2026 have been trimmed 7 %, and off-campus work hours for international students will revert to the 20-hour cap in March, limiting income streams needed to qualify for post-graduate work permits.
Indian missions in Ottawa and Toronto are setting up helplines to assist affected nationals, but they caution that Canada’s 90-day restoration window offers limited respite. Immigration lawyers advise starting PR applications early under Provincial Nominee Program streams, although those, too, face new occupation-based limits.
