Facing stubborn staffing gaps in hospitals, elder-care homes and agri-food operations, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada quietly rolled out a new fast-track lane for employer-specific work-permit applications on 1 February 2026. The initiative covers Labour-Market-Impact-Assessment-based permits, Francophone Mobility permits and select International Experience Canada categories. (m.economictimes.com)
Qualified applicants in 29 health-care occupations—ranging from registered nurses to respiratory therapists—plus eight high-demand agriculture roles will receive a two-week service standard, down from the current eight-week global average. Employers must submit electronic LMIA approvals or mobility exemption codes up front; incomplete files are automatically shunted to regular processing. (m.economictimes.com)
![IRCC Introduces Priority Work-Permit Processing for Essential Occupations]()
For employers and workers who find the new digital prerequisites daunting, VisaHQ offers an end-to-end concierge service that assembles the LMIA decision letter, populates IRCC web forms and books biometric appointments—helping applicants hit that two-week target with fewer hiccups. A full menu of Canada-specific options is available at https://www.visahq.com/canada/
IRCC officials say the pilot could shave three to five months off actual onboarding times when biometrics and work-permit printing are factored in. Provinces like Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan, where vacancy rates top 8 percent in long-term-care facilities, lobbied heavily for the measure after repeated delays in recruiting internationally. (m.economictimes.com)
The scheme also dovetails with Ottawa’s new immigration cap: by speeding entry for truly essential workers, the government can keep overall numbers down without starving critical services of staff. Mobility advisers should note, however, that priority files will be audited post-landing; misrepresentation or role changes within 12 months could trigger permit revocation. (m.economictimes.com)
Qualified applicants in 29 health-care occupations—ranging from registered nurses to respiratory therapists—plus eight high-demand agriculture roles will receive a two-week service standard, down from the current eight-week global average. Employers must submit electronic LMIA approvals or mobility exemption codes up front; incomplete files are automatically shunted to regular processing. (m.economictimes.com)
For employers and workers who find the new digital prerequisites daunting, VisaHQ offers an end-to-end concierge service that assembles the LMIA decision letter, populates IRCC web forms and books biometric appointments—helping applicants hit that two-week target with fewer hiccups. A full menu of Canada-specific options is available at https://www.visahq.com/canada/
IRCC officials say the pilot could shave three to five months off actual onboarding times when biometrics and work-permit printing are factored in. Provinces like Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan, where vacancy rates top 8 percent in long-term-care facilities, lobbied heavily for the measure after repeated delays in recruiting internationally. (m.economictimes.com)
The scheme also dovetails with Ottawa’s new immigration cap: by speeding entry for truly essential workers, the government can keep overall numbers down without starving critical services of staff. Mobility advisers should note, however, that priority files will be audited post-landing; misrepresentation or role changes within 12 months could trigger permit revocation. (m.economictimes.com)
