In its bid to attract more tech talent, Canada is expanding the pathways for workers in the sector to enter the country.
Gatekeepers News reports that Immigration Minister Sean Fraser revealed the Tech Talent Strategy, which includes a new, dedicated pathway for permanent residents targeting employees and workers in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) sectors at the Collision tech conference in Toronto on Tuesday.
He said the government is streamlining how it prioritizes applications to its startup visa program after allocating more spots for 2023.
It is also extending the length of work permits given out to entrepreneurs through the program.
Applicants can apply for three-year open work permits instead of one-year permits limited to the applicant’s own startup, and the permit will be available to each member of an entrepreneurial team instead of only the most essential, the government said in a press release.
“For those who are in the queue, we’ve got good news,” Fraser said.
“We’re also going to issue open work permits for three years for them and their families to be in Canada while they wait for their applications to be completed.”
Further increases to the number of spots in the startup visa program are planned for 2024 and 2025, and the government is prioritizing applications supported by venture capital, angel investor groups and business incubators.
As part of the changes Fraser announced, the government is creating an open work permit stream for H-1B visa holders in the U.S. to come work in Canada, and is developing an innovation stream under the International Mobility program to attract talent.
It has also fixed pandemic processing delays for its Global Skills Strategy program, Fraser said, promising to process work permits in just two weeks.
The final piece of the project is a digital nomad strategy allowing people working for foreign companies to stay in Canada for up to six months — and if they get a job offer while in Canada, the government will allow them to stay and work here, Fraser said.
