Weekly Digest | December 28, 2025

Key Highlights:

Recent Case Law

Work Permit – Singh v. Canada, 2025 FC 2019: The officer refused the work permit, finding the applicant was not a genuine worker based on the timing of an LMIA and concerns arising from interruptions in studies. The Court found the officer misapprehended key dates, failed to engage with medical and explanatory evidence, and relied on central factual errors. Judicial review granted. Read more

Business Visitors – CUSMA [R186(a)] – December 22, 2025: IRCC updated officer instructions to include a link to after-sales service, clarifying and expanding what constitutes a qualifying “purchase” for authorization to work without a work permit under the International Mobility Program. Read more

Study Permits – Prerequisite Programs – December 22, 2025: IRCC updated instructions to reduce study permit validity for prerequisite programs from the duration of the program plus one year to the duration of the program plus 90 days, aligning with regulatory amendments implemented in November 2024. Read more

International Experience Canada [R204(d) – C21] – December 24, 2025: IRCC revised IEC instructions on port of entry roles, medical examinations, dependants, passport validity, police certificates, and work permit issuance practices; updated sector roles following departmental reorganization; removed Ukraine and Mexico from eligible countries; corrected validity periods for Australian International Co-op applicants; and confirmed that Dutch post-secondary students may rely on institutional letters to support TEER 4 employment related to their field of study. Read more

Parents and Grandparents Program – December 27, 2025: Effective January 1, 2026, no new parent or grandparent permanent residence or related sponsorship applications will be accepted for processing until further instructions are issued. Only applications received in 2025 may be processed in 2026, subject to the existing 2025 intake conditions, with a cap of 10,000 sponsorship applications. Read more

December 29, 2025: Consultations close on proposed IRPR amendments for international air transit, including new “designated holding area” rules. Read more

December 31, 2025: Ministerial Instructions setting the 2025 study permit intake cap and attestation letter requirements expire. Read more

December 31, 2025: Yukon’s temporary measure for foreign nationals to obtain support letters for Yukon-specific work permits expires. Read more

December 31, 2025: Public policy allowing open work permits for foreign workers with provincial or territorial support letters (including Manitoba PNP) expires. Read more and Read more

December 31, 2025: Temporary pause on private refugee sponsorship applications from Groups of Five and Community Sponsors under the PSR Program ends. Read more and Read more

December 31, 2025: Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot (EMPP) extension ends. Read more and Read more

December 31, 2025: Public policy allowing open work permits for foreign nationals in Provincial Nominee Program expression of interest pools expires. Read more

December 31, 2025: IRCC ends intake of most new Start-Up Visa permanent residence applications and extends the Self-Employed Persons Program pause, with a targeted entrepreneur pilot to follow in 2026. Read more

January 1, 2026: Québec indexes immigration-related service fees by 2.05%, including the financial capacity scales, in accordance with CPI adjustments under the Québec Immigration Act. Read more