Canada’s First-Ever Tech Talent Strategy: Unpacking Canada’s Groundbreaking Immigration Announcement

Canada's Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Sean Fraser, has unveiled the country's first-ever Tech Talent Strategy at Collision 2023, a leading North American tech conference.

The strategy includes aggressive measures designed to attract top tech talent and fuel innovation in Canada's high-growth industries, thus fostering job creation and future growth.

Key measures include:

1. Creation of an open work permit stream for visa holders (for US H-1B specialty occupation visa holders), along with study or work permit options for their family members.
2. Development of an Innovation Stream under the International Mobility Program, allowing highly talented individuals to receive employer-specific or open work permits for up to five years.
3. Return to the 14-day service standard for work permits under the Global Skills Strategy.
4. Promotion of Canada as a destination for digital nomads.
5. Creation of a STEM-specific draw under category-based selection in the Express Entry program.
6. Significant enhancements to the Start-up Visa Program, including more spots, extended duration work permits, and prioritizing applications backed by venture capital, angel investor groups, and business incubators.

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The Innovation Stream will be launched by year's end

The new H1-B specialty occupation visa holder work permit will be available from July 16, 2023.

Changes to the Start-up Visa Program will also be implemented later this year.

Canada's tech sector, which employed nearly 720,000 Canadians and accounted for over 44% of all private R&D spending in 2021, is poised to benefit from this strategy. The country's attractiveness to immigrant entrepreneurs and its robust tech talent growth have been globally recognized, reflecting the strategic intent of Canada's Tech Talent Strategy.

Read the press release --> here