Source: Globe and Mail via Indian Economic Business News
Canada has joined the US in tightening the visa regime for foreign workers, a move that could be detrimental for Indian IT service companies with operations in that country. Seen by experts as a ‘knee-jerk’ reaction to the recent controversy surrounding iGate and Canadian bank Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), the move is set to increase the time and costs associated with procuring a temporary work permit. The Accelerated Labour Market Opinion (ALMO) programme, a fast-track immigration programme to secure a temporary work permit in two weeks, has also been suspended. Indian companies will now have to revert to the Labour Market Opinion (LMO), a time-consuming process, compared with H1B visa regime in the US. A LMO is an authorisation that a recruiter has to obtain from the Canadian state, if a job has to be offered to an Indian. Moreover, the employer has to prove that it had advertised for the position across Canada, but was unable to find a qualified Canadian to do the job. The latter is what makes it time-consuming. Moreover, a new fee will be imposed on employers when they apply for an LMO. In addition, the Canadian Government also intends to increase work permit fee from the present $150. However, it has not specified the quantum of the rise. In its third change, Canada has also disallowed a rule allowing companies to pay temporary foreign workers 15 per cent less than prevailing wages for high-skilled positions, and five per cent less for low-skilled ones.