Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) quietly released a notice on July 31, 2026 confirming that special immigration measures for Palestinian nationals, first introduced in 2023, will not lapse as originally scheduled. Instead, Ottawa has approved a balanced 17-month extension that runs until December 30, 2027 and slightly broadens eligibility. The program was created to help Palestinian passport-holders who were already in Canada when the Gaza conflict intensified and could not safely return home. Until now, those individuals could obtain fee-exempt open work permits, study permits or visitor extensions that aligned with the expiry of their existing status. According to IRCC, 2,383 valid work permits and 236 study permits had been issued under the policy as of May 31, 2026. Under the updated rules, anyone who received an initial open work permit may now apply for a normal-fee extension. More significantly, Palestinians who succeed in leaving Gaza and arrive in Canada on or before September 30, 2027 will also have access to fee-exempt temporary resident permits and in-Canada extensions—closing a gap that advocacy groups said disadvantaged people who could not obtain exit permits in time. Employers with Palestinian staff should review the new timelines carefully. Because extensions will carry standard processing fees, companies that previously paid nothing for Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA)-exempt work permits may wish to budget for government charges. HR teams should also ensure that Palestinians arriving after the September 30, 2027 arrival cut-off are channelled through regular temporary resident pathways instead of the special program. The decision reflects Ottawa’s broader strategy of using limited, time-bound public policies to respond to humanitarian crises while still signalling that long-term solutions—such as resettlement programs—require multilateral cooperation. Organizations that support foreign assignees should brief impacted employees quickly; while the extension offers breathing room, applications must still be filed before the new December 30, 2027 sunset date.
Source: IRCC Notice
