IRCC has removed the “recaptured time” section from its instructions for contractual service suppliers and independent professionals entering under the Canada–Korea Free Trade Agreement (CKFTA), exemption code F32. The Program Delivery Update was published on 19 October 2026 and applies immediately. Officers are told the deleted text was not relevant to the category. The F32 route lets qualified Korean professionals work in Canada without an LMIA for up to one year, renewable once. Under the old wording, time spent outside Canada could be deducted (“recaptured”) to extend the permit’s validity; that concept has now been dropped. Although IRCC says no other rules changed, the edit removes ambiguity and prevents applicants from banking extra months by travelling abroad. For Canadian companies that frequently bring in Korean IT consultants, engineers or other specialists on tight project schedules, the clarification simplifies planning: the permit clock now runs continuously from the date of entry. Employers should factor the one-year cap into project timelines and start extension applications early if a second year is required. The tweak also aligns the CKFTA wording with parallel provisions under other free-trade agreements, reducing interpretive disparities across officer manuals. Immigration counsel advise Korean nationals already holding F32 permits that the change is not retroactive, but future renewals will be adjudicated under the streamlined text.
Source: Immigration 2 Canada
