Immigration instructions: Agri‑food, caregivers, COVID‑19

Summary#

This Canada Gazette notice publishes a set of temporary and permanent changes to immigration instructions from the federal government. It (1) clarifies how wages are set for the Agri‑food Immigration Class, (2) fixes processing fees for the Home Child Care Provider Class and the Home Support Worker Class (effective April 30, 2020), and (3) puts temporary processing rules in place for certain visitor, work, study and eTA applications because of COVID‑19 for a period of 21 days starting April 29, 2020.

What it does#

• Ministerial Instructions Amending the Ministerial Instructions Respecting the Agri‑food Immigration Class (Subparagraph 2(3)(c)(v))
  • Clarifies how the required wage for the occupation is determined: use the wage in a collective agreement where one exists; if not, use the provincial prevailing wage from Job Bank; if no provincial prevailing wage is listed, use a national prevailing wage.
• Ministerial Instructions Amending the Ministerial Instructions Respecting the Home Child Care Provider Class and Ministerial Instructions Respecting the Home Support Worker Class
  • Sets processing fees for permanent-resident applications under these two caregiver streams:
    • Principal applicant: $550
    • Spouse or common‑law partner: $550
    • Dependent child: $150
  • Fees will be indexed (adjusted for inflation) starting at 09:00 a.m. Eastern daylight time on April 30, 2022, and every two years after that.
  • These fee rules took effect at 09:00 a.m. Eastern daylight time on April 30, 2020.
• Ministerial Instructions with respect to the processing of certain new and existing applications for temporary residence to further support Government‑wide measures to limit the spread of COVID‑19 (Coronavirus)
  • Applies for 21 days from April 29, 2020.
  • Requires people outside Canada applying for a temporary resident visa, work permit or study permit to apply online.
  • Suspends processing of visitor temporary resident visa (TRV) and some eTA applications received before or after the instructions came into force, except when the applicant is exempt from COVID‑19 entry bans under emergency orders (those people may still be processed).
  • eTA applications that can be handled automatically by the eTA system continue; any eTA that needs manual processing is suspended unless the applicant is exempt from entry bans.
  • Applications kept on file will be retained and processing fees will not be returned while the measures are in effect.

Who's affected#

• Employers and foreign workers using the Agri‑food Immigration Class, who will be assessed under the clarified wage rules.
• Applicants to the caregiver programs — the Home Child Care Provider Class and the Home Support Worker Class — and their family members, because of the specified processing fees ($550, $550, $150) and future indexation.
• Visitors, temporary workers, and international students applying from outside Canada: they must apply online. People who need manual processing of a visitor TRV or an eTA may face a temporary suspension unless they fall into the public‑health exemptions.
• Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) staff processing applications; some categories will be paused or shifted to online processing.
• The public generally — delays or holds on visitor applications can affect travel plans, family visits, and the timing of temporary work or study.

Why it matters#

• The agri‑food wage clarification affects how affordable or viable hiring foreign workers for certain farm and food jobs will be for employers and how those job offers are judged in immigration applications.
• Fixing caregiver processing fees makes costs predictable for applicants and their families. Indexation from April 30, 2022 means fees can rise with inflation in the future.
• The temporary processing rules respond to public‑health travel restrictions during the COVID‑19 pandemic. They aim to limit in‑person processing and align immigration intake with border‑entry rules. In practice this can mean delays or extra steps (online-only filing) for many applicants and could slow family reunification, tourism, or the start dates for temporary workers and students.
• The visitor/TRV and eTA suspensions are explicitly temporary (the notice sets a 21‑day window), but they show how quickly processing rules can change during a public‑health emergency.