Canada’s new immigration pathway was supposed to be a recognition of migrant workers who had worked through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Little did some applicants know they would need to stop working to make it through the process.

Typically, under regular, skilled immigration programs, applicants whose work permits expire while their applications are being processed can get a bridging permit, to allow them to keep working while the paperwork is done.

The bridging open work permit — or BOWP — ensures their employment is not disrupted.

But it turns out that’s not the case with the new pathway, a special program launched in May to grant permanent residence to 90,000 migrant workers and international graduates.
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