Open work permits will be issued to provincial nominees under the Federal Skilled Worker Backlog Reduction Pilot
When Citizenship and Immigration Canada ("CIC") announced that it was cancelling the backlog of Federal Skilled Worker ("FSW") cases that were filed prior to 2008, several Provincial Nominee Programs ("PNPs") began offering some of those applicants the opportunity to apply for a provincial nomination under CIC's FSW Backlog Reduction Pilot (the "FSW Pilot"). As of November 5, 2012, eligible foreign nationals who have been nominated by a participating PNP under the FSW Pilot may now apply for one of 1,500 available province-specific open work permits; this will enable them to enter the labour market while their permanent residence cases are pending. Work permits issued under the FSW Pilot may be valid for a maximum of two years and cannot be extended.