7 New Canada Immigration Laws And Changes In November 2026

November 2026 brings a wave of regulatory changes, enforcement milestones, and system overhauls that will reshape how Canada manages immigration, border security, and skilled worker selection.

From a complete restructuring of the Express Entry scoring system to new administrative penalties for immigration fraud, adjusted border crossing schedules at 26 Canada–U.S. ports of entry, and the expected tabling of a new Immigration Levels Plan, the month marks one of the most consequential periods for Canadian immigration policy in recent years.

Some of these changes took effect in late October and carry into November, while others introduce entirely new rules that candidates, employers, and travellers need to understand before they are caught off guard.

Here is a full breakdown of every immigration law, rule, and change arriving in November 2026.

New Immigration Levels Plan 2027–2029 Coming This Month

The federal government is expected to table the next three-year Immigration Levels Plan covering 2027 through 2029 during the first week of November.

Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the immigration minister must table the plan on or before November 1 each year, although the legislation provides flexibility with parliamentary sitting days.

The upcoming plan is expected to establish:

Canada’s first official permanent resident admission targets for 2029,
confirm or revise the existing immigration targets for 2027 and 2028,
set targets for new temporary foreign workers and international students,
outline allocations for Express Entry, Provincial Nominee Programs, family sponsorship, and other categories, and
provide further direction on reducing the temporary resident population.

Under the existing 2026–2028 plan, Canada targets 380,000 permanent resident admissions annually and 370,000 new temporary resident arrivals in each of 2027 and 2028.

An exact release date has not been announced, but the government has confirmed the plan will be tabled in the fall 2026 parliamentary session.

Express Entry Draws Paused As IRCC Launches CRS Recalculation

Starting November 3, 2026, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is introducing a new Labour Market Integration factor into the Comprehensive Ranking System, triggering the most significant structural change to Express Entry scoring since the system launched in 2015.

IRCC will temporarily suspend all Express Entry invitation rounds while it recalculates the CRS score of every profile currently in the pool.

The recalculation process may take up to two weeks, which means the next Express Entry draw after the pause could land around November 17 at the earliest.

Candidates who were tracking draw patterns through October 2026 should expect a break in the regular biweekly cadence and prepare for a potentially different competitive landscape once draws resume.

The Labour Market Integration factor is a new CRS scoring component that awards up to 150 points for candidates without an accompanying spouse or common-law partner and up to 140 points for those with one.

The factor evaluates two possible scoring routes and applies whichever produces the higher total.

The first route awards points based on the duration of eligible Canadian work experience, with additional points for experience in occupations that IRCC has classified as designated high-wage.
The second route awards points for holding a qualifying job offer in a designated high-wage occupation, with 50, 70, or 100 CRS points available depending on the occupation’s national wage classification tier.

Candidates receive points through one route or the other, not both.

The new CRS calculator on Immigration News Canada incorporates the November 3 changes and allows candidates to estimate their updated score under the incoming rules.

Also beginning November 3, a Labour Market Impact Assessment will no longer be required for qualifying job offers used to claim CRS points or to meet relevant program eligibility requirements under Express Entry.

IRCC has confirmed that it will continue assessing the genuineness of job offers through its existing verification processes.

This change is significant for employers who want to support candidates through Express Entry without navigating the time-consuming and costly LMIA application process through Employment and Social Development Canada.

New $1.5 Million Immigration Representative Penalties

New administrative monetary penalties for unauthorized or fraudulent immigration and citizenship representation came into force on October 28, with the final regulations scheduled for formal publication in the Canada Gazette on November 4.

The penalties apply to both licensed professionals and unauthorized representatives, including those operating outside Canada.

Unauthorized paid representation carries a penalty of $5,000 per violation, while specified deliberate misrepresentation violations carry $15,000 per instance.

Cumulative penalties for repeat or multiple violations can reach up to $1.5 million. IRCC also plans to publish information about penalized immigration representatives in a publicly accessible online registry expected to launch in 2027.

Immigration applicants should always verify that their representative is properly registered with the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants or is a member of a Canadian law society before paying for any services.

New Operating Hours At 26 Canada–U.S. Border Crossings

The Canada Border Services Agency is adjusting operating hours at 26 land border crossings in three provinces effective November 1.

The affected crossings include nine in British Columbia, four in Alberta, and 13 in Manitoba.

These schedule changes accommodate the provinces’ adoption of permanent daylight saving time and maintain coordination with neighbouring U.S. border facilities.

The revised schedules will generally remain in effect until March 14, 2027.

Travellers who regularly cross at smaller border points in these provinces should check the CBSA directory of offices and services for their crossing’s updated hours before heading to the border.

Remote Area Border Crossing Permits Expire November 30

Existing Remote Area Border Crossing permits will remain valid until 11:59 p.m. on November 30, 2026.

Beginning December 1, travellers entering Canada through specified remote areas of northern Ontario or from the Northwest Angle into southern Manitoba must report in person at a port of entry or use a designated telephone reporting facility.

This replaces the long-standing RABC permit system, which allowed certain travellers to cross through remote border areas without reporting to a staffed border post.

Cottagers, anglers, and outdoor enthusiasts who have relied on RABC permits for years should plan their final-season crossings before the November 30 deadline and prepare for the new reporting requirements.

Canada Removes 90-Day Processing Time Limit For Pending LMIA Work Permits

IRCC updated its instructions on October 28, 2026, removing the previous 90-day waiting limit for certain in-Canada work permit applications submitted while an employer’s LMIA remains pending.

Previously, immigration officers could hold eligible applications for a maximum of 90 days while waiting for ESDC to reach a decision on the LMIA.

Under the updated instructions, officers must now hold qualifying work permit applications until ESDC reaches a final decision, with no administrative time cap.

For applications requiring a Quebec Acceptance Certificate (CAQ), officers must also await the relevant CAQ before making a final work permit decision.

To qualify, applicants generally need to meet these conditions: their existing work permit expires within two weeks, their employer has already submitted a complete LMIA application sufficiently far in advance, the LMIA decision remains pending, and they are applying from within Canada under applicable concurrent-processing rules.

Applicants who submit a qualifying extension application before their current permit expires may benefit from maintained status, which allows continued work authorization under applicable conditions.

This is an important distinction for foreign workers dealing with extended work permit processing times the change removes an administrative bottleneck, but it does not eliminate the LMIA requirement for Temporary Foreign Worker Program work permits.

Temporary Immigration Restrictions Scheduled To End November 27

Canada’s temporary measures affecting certain foreign nationals whose last country of residence was the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan are currently scheduled to expire on November 27, 2026.

The restrictions include the suspension of certain immigration documents and the postponement of final decisions on affected applications.

The government may extend or modify the measures before the scheduled expiry date, so affected applicants should monitor IRCC notices for updates as November 27 approaches.

What Immigration Applicants Should Do Before These Changes Take Effect

The volume and range of changes taking effect in November 2026 means that different groups of immigration applicants face different preparation timelines.

Express Entry candidates should review their profiles before November 3 to confirm that all work experience and job offer details are accurate, since the automatic CRS recalculation will draw on the information already in the system.

Candidates who believe their score will increase under the new Labour Market Integration factor should consider whether their current occupation qualifies as a designated high-wage occupation under IRCC’s classification list.

Employers supporting Express Entry candidates through job offers should note that the LMIA requirement is being removed for this purpose, but the genuineness of the offer will still be assessed.

Temporary foreign workers waiting for LMIA decisions should be aware of the removal of the 90-day processing cap for concurrent work permit applications.

Anyone planning to travel through a smaller border crossing in British Columbia, Alberta, or Manitoba should confirm operating hours before November 1.

Immigration applicants working with a representative should verify that person’s credentials through the official Government of Canada channels, especially with the new penalty regulations now in force.

The upcoming Immigration Levels Plan for 2027–2029 will also set the direction for permanent and temporary resident targets over the next three years, making this a critical month for anyone planning a Canadian immigration application.

The number of simultaneous immigration changes arriving in November 2026 is unusual, even by Canadian immigration standards.

Express Entry is being rebuilt around a new scoring philosophy that prioritizes labour market outcomes over administrative compliance.

Border security is tightening at remote crossings while operating hours shift at more than two dozen staffed ports of entry.

Enforcement is sharpening through new financial penalties that can reach $1.5 million for immigration fraud.

And the federal government is preparing to release a three-year immigration blueprint that will define how many people Canada intends to welcome through 2029.

For prospective immigrants, temporary workers, employers, and travellers, the message is the same: review your situation now, because the rules you are operating under today may not be the rules you face tomorrow.

Immigration News Canada will continue providing full coverage as each of these changes takes effect throughout November 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

When will the next Express Entry draw happen after the November 3 pause?

IRCC will resume invitation rounds after the system-wide CRS recalculation is complete, which may take up to two weeks from November 3. That puts the earliest likely resumption date around November 17, 2026, though IRCC has not committed to a specific date and the timeline depends on how long the recalculation actually takes across all profiles in the pool.

Will my existing Express Entry profile be deleted or do I need to create a new one?

IRCC will automatically recalculate the CRS score on existing profiles — candidates do not need to withdraw their profiles or create new ones. However, candidates with qualifying job offers should verify that all employment details in their profiles are current before November 3, because the recalculation pulls from whatever information is already submitted.

Can a candidate receive CRS points for both Canadian work experience and a qualifying job offer under the new rules?

No, the new Labour Market Integration factor awards points through whichever route produces the higher score, but it does not combine them. A candidate with strong Canadian work experience in a high-wage occupation may find that route yields more points than their job offer, or vice versa, and the system will automatically apply the better result.

Does removing the LMIA requirement for Express Entry job offers mean employers no longer need an LMIA to hire foreign workers?

No, this change applies specifically to qualifying job offers used for Express Entry CRS points or related program eligibility requirements. Employers who hire through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program still need a positive LMIA from Employment and Social Development Canada, and that requirement has not changed.

What happens to RABC permit holders after November 30, 2026?

All existing RABC permits expire at 11:59 p.m. on November 30, and the permit system is being permanently replaced. Beginning December 1, travellers entering through the affected remote areas of northern Ontario or from the Northwest Angle into southern Manitoba must follow CBSA’s new reporting arrangements, including reporting in person at a port of entry or through a designated telephone reporting site.

Fact-Checked: All immigration rules, penalties, effective dates, and CRS scoring details cited in this article were verified against official IRCC notices and program pages published on Canada.ca, with verification completed on November 1, 2026.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Readers should consult a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant or a qualified immigration lawyer, or review official IRCC program information, before making immigration decisions.

Kamal Deep Singh, RCIC

Kamal Deep Singh, RCIC (Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant) licensed by CICC (formerly known as ICCRC) with member number R708618. He brings extensive knowledge of immigration law and new changes to rapidly evolving IRCC.