United States H-1B visa holders will have an alternative pathway in Canada

The federal government announced plans to recruit international talent and improve foreign credential recognition in the 2025 Budget.

Below is a look at some of the key highlights.

New pathway for H-1B visa holders

The 2025 Budget states that the government is planning to launch an expedited pathway for holders of visa H-1B.

This measure was announced to “strengthen Canada’s innovation ecosystem, address labour shortages, and attract top talent in healthcare, research, advanced industry, and other key sectors.”

This measure aligns with recent statements by Mark Carney regarding attracting tech talent to Canada through a simplified Work permits in Canada process, primarily for those affected by the increase in United States H-1B visa fees.

Strategy and plan to attract talent

The 2025 Budget proposes a one-time, targeted initiative to recruit more than 1,000 highly qualified international researchers to Canada and invest up to $1.7 billion in related measures.

These measures include providing funding for the following:

• To launch an expedited research chair initiative to recruit international researchers to Canadian universities ($1 billion over 13 years, starting from 2025–26, for the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research);
• To help these chairs obtain the necessary equipment to conduct research in Canada ($400 million over 7 years, starting from 2025–26, for the Canada Foundation for Innovation);
• To enable top international doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows to move to Canada ($133.6 million over 3 years, starting from 2026–27);
• To help universities recruit international teaching assistants (up to $120 million over 12 years, starting from 2026–27).

Further details on these measures will be announced in the coming weeks.

Establishing a fund for action

The 2025 Budget proposes $97 million over five years (starting from 2026–27) for Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) to establish the Foreign Credential Recognition Action Fund.

This aims to help Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) work with provinces and territories to improve foreign credential recognition, with a special focus on healthcare and construction.

Funding will come from existing departmental resources.