Flagpoling Explained: The Canadian government has spent $1.3 billion to increase security on the border. The government wants the border to be completely strong. Because of this, many decisions are being taken. Stopping flagpoling is also one of these decisions.
Canada Flagpoling: Canada has officially ended flagpoling for work and study permits at its border. Thus, people will no longer be able to cross the border for work permits and study permits. According to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), foreigners with temporary resident status (foreign students studying and workers working) in the country will have to submit a new online application to ‘Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada’ (IRCC).
Actually, earlier people used to go out of the country for a short time and come back and get the permit quickly, this is called flagpoling. By doing this the immigration process used to speed up. Flagpoling has been used for a long time to bypass the processing time for temporary resident work and study permits. Under flagpoling, people used to go to America and then come back to the country after spending some time there. This used to get them the permit quickly.
Security will increase on the border: Canada
The Canadian government says that by stopping flagpoling, the burden on the border will be reduced and security will also increase. Public Safety Minister David McGinty said, “This change will make work on the border easier. Canadian and American border officers will now be able to do the work for which they were trained.” Due to flagpoling, the burden on the border services of both Canada and America was increasing.
Why was flagpoling stopped?
According to CIC News, between April 2023 and March 2024, the CBSA observed more than 69,300 cases of flagpoling. Most of these were in the Pacific region, southern Ontario and Quebec. The CBSA has said that the border service is for people coming to Canada, not for those already present. Flagpoling was increasing the congestion at the border and causing delays in important work.
“Strong Canada-US relations ensure that people and goods move safely across the border and keep our borders secure,” said Immigration Minister Marc Miller. He said the change will increase fairness, reduce congestion at the border and improve operations. Work is also being done to strengthen the Canada-US border. The government has spent $1.3 billion over six years on drones, helicopters and border surveillance.
