Meridian · Freshness tracker

What's changed.

Dated updates to visa, tax, residency, citizenship, housing, and labour policy across every country tracked. Every entry cites its primary source and the date we last verified it.

Subscribe via RSS ↗ · 3 entries shown

Country All countriesAQAntarcticaAUAustraliaBRBrazilCACanadaCNChina (Mainland)EGEgyptFRFranceDEGermanyHKHong KongIEIrelandITItalyJPJapanMXMexicoMAMoroccoNLNetherlandsNZNew ZealandPTPortugalSGSingaporeZASouth AfricaKRSouth KoreaESSpainAEUnited Arab EmiratesGBUnited KingdomUSUnited States
Category All categoriesVisa & immigrationResidencyCitizenshipTaxationLabourHousingHealthcareOther
In force 1 Jan 2025
In force Residency

Permanent-residence admission targets reduced for 2025–2027

The 2025–2027 Immigration Levels Plan reduced PR targets from 500,000/year (prior plan) to 395,000 (2025), 380,000 (2026), 365,000 (2027) — a material reduction driven by the federal government's response to housing-supply and infrastructure pressure following record post-pandemic admission volumes.

Who it affects: Future permanent residents; sectors dependent on immigration-driven labour growth.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada ↗ · Government of Canada ↗ · verified 2026-04-19

In force 23 Dec 2024
In force Residency

"Flagpoling" — border-exit-and-re-entry work-permit activation — restricted

IRCC and CBSA restricted the long-standing informal practice of "flagpoling" (exiting at a US border and immediately re-entering to activate a new work permit) from December 2024. Most work-permit activations now must be processed at a Canadian port of entry via formal admission rather than same-day exit-re-entry. Materially changes the logistics of in-Canada status transitions.

Who it affects: Temporary residents in Canada seeking to activate new work permits without travelling abroad.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada ↗ · Government of Canada ↗ · verified 2026-04-19

In force 1 Apr 2024
In force Residency

Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET) closed to new applicants

The CUAET emergency programme, launched in March 2022 after Russia's full-scale invasion, closed to new applicants from 1 April 2024. Existing CUAET holders retained their three-year work/study authorisation. Replaced by standard humanitarian and general-immigration pathways for further Ukrainian applicants.

Who it affects: Ukrainian nationals seeking emergency travel authorisation to Canada.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada ↗ · Government of Canada ↗ · verified 2026-04-19