Starting Wednesday, the Canadian government is cracking down on “flagpoling,” a practice that led to longer lines at U.S. ports of entry and made more work for U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials.
In a press release Wednesday morning, the Canadian government announced through their U.S. embassy that they would no longer be providing work and study permits to ‘flagpolers’ effective Tuesday at 11:59 p.m.
Flagpoling is when a Canadian visa holder seeking a renewal briefly leaves that country through a land port of entry, then immediately turns around and returns to Canada, having border agents process their visa renewal in-person. It can lead to a much faster renewal time compared to the in-country, mail-based renewal program.
STARTING IN NEW YEAR
Effective Wednesday, Canadian visa-holders will no longer be able to renew their work or study permits at land ports of entry. If attempted, they will be denied and asked to submit an application in-country.
The practice has irked American and Canadian border agents, who are then tasked with processing that visa paperwork while normal cross-border traffic waits. Officials on both sides of the border have blamed the practice for longer-than-necessary lines at U.S. and Canadian border ports.
“A strong Canada-U.S. relationship keeps people and goods moving safely while protecting both sides of the border,” said Marc Miller, the Canadian Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. “Flagpoling is unnecessary and diverts resources from critical enforcement activities.
EASING BORDER CONGESTION
This change will ease border congestion, improve fairness for applicants and enhance the efficiency and security of our borders.”
According to Canadian Border Services Agency numbers, there were over 69,000 ‘flagpolers’ in that processed a visa renewal at a land border post between April of 2023 and March 2024. Most of those incidences occurred in the Pacific, Ontario or Quebec regions, although officials didn’t give more specific data.
Canadian officials added that their new regulations come with some caveats: citizens and lawful residents of the U.S. who have Canadian visa’s can still ‘flagpole’ to renew their visas, as they will be crossing into their nation of origin to do so. Professionals who have visas through free-trade agreements struck with the U.S., Mexico, Chile, Panama, Peru, Columbia and South Korea can also still ‘flagpole’ to renew their visas, as well as spouses of Panamanian, Columbian or South Korean visa-holders, international truck drivers with a work permit who have to leave Canada for work, and anyone who has an appointment booked with CBSA officials specifically for permit processing.
This solution to flagpoling has come in the midst of a major Canadian policy shift on the U.S.-Canada border. As President-Elect Donald J. Trump prepares to retake control of the White House, he’s started an open spat with Canadian leadership over their ongoing handling of the border.
While much focus has fallen on immigration, illegal migration and drug trafficking on the southern border for many years, the northern border has become a recent focus of border hawks too.
An uptick in illegal crossings, plus a spike in illegal drug trafficking and ongoing concerns over the decades-long issue of human trafficking have led Trump and other U.S. officials to demand stricter security, and a closing of loopholes, along the national boundary. Canadian officials have fought over their response, with a prominent Canadian finance minister and ally of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau resigning over the issue earlier this month.
The Canadian government has committed to spending nearly a billion U.S. dollars on strengthening their border, with enhanced security measures, new technology, and stricter immigration laws in a plan announced last week.