Regulation 198 — Removal — timing and conditions
Text of provision
(1) Subject to subsection (2), a foreign national may apply for a work permit when entering Canada if the foreign national is exempt under Division 5 of Part 9 from the requirement to obtain a temporary resident visa.
(2) A foreign national may not apply for a work permit when entering Canada if
(a) a determination under section 203 is required, unless
(i) the Department of Employment and Social Development has provided an assessment under paragraph 203(2)(a) in respect of an offer of employment — other than seasonal agricultural employment — to the foreign national, or
(ii) the foreign national is a national or permanent resident of the United States or is a resident of Greenland or St. Pierre and Miquelon;
(b) the foreign national does not hold a medical certificate that they are required to hold under subsection 30(3); or
(c) the foreign national is a participant in an international youth exchange program, unless they are a national or permanent resident of the United States or their application for a work permit was approved before their entry into Canada.
Plain English
Regulation 198 provides that a removal order is enforceable after it comes into force (typically after appeal rights are exhausted or waived) and that CBSA must remove the person as soon as is reasonably practicable.
The obligation to remove is on CBSA — the person subject to the order may not defer removal voluntarily, though CBSA may exercise discretion in limited circumstances to defer removal temporarily.
Practical effect
The duty to remove "as soon as reasonably practicable" is a strong statutory obligation. CBSA is not required to wait indefinitely for a person to arrange their affairs. Deferral requests — requests to postpone scheduled removals — are assessed by CBSA on limited grounds including: pending applications with legal stays, compelling medical circumstances, and situations where removal would be temporarily impossible. Deferral is not available as a general compassionate measure; it is available only where specific factors meet the deferral criteria.