"Temporary residency" is a protected visa status in Canadian immigration  law that allows foreign nationals to remain within Canada’s borders  under specific conditions. These conditions include but are not limited  to a particular time-frame, travel restrictions, study or work permit  requirements, sponsors, additional fees, etc. Essentially, foreign  nationals may remain within Canada as long as they consistently fulfill  these requirements or risk criminalization or deportation. In the  context, of COVID-19 attaining and maintaining temporary residency  status has become even more difficult due to work and health  restrictions, which puts nearly 429,300 lives at risk. It is essential  to understand the "two-fold risk" that foreign nationals face during the  global pandemic: on the one hand, many foreign nationals flee their  home countries due to internal displacement, persecution,  discrimination, or poor living conditions. Upon their arrival to Canada,  foreign nationals are given an "implied status" that imposes criteria  to constrain their rights and reduce their access to resources that  would otherwise ensure them a higher quality of life. In which case,  foreign nationals' likelihood of exploitation and revictimization  becomes significantly higher at the systemic level.

In this  podcast, our columnist Maria-Laura Fernandez-Pineda interviews Dr. David  Moffette on immigration law and the influence of COVID-19 in the lives  of implied or temporary status individuals.