Work Permit

1) Work Permit (with or without LMIA) (Initial and extension): When it comes to working in Canada, Immigration Canada allows you to work via various streams, including but not limited to Post-Graduate Work Permit (PGWP), LMIA Work Permits, LMIA Exempt Work Permits, Open Work Permit, Spousal Open Work Permit (SOWP), International Mobility Programs Work Permit. It also allows you to apply for Work Permit Extensions while you wait for the decision on your Permanent Residency Application.

Post Graduate Work Permit: Depending on the length of the course taken in any Canadian DLI, an international student is eligible to apply for PGWP to a maximum of 3 years. To be eligible you have to successfully complete the course and have a letter of completion from your institution
LMIA Work Permit: In situations where an employer needs to hire a Foreign Worker due to unavailability/scarcity of Canadian Citizens or Permanent Residents, the employer would do so through the process of an LMIA also known as Labour Market Impact Assessment. It is a document provided to the employer by the Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC).
Once the employer has a positive LMIA, they can then hire a suitable Foreign Worker for the job and the FW would be eligible to get a valid work permit.
What factors impact the positive decision on a LMIA

  • If or not the hiring of the Foreign Worker would have a positive impact on the Canadian Labour Market

  • If or not the wages offered to the Foreign Worker are in accordance with the wages offered in the respective province.

  • If or not the Canadian Citizens or Permanent Residents are available to do the job in question

  • If or not hiring the Foreign Worker will help create jobs for Canadian Citizens and Permanent Residents.

  • If or not the employer in question has any previous or active labour dispute going on.

  • The number of efforts taken by the employer to hire Canadian Citizens and Permanent Residents before they are trying to hire the Foreign Worker.
As per the current norms, the temporary foreign worker has 18 months to apply for the work permit. If that period is expired and the work permit is not applied, the employer would then have to apply for a new LMIA application. The usual processing time for any LMIA application is around 2-3 months, however ESDC is trying to do a 10-day service standard for the following the three employment categories:
A) Jobs with top 10% wages/ highly paid workers
B) Skilled Trade Workers (as long as the term of employment is less than or equal to 120 calendar days)
C) Short Term Workers (includes the jobs that are for a duration of 120 days or less)
If you are an employer, know what you have to do to get the LMIA?
  • Pay the $1000 LMIA processing fee to start the process
  • Ensure that sufficient advertising efforts have been made through the Canada Job Bank and other advertising portals to hire the Canadian Citizens and Permanent Residents before you offer the job to the Foreign Worker
  • Ensure that you have not laid off or reduced hours for any Canadian Citizen or Permanent Resident because you wanted to offer the job to the Foreign Worker
  • Ensure that the financials of the company justify the requirement of hiring the Foreign Worker and ensure that you will be able to support their salary.
  • Ensure that the language listed in the job are only English and French. Any other language should only be there if it is a requirement of the job.
Note: The validity of the LMIA is not same as the duration of employment of LMIA. The duration of employment is usually as per the length of the work permit issued to the Foreign Worker.
There are basically three different options for the LMIA depending on what kind of support is being given to the Foreign Worker
  • LMIA to support just the work permit application
  • LMIA to support the permanent application. The work permit in these cases is generally issued for a period of 2 years as long as the Foreign Worker being hired meets the requirements of the LMIA and the job position offered. Under this category, there is no option to extend just the work permit as is, even if the application for Permanent Residency is under process.
  • LMIA to support both the work permit and permanent residency application.
LMIA Exempt Work Permit: In most cases, where an employer needs to hire a Foreign National, they will need to go through the process of the LMIA, however there are certain exemptions to this criterion. If the job offered is under the category of the following, they will not need the LMIA
  • Jobs in any international trade such as NAFTA/CUSMA or any other Significant Investment Projects
  • Jobs that are in accordance between the federal and provincial/territorial government such as provincial nomination programs
  • Jobs that are in the best interests of Canada such as any kind of reciprocal employment or charitable or religious work.
  • Jobs that would be significantly beneficial to Canada in terms of economic, social or cultural prospective. Jobs like technical workers, creative artists, self-employed engineers, francophone and intracompany transfers would be a few to name under this category
  • There are certain categories of jobs where the employment category is Reciprocal. This means that the category where the Canadian Citizens would have the similar kind of opportunities in different countries, including but not limited to athletes, young professionals under International Experience Canada and professionals like professors, scientists etc.
Open Work Permit: Below mentioned are the categories where an individual can apply for an open work permit.
  • If they do not have any other means of support, meaning they have either filed for a refugee claim or they are under an unenforceable removal order
  • If they have certain kind of Permanent Residency files in process like the Live-In Caregivers, or the spouses or common-law partners who are being sponsored to come to Canada.
  • The people who have been declared as the convention refugees
  • The people who have applied for permanent residency under the Humanitarian and Compassionate Grounds.
  • All the family members of the above-mentioned categories
  • The people who are participating in the Canada World Youth Programs
  • People who are participating in the Young Worker Exchange Program
  • The people who are family members of foreign diplomats or military personnel who do not need the LMIA.
  • Any kind of professional athletes who will be entering Canada and they would need some other work while being in Canada to support themselves while playing for any Canadian team
  • Anyone who has submitted an application for permanent residency under the spouse or common-law in Canada class category (SCLPC) as long as they have submitted the PR application and their spouse/partner is a Canadian Citizen or Permanent Resident. They must be residing at the same address as their sponsor/partner and must have a valid status in Canada such as a visitor/student/worker.
  • Anyone who is a spouse of an International Student
  • Anyone who is a spouse of Skilled Foreign Worker
  • Anyone whose work permit is expiring soon and they have a permanent resident application in process in one of the following categories (Federal Skilled Trades Program, Federal Skilled Worker Program, Canadian Experience Class or Provincial Nominee Program)
Co-op Work Permit: In certain situations, for an international student, the work placement is a part of their study program in which cases, they would apply for a co-op work permit. This authorization allows them to work for a specified employer and is counted towards their mandatory work placement in their program of study.
Spousal Open Work Permit: Anyone who is an international student, temporary foreign worker, Canadian citizen or permanent resident are allowed to sponsor their spouse or common-law partner to come to Canada. Those spouses are allowed to have an open work permit while their Permanent Residency application is in progress. For the spouses or common-law partners of the people who are students or temporary residents will get the work permit equivalent to the length of their partner’s permit.
Intra-Company Transfers: IRCC allows the international companies to temporarily transfer the employees from different parts of the world to Canada by allowing them to have work permits. These DO NOT need the LMIA. The major condition to these transfers/work permits is that the person being transferred should be in a position of executive, senior managerial or special knowledge category.
2) International Mobility Program: This program allows employers in Canada to hire a foreign worker without having to apply for an LMIA. The positions that would provide various economic, cultural or other benefits for Canada and would provide reciprocal benefits for Canadian Citizens and Permanent Resident would be a part of this program. The following people would majorly be covered under this category:
  • The people entering Canada as a part of trade treaties such as CUSMA (Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement) or the CETA (Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement) or NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement)
  • The people entering Canada as Intra-company transfers
  • General Agreement on Trade in Services
  • Canada-Chile Foreign Trade Agreement
  • Canada-Peru Foreign Trade Agreement
  • Canada-Colombia Foreign Trade Agreement
  • Canada-Korea Foreign Trade Agreement

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