A foreign worker requires a valid work permit to be working and earning in Canada. The foreign worker may be eligible to get a work permit under the following circumstances

•   You have an Employer in Canada has a positive LMIA on your behalf
•   You have a spouse of common law with a valid study or work permit in Canada
•   You have an approval form a Province and a support letter for your work permit
•   You are a Religious worker and have a support from a Religious Institution
•   You have an approval through Intra-Company transferee
•   You have a unique talent and have a job offer under Global Talent Stream
•   You have applied under Spousal Sponsorship within Canada
•   You have a job offer under Global Skills Strategy
•   Bridging Open Work Permit

You can click on each of the topics above to jump straight to that section

LMIA

An employer, who is unable to fulfill their labour shortages either through Canadians or Permanent Residents, may use Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) process to hire short-term foreign workers. The employer must show conceivable effort to recruit Canadians or Permanent Residents through advertisements in prominent media (online or print) and Job Bank website for a minimum 30 day period. The employer must gather the resumes received and interview qualifies candidates who may fit the requirement and position. If they are not able to find a suitable candidate, the employer may choose to hire a foreign worker and submit the LMIA application along with the required documentation.

Upon receiving a positive LMIA, the employer can proceed applying for a work permit for the foreign worker. The foreign worker can get a work permit for up to 2 years to live and work in Canada. They can also bring their spouse, common-law and children to Canada. An LMIA may also be used for Permanent Residency process, whereby the foreign worker can get 50 or 200 points depending on their job position.

Dependent Work Permit

If you have a spouse or a common law; who are either studying in Canada in a public institution or working in Canada under a specific job category, you may be able to apply for a work permit under this category. The work permit will be valid as long as your principal’s study or work permit is valid.

Provincial Support

You may be able to apply or extend your work permit, if you have a support letter from a Province in Canada. You will be able to get this letter provided

1. You have been nominated by the Province for Permanent Residence
2. You have a job offer from an employer in a province

The job offer should not be a seasonal or part time and it has to be under specific job categories and wage rate that will attract and retain Canadian Citizens.

The work permit extension process under this category is different to that of Bridging Open Work Permits

Religious Worker

Promoters of Faith are called religious workers. They provide religious instructions or spiritual teachings to a group or community.

If you are a religious worker, you must have an employer in Canada to support you in this process. The employer; either a temple, Mosque, Church etc. who will provide a letter of offer specifying a wage and period of service the religious worker will serve in the location. The employer should be ready to pay an Employer Compliance Fee to support this application.

Intra-Company Transferee

The Intra-company transferee process allows companies abroad to temporarily transfer qualified employees to Canada for management effectiveness and company growth. This person must be a current employee, who has worked minimum 1 year of the multi-national company, and seeking entry to work in a parent, a subsidiary, a branch or an affiliate of that enterprise.

An Intra-company transferee is person, being transferred to a position in an Executive, Senior Managerial or Specialized Knowledge capacity. The establishment in Canada must demonstrate financial ability and furnish realistic plans in hiring of the foreign worker under this program. The initial work permit issued for the ICT position will be for a 1 year period.

Global Talent Stream

The Global talent Stream allows certain designated Canadian Employers to recruit a foreign worker who have a unique and special talent (Category A)
or
An employer who wishes to fill positions in the in-demand occupation list through highly-skilled foreign workers (Category B)

Category A: The IRCC website provides a list of Designated Employers under this category. The employers must demonstrate their operation in Canada; have a focus on innovation, willingness and capability to scale up and a have a requirement and identified the foreign worker who has the unique and specialized talent.

Category B: Click on the Global Talent Occupations list to see the applicable NOCs. The employers must demonstrate a need to hire highly skilled foreign worker as per the occupations listed. These are determined in-demand as there is in-sufficient domestic labour supply.

Both the above categories have a wage rate, the employers should comply to

Spousal Sponsorship Work Permit

Unlike the work permit mentioned under the Dependent Work Permit section, this application is processed along with a Permanent Residency Application. Please also read the detailed process explained under Spousal Sponsorship. The work permit under the Spousal Sponsorship is a Pilot initiative, which allows Spouse or Common Law present in Canada on visitor status can apply for the PR application and also submit a work permit application along with. However they will only be allowed to work only after they receive an approval and the work permit in hand. This work permit expires for 1 year or receiving the Permanent Residency. Confirmation whichever comes first. You may be allowed to extend the work permit if you haven’t received your Permanent Residency in 1 year.

Global Skills Strategy

The Global Skills Strategy allows employers to get highly skilled workers with faster applications processing times, work permit exemptions and enhanced customer service. Foreign nationals eligible for this priority processing must still meet all other eligibility and admissibility requirements, including providing police certificates if required. Eligible applicants must submit all required documents with their application to be eligible for the 2-week processing time.

GSS is applicable for candidates who are applying from outside Canada and is applicable either for (i) workers who require an LMIA, (ii) workers that are LMIA exempt and (iii) Spouses & Dependents. The qualifying worker must apply for the dependent spouse, common law and / or children who wish to process their application for a work permit, study permit or a visitor visa. Click on the National Occupancy Classifications to see the eligible criteria of workers applicable under GSS

Bridging Open Work Permit

A bridging open work permit (BOWP) lets you keep working while you wait for the results of your permanent residence application.

You may be eligible if you applied to one of the permanent residence programs below.

1. Permanent residence using Express Entry
2. Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)
3. Home Child-Care Provider Pilot or Home Support Worker Pilot
4. Caring for children class or caring for people with high medical needs class
5. Agri-Food Pilot

This is not applicable for candidates who have applied under the Quebec Skilled Worker program or residents of Quebec.

For more information on the Work Permit Application processes listed above, you may email us or contact

Global Talent Occupations List

GSS NOC Categories

Skill Type 0 (zero): management jobs, such as

•   restaurant managers
•   mine managers
•   shore captains (fishing)

Skill Level A: professional jobs that usually call for a degree from a university, such as:

•   doctors
•    dentists
•    architects

Skill Level B: technical jobs and skilled trades that usually call for a college diploma or training as an apprentice, such as:

•   chefs
•    plumbers
•    electricians

Skill Level C: intermediate jobs that usually call for high school and/or job-specific training, such as:

•   industrial butchers
•    long-haul truck drivers
•    food and beverage servers

Skill Level D: labour jobs that usually give on-the-job training, such as:

•   fruit pickers
•   cleaning staff
•   oil field workers