Work Permit
A. Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA)
· A Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) is a document that an employer in Canada may need to get before hiring a foreign worker.
· A positive LMIA will show that there is a need for a foreign worker to fill the job. It will also show that no Canadian worker is available to do the job. A positive LMIA is sometimes called a confirmation letter.
· If you need a LIMA, your employer must send an application to Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). They are processed by the LMIA Processing Centers of Service Canada.
· Once your employer receives the LMIA, you can apply for your work permit.
B. Temporary Foreign Workers (TFW)
For applying for Work Permit to the IRCC after you obtain your positive LMIA, you must meet the following general requirements:
• prove to an officer that you will leave Canada when your work permit expires,
• show that you have enough money to take care of yourself and your family members during your stay in Canada and to return home,
• obey the law and have no record of criminal activity
• not be a danger to Canada’s security,
• be in good health and have a medical exam, if needed,
• not plan to work for an employer listed with the status “ineligible” on the list of employers who failed to comply with the conditions.
C. Business Visits – Work without a Work Permit
A business visitor is someone who comes to Canada to take part in international business activities but does not enter the Canadian labour market. Business visitors do not need a work permit. Although a work permit is not required, business visitors from countries requiring a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) to enter Canada.
Business visitors must demonstrate the following:
• They must intend to stay in Canada for a short period, typically less than six months;
• They must not intend to enter the Canadian labour market in any way;
• Their main place of business and source of income must be located outside of Canada;
• Any profits from their business must be made outside of Canada; and
• They must meet standard Canadian entry requirements.
D. Post-Graduate Work Permit
After graduation, you may apply for a work permit through Express Entry. You must have continuously studied full time in Canada and you must have completed a program of study that lasted at least eight months. A work permit may be issued for the length of the study program, up to a maximum of three years. You must apply for a work permit within 180 days of receiving written confirmation (for example, a transcript or an official letter) from your institution indicating that you have met the requirements for completing your academic program.
E. Special LMIA Program
Service Canada has special LMIA programs for particular occupations or situations where it applies different application requirements, especially Minimum Recruitment Requirements. Some examples are:
• Stream for Lower-skilled Occupations.
• Caregivers
• Entertainment Sector and Digital Media Occupations
• Specialised Service Technicians
Caregivers Program:
Eligibility for applying for Permanent Residents:
• You must have at least 24 months of full-time work experience in Canada as a home child care provider in the four years (48 months)
• full-time work means at least 30 hours of paid work per week
• you can have breaks in employment
• any work experience you had while you were a full-time student does not count
• As a home child care provider, your work must match the description in Canada’s National Occupational Classification (NOC) Group 4411.
• foster parents are not eligible
• you must show that you performed the duties in the job description, including most of the main duties
• You must have cared for children under the age of 18, in your own home or in your employer’s home. You do not need to have lived in your employer’s home to qualify
Work Permit Steps:
• Employer gets a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA)
• Sign a written contract with the employer
• Apply for a work permit
NOC Classification for Caregivers:
1. Caregivers for children :
• Children under 18 years of age
• NOC code 6474 – Babysitters, Nannies, and Parents helpers)
2. Caregivers for people with high medical needs
• elderly persons, 65 years of age or over; or
• people with disabilities, a chronic or terminal illness
• NOC code 3152 – Registered Nurse
• NOC code 3233 – Licensed Practical Nurses
F. Global skill Strategy: Global Talent Stream
Eligibility under GTS is fairly straightforward. A Canadian employer has to be eligible under one of two categories.
A: Innovative employers seeking global talent to scale-up and grow
• This category is intended to help eligible employers to recruit highly specialized talent and requires the employer to be referred into the Dedicated Service Channel (see next section). The position must require highly specialized talent, as reflected in criteria regarding educational credentials, work experience, and knowledge, and a wage floor, or,
B: Employers seeking to fill high-skills shortages
• This category is intended to help employers recruit for key high-skilled occupations that are experiencing a labor market shortage. ESDC has released its Global Talent Occupations List.
G. LMIA Exempt Work Permit Program
The general rule is that individuals applying for a Canadian work permit require a Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). However, there are a number of exemptions to this rule.
The following individuals are exempt from requiring a Labour Market Opinion:
· Workers covered under international agreements (E.g. NAFTA Work Permits)
· Dependents (spouses and children) of Foreign Workers holding a Canadian work permit for a skilled position.
· Provincial Nominees
· Intra-company Transferees
· Participants in programs such as the Working Holiday Visa program or (IEC)
· Ph.D. students pursuing a postdoctoral fellowship at a Canadian university
· Co-op students
· Religious Workers
· Spouses and common-law partners of full-time foreign students are eligible for open work permits (not requiring a job offer or a labor market opinion).
H. International Mobility Worker Unit
The purpose of IMWUs is to pre-screen work permit applications and work permit-exempt applications (including business visitor applications) so that the employer and the TFW can feel comfortable that the TFW falls into an LMIA Exemption or is work permit-exempt. Consider submitting an opinion request where the category requirements are more subjective, such as:
• intra-company transferee – specialized knowledge worker applications; and
• NAFTA Professional applications for “management consultants” where it is not obvious that the range of consultancy services is permitted.
There are only two IMWUs now, in Toronto and Montreal, with several closed on June 16, 2012:
• IMWU-Toronto is responsible for cases where the FW will work in Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut; and
• IMWU-Montreal is responsible for cases where FW will work in Quebec, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador.
For any queries related to Work Permit and to Apply for Work Permit, contact Juzkiw Law. Call at 647-699-7984
