Every year hundreds of thousands of foreign workers travel to Canada to work and help grow the economy with the help of temporary work permits.
How to go about the process
Securing a temporary work permit is multi-phase process, however based on certain characteristics of the applicant they may be granted a faster procurement process. Also, depending on the applicant they may require a Temporary Resident Visa as well.
- (If required) Employer would apply for Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).
- In some cases a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) may have to be conducted by Employment & Social Development Canada (ESDC) which must result in an acceptable outcome to move forward.
- If applying for Quebec, you will also need a Certificate of acceptance (CAQ) for temporary work from the Ministère de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration.
- In some cases you may not be required to procure an LMIA, such as:
- Under international deals like Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), or the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
- Provides significat positive impact on the Canadian economy.
- Under some Canadian agreements like the Youth/Teacher exchange programs.
- As an international student be able to work co-op placements.
- Spousal work permit or study permit holders.
- Promoting traditional charitable/religious work.
- The next step would be the employer making the applicant a temporary job offer. This is based on the outcome of the LMIA, this along with a detailed job offer letter will be required by the applicant for the application process.
- With all the collected info (offer letter and LMIA approval), the candidate can submit an application to the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
- Once your work permit has been processed and approved, the IRCC will supply you with further information on securing your work permit, the work permit is issued at a Canadian Border by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), upon arrival to Canada.