Work in Canada

In order to work in Canada on a temporary basis, foreign workers must obtain a Temporary Work Permit. For many foreign workers, an offer of employment from a Canadian employer is usually required.

Work Permit / Visa

A Canadian Work Permit or a Work Visa allows international candidates to work in Canada on a temporary basis.

Types of Work Permits

There are two types of work permits :

• open work permit

•   an employer-specific work permit

Open Work Permit

An open work permit basically allows an individual to work for any employer in Canada. This work permit is not occupation-specific, employer-specific or occupation-restricted. And therefore the applicants do not require the Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) or an offer letter from an employer who has paid the compliance fee.

With an Open Work Permit, an individual may work for any employer in Canada except for those companies or industries that do not comply with labor law requirements or are involved in services like escort services, erotic massage or exotic dancing.

Types of Open Work Permit

·         Spousal Open Work Permit

·         Post Graduate Work Permit

·         Temporary Resident Permit

·         Bridging Open Work Permit

·         Co-Op Work permit

·         IEC Work permit

·         World Youth Program Permit

There’s a sub category of Open Work Permit, that is - An Occupation-Restricted Open Work Permit.

An Occupation-Restricted Open Work Permit lets an individual work for any employer, but only in the occupation listed on the work permit.

For example, in the Home Child Care Provider or Home Support Worker Pilots, the individual must work outside Quebec in one of the following National Occupational Classification (NOC) jobs:

·         Home child care provider - NOC 44100 (experience as a foster parent doesn’t count), or

·         Home support worker - NOC 44101

If an individual has this type of work permit, their employer doesn’t need an LMIA to hire them.

Employer-specific Work Permit

The Employer-specific Work Permit is a permit that allows an individual to only work for a specific employer. For example, the candidates with an job offer that is supported by an LMIA, Intra-company transferees, workers under a federal-provincial/territorial agreement, etc.

While the Employer-specific Work Permit pertains to a single employer, the Open Work Permit can come with certain conditions written on it, such as: the type and the places where an individual can perform and the duration of their work permit.

Jobs and individuals that do not require a Work Permit !

There are certain jobs that do not require a work permit, such as;

·         Athlete or coach

·         Aviation accident or incident investigator

·         Business visitor

·         Civil aviation inspector

·         Clergy

·         Convention organizer

·         Crew member

·         Emergency service provider

·         Examiner and evaluator

·         Expert witness or investigator

·         Family member of foreign representative

·         Foreign government officer or representative

·         Health care student

·         Judge, referee or similar official

·         Military personnel

·         News reporter or film and media crew

·         Performing artist

·         Producer or staff member working on advertisements

·         Public speaker

·         Short-term highly skilled worker

·         Short-term researcher

Student working off-campus (Full-time international students do not need a work permit to work off-campus during their study period. They are eligible to work up to 20 hours per week during study periods and are allowed to work full-time during their scheduled academic breaks or vacations)

Student working on-campus (Full-time international students in Canada do not need a work permit to work on-campus where they study. They are eligible to work up to 20 hours per week during study periods and are allowed to work full-time during scheduled academic breaks and vacations)

If you want to immigrate to Canada to work, you will require a work permit. At Immigrate With Isha Inc., we review all aspects of the temporary job offer to ensure that it meets Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) requirements. We review:

·         The job being offered;

·         The person’s qualifications with respect to the job offer;

·         The person’s country of citizenship;

·         The person’s current country of residence;

·         The jurisdiction of where this job will take place in Canada; and

·         Whether or not there are licensing requirements for the job

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There are several steps to the Work Permit application process. Depending upon the foreign worker's country of citizenship, a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) may also be required in order to enter Canada.

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