Most immigrants require a job offer to immigrate to Canada.

Foreign applicants may apply for a work permit to begin working for the employer in Canada. The work permit application may be submitted prior to filing for permanent residence, or while waiting for the permanent residence application to be processed.

Understanding Canadian Work Permits

A Canadian work permit allows foreign nationals to work legally in Canada for a specific period. There are two main types of work permits:

  • Employer-Specific Work Permit: Tied to a specific employer, job, and location. Requires a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) or an LMIA-exempt offer of employment.

  • Open Work Permit: Allows you to work for any employer in Canada (with some exceptions). Primarily for spouses of skilled workers and international students.

The Application Process

1. Secure a Job Offer

Unless you are the spouse of a foreign worker or an international student, you will need to find employment in Canada before you can begin the work permit process. At Matrixvisa, we help our clients amend their resumes to suit Canadian employers and give them direction to job hunt.

2. Apply for “LMIA” or “Offer of Employment Exempt from an LMIA”

Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA)

The employer that offers you a job must first:

  • Advertise: publish the position on job advertisement sites in Canada for 28 days and preform reasonable recruitment efforts in Canada
  • Apply: If no Canadian worker with the right skills apply, the employer submits an LMIA application to Service Canada through the LMIA portal
  • Pay: At the time of submission, the employer must pay $1000 CAD application fees (although some specific types of LMIA applications, such as those for agricultural workers or caregivers have fee exemptions)

LMIA-exempt offer of employment

The employer that offers you a job may fit into the LMIA exemptions category. Some job offers are granted exemption from a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) when the hiring of a foreign worker is deemed to be beneficial to Canada. Such conditions include:

International Agreements: Certain jobs covered under international trade agreements like CUSMA (formerly NAFTA), CETA, and others may be exempt. 

Significant Benefit to Canada: This includes situations where the foreign worker’s presence brings economic, social, or cultural benefits to Canada, such as in the case of intra-company transferees with specialized knowledge or self-employed individuals with unique skills.

Provincial Nominations: In some provinces, their nomination programs permit employers to submit job positions to the government and thereby nominate an applicant. In these cases, applicants with a provincial nomination may apply for a work permit that is exempt from an LMIA.

In these cases, the employer must submit an application through the IRCC Employer Portal where they will enter the job details and choose the correct exemption code. An employer compliance fee of $230 is paid at the time of submission.

3. Submit Work Permit Application

Once the employer obtains a “Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA)” or “Offer of Employment Exempt from an LMIA”, the applicant may submit an application for a Work Permit to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

Applications are submitted online through the IRCC portal, while some applicants submit paper applications for specific reasons to certain visa offices.

Documents Required for a Work Permit Application

Your application must include all the required documents for a work permit, including:

  • A valid passport.
  • Job offer letter or contract
  • LMIA or offer of employment number
  • Proof of qualifications required for your position (such as degrees, certificates).
  • Proof of work experience (as required by the job position offered)
  • Police clearance certificate (for every country applicant resided since 18 years old)
  • Medical exam results
  • Significant evidence to prove you’ll leave Canada when your permit expires
  • Military service documentation (if applicable)
  • Additional documents may be needed based on your country of origin or work permit type
  • Photo
  • Relationship documents for family (where applicable: marriage certificates, proof of common-law relationship, birth certificates, etc.)

Cost of a Work Permit Application

Legal Fees

Matrixvisa’s Legal fees are $2,750 CAD, split into 2 phases but payable by the time we submit your visa application. If a person emigrates with a job offer, an application for a work permit must be submitted (as permanent residence applications takes too long to process (6 to 24 months).

Application Fees

The government fees are payable to the Government of Canada:

  • $155 per work permit
  • $100 per open work permit (on top of work permit fee)
  • $150 per school going child (study permit fee)
  • $100 per infant/toddler (visitor record fee)
  • $170 for biometrics per family (or $85 for an individual). We will tell you when and where to go.

Other Costs

  • Medicals, roughly $300 per person. We will tell you when and where to go.
  • Police Clearance Certificates (everyone included over 18 years old). Each country has its own fees. In South Africa the cost is roughly R180 per person.

4. Biometrics and Additional Steps

  • After applying, you will be asked to provide biometrics (fingerprints and photo) at a Visa Application Centre (VAC).
  • You may be asked to submit additional documents or be called in for an interview.

5. Wait for a Decision (Processing Times)

Processing times vary for each country. Find processing times here and select “Temporary Residence”.

6. Approval

Once approved, you’ll receive a Port of Entry (POE) Letter of Introduction (if applying from outside Canada) or the work permit itself (if applying from within Canada). If refused, review the reasons provided by IRCC and consider reapplying or addressing the issues.

7. Arrive in Canada

Present your POE Letter, passport, and supporting documents to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officer. The officer will issue your work permit, specifying the employer, job, and duration.