Work in Canada means three things – to enter a Canadian labour market, perform a competitive activity, and receive remuneration for work. Canadian economic and social development policy prescribes that a foreign national can work in Canada if Canadian citizens or permanent residents are not qualified and available to do the job. The Canadian government has developed a process known as a Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), that allows it to control the Canadian labour market and verify whether a need in a foreign worker is genuine. However, certain exemptions from this process exist. There are immigration programs that allow foreign nationals to apply for a work permit directly (LMIA-exempt) or waive the requirement for a work permit.
This category includes an open work permit, in which case neither a job offer nor a confirmation letter is required, and an employer-specific work permit for which a job offer is required but no LMIA is needed. Still, the requirements of an immigration program must be met.
Some examples of eligible under this category programs are international students, spouses of skilled workers, refugees, permanent residents applicants whose applications have been approved in principal, professionals, traders, investors under free trade agreements, etc
There are several types of temporary employment which can be done without a work permit, including clergy, athletes and coaches, emergency workers, military personnel, news reporters, public speakers, crew members and many more.
A work permit is not required for specified list jobs. For instance, business visitors up to six (6) months, clergy, students working off-campus or on-campus in Canada. To find out if you can work without a permit, please contact us.
The length of time a foreign worker can work in Canada depends on 4 factors:
In general, there is no set maximum amount of time a foreign worker can work in Canada as a temporary worker.
