Work
Elevate your resume with Canadian work experience
A foreign national must obtain authorization from IRCC in order to commence any employment in Canada. There are several options available to secure a temporary Canadian work permit, depending on the applicant’s qualifications.
International Experience Canada (IEC) program – Get the international exposure you need to be successful in your future field. If you are between the age of 18 and 35, from one of the participating 30+ countries, you have the opportunity to apply for a work permit in one of the 3 categories in this program (Working Holiday, Young Professionals, International Co-op Internship). Each country has separate pools (some only has 1 or 2 categories) and each have their own quota every year. Once the quota is reached, that specific pool closes until the following year.
Temporary Foreign Worker program (Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) supported work permit) – employer sponsored work permits help Canadian employers hire foreign workers to fill various positions to help with the labour shortages across Canada.
International Mobility Program – various work permit applications where an LMIA is not required.
Post Graduate work permit – Upon completion of an eligible Canadian post-secondary program you will be able to obtain an open work permit to apply your new knowledge and skills in the real world.
Open spousal work permit – In various programs your spouse or common-law partner is eligible to obtain an open work permit for the same duration as your own permit.
Bridging Open work permit – After submitting your permanent residence application through one of the various economic programs, you will be eligible to obtain a bridging work permit that lets you keep working in Canada, while you are waiting for the decision of your application.
Co-op / Off-campus work permit – depending on your studies you might be eligible to obtain an accompanying work permit.
Work permit extension – If your current work permit is expiring, an extension must be submitted prior to the expiry date, in order to maintain your status as a worker and to be able to continue working.
Restoration – If your work permit expired and no extension request was submitted prior to the expiry of your document, you are now out of status in Canada. You must immediately stop working and an application to restore your status must be submitted or you will have to leave Canada.
Employers
Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) applications (High/low wage or dual intent) – Are you a business owner, with a functioning company that is dealing with a genuine labour shortage that affects the operation and therefore losing revenue? You then have the option to apply for an LMIA to Service Canada. You will have to conduct mandatory recruitment the position, and explain why no
Canadians or permanent residents were able to fit the position. If your assessment receives a positive decision, you will be allowed to widen the seat and fill the position with a foreign worker. The successful candidate will have to apply for a work permit with the support of the LMIA. We can guide you through the LMIA process, assisting with each step and then work with your candidate to obtain the work permit.
Intra-company transfers – this option is available to international businesses and it allows temporary transfer of qualified employees to a Canadian branch to facilitate company operations. The employees positions must be either on a senior level (executives or senior managers) or have specialized knowledge that is currently not available in Canada. No LMIA is required for this work permit.