Working In Canada

Canadian work visa is a permit that allows you to legally work in Canada as a foreigner. Do not confuse this with the approval to work for 20hrs, while on study permit. We will explore the study permit in different section. If you want to explore your opportunities of working in Canada, without going through the PR process, then work permit is the way to do so. There are two major types of work permits in Canada:

Open work permit
Employer specific work permit.

With open work permit, you are eligible to work for any employer in Canada, except for an employer:

who is listed as ineligible on the list of employers who have failed to comply with the conditions or
who regularly offers striptease, erotic dance, escort services or erotic massages.

You can only get an open work permit in specific situations, such as- International student under PGWP (post graduate work permit), destitute student, abused employee under employer specific work permit etc. To find out if you can apply for open work permit, please follow this link.

Employer specific work permit allows you to work according to the conditions on your work permit, which include:

the name of the employer you can work for
how long you can work
the location where you can work (if applicable)

Canada has introduced a new open work permit for those in Canada who have applied for IRCC's Essential Workers and International Graduate permanent residence programs.

Essential workers and international graduates can now submit their applications to IRCC. IRCC recognizes that many of the applicants of these programs may see their temporary status in Canada expire while IRCC processes their permanent residence program. As such, IRCC is providing such affected individuals with the opportunity to apply for an open work permit. Open work permits enable foreign nationals to work for any employer of their choice in Canada.

Temporary foreign worker program (TFWP)

Temporary foreign workers help Canadian employers to meet labor needs when qualified Canadians or permanent residents aren’t available. This is where TFWP comes in. Most employers need an LMIA (labor market impact assessment) before they can hire a temporary foreign worker.

An LMIA confirms

there is a need for a temporary foreign worker
no Canadians or permanent residents are available to do the job

To see if you and the temporary foreign worker you want to hire are exempt from needing an LMIA or work permit, do one of the following:

review the LMIA exemption codes and work permit exemptions

contact the International Mobility Workers Unit if you’re hiring a temporary foreign worker who is both
- currently outside Canada
- from a country whose nationals are visa-exempt

LMIA documents are valid for six months only, so ideally, foreign workers must apply for their work permits as soon as possible.

The Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) is jointly administered by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

The IMP is administered by IRCC.

The TFWP is :

For employers to fill jobs in cases where qualified Canadians are not available
LMIA must be obtained
Lead department ESDC
No reciprocity, based on labor market needs for specific occupations and regions
Employer-specific work permits (foreign workers are tied to one employer)
Uses wage instead of National Occupational Classification (NOC) to determine applicability

And The IMP is:

To advance Canada's broad economic, social, and cultural national interests
Based largely on multilateral/bilateral agreements with other countries (e.g. CUSMA)
No Labor Market Impact Assessment is required
Lead department IRCC
Based largely on reciprocity
Work permits may be employer-specific or open, depending on the situation or agreement
Does not stream by wage offered

The TWFP streams vary based on the wages offered to workers (above or below the Canadian average) and the worker’s skills level according to the National Occupation Classification (NOC) system (high-skilled or low-skilled workers).