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InterJurisconsult law firm provides wide range of legal services related to obtaining Canadian Work Permits / Work Visas and Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) for all Provinces and Territories of Canada (including in: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, and Yukon).

We assist business corporations and non-profit organisations in obtaining Canadian work permits and LMIAs for their employees, and we also assist individuals in obtaining Canadian Work Permits / Work Visas for all Provinces and Territories of Canada.

Individuals who are neither Canadian Citizens nor Permanent Residents of Canada will, in most cases, require a work permit to work in Canada.

Canadian work permit may be issued at the Canadian Border or within Canada, depending on circumstances. Many foreign nationals from countries that do not have visa waiver agreement with Canada will also require a work visa to come to Canada.

The first step in the process of applying for Canadian work permit would usually be a job offer by a Canadian employer a prospective foreign worker.

Canadian immigration officials will often require an employer to obtain a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment (previously called Labour Market Opinion (LMO)) from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) / Service Canada before they would consider a work permit application from a foreign worker.

Due to labour shortages in certain occupations, Canadian government simplified some of the procedures for obtaining Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) for "Occupations Under Pressure".

Some of the work permit applications are exempt from the general requirement to obtain Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) from ESDC / Service Canada. Here are some of the examples when such exemption may be applicable:

• Work permit application for business people and professionals under the provisions of international free trade agreements, such as:
  • Canada-European Union (EU) Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA)
  • Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). This Agreement was previously known as North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
  • Canada - Chile Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA)
  • Canada - Colombia Free Trade Agreement
  • Canada - Panama Free Trade Agreement
  • Canada - Peru Free Trade Agreement
  • Canada - Korea Free Trade Agreement
  • General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)

• "Open" work permits for spouses of some of the work permit holders and eligible student permit holders
• "Bridging" open work permits for qualifying holders of work permits who have applied for permanent residence in Canada
• Work permits for international students
• Work permits under the significant economic, social and cultural benefits to Canada category
• Work Permits under Canada's bilateral exchange agreements
• Work permits under various facilitated processing programs
• Work permits under Provincial Nominee Programs

Contact Canadian Immigration Lawyer in Toronto, Ontario for assistance in obtaining Work Permits / Work Visas and LMIAs >

The following categories of foreign workers may be transferred from a foreign company to its branch, subsidiary, parent or affiliated company in Canada without Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) approval from ESDC / Service Canada:

• Senior Executives and Managers
• Specialized Knowledge Workers

Certain requirements have to be met for an Intra-Company Transferee to be eligible for a work permit under Intra-Company Transfer provisions of Canadian immigration law.

Contact Canadian Immigration Lawyer regarding Intra-Company Transfer >

Citizens of European Union (EU) countries may be eligible to work in Canada, and citizens of Canada may be eligible to work in European Union (EU) countries, pursuant to provisions of Canada-European Union (EU) Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) in the following categories: Intra-corporate (company) Transferees, Investors, and Business Visitors for Investment Purposes, Contractual Service Suppliers and Independent Professionals; and Short-term Business Visitors. Our Canadian immigration law firm can assist in obtaining the following work permits and work visas:

• Canadian CETA work permits for citizens of EU countries (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden)
• EU CEATA work visas for Canadian citizens

Contact our immigration lawyers if you require assistance with CETA work permits/CETA visas >

Citizens of Canada, USA, and Mexico may be eligible to work in each of these countries pursuant to provisions of Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) in the following categories: Intra-Company Transferees, Traders and Investors, and Professionals. Please note that CUSMA equivalent term in the USA is USMCA (United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement), and in Mexico it is called T-MEC (México, Estados Unidos y Canadá) Our Canadian immigration law firm can assist in obtaining the following work permits and work visas:

• CUSMA work permits for US and Mexican citizens. CUSMA Professional Work Permit (previously called NAFTA Professional Work Permit) and Intra-Company Transfer Work Permits are very popular Canadian work permit options for professional and business persons.
• USMCA nonimmigrant status for Canadian citizens and USMCA Visas for Mexican Citizens. USMCA Professional (TN) Visas (previously called TN NAFTA Professionals Visas), as well as USMCA L-1A and L-1B intra-company transferee visas, and Treaty Trader (E-1) and Treaty Investor (E-2) visas are all very popular visa for professional, business and investor persons.
• T-MEC Visas for Canadian and US citizens. Mexican Visas have become very popular in the recent years amoung Canadian and US citizens.

Contact our immigration lawyers if you require assistance with CUSMA/USMCA/T-MEC Work Permits and Work Visas >

In addition to CETA and CUSMA/USMCA/T-MEC, Canada also has Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) containing mobility provisions with the following countries: Chile, Colombia, Panama, Peru and Korea.

• Canadian FTA work permits for Chilean, Colombian, Panamanian, Peruvian and Korean citizens
• Chilean FTA work permits/visas for Canadian citizens
• Colombian FTA work permits/visas for Canadian citizens
• Panamanian FTA work permits/visas for Canadian citizens
• Peruvian FTA work permits/visas for Canadian citizens
• Korean FTA work permits/visas for Canadian citizens

Contact our immigration lawyers if you require assistance with FTA work permits/FTA visas >

Canada wants to increase francophone immigration to Canadian Provinces and Territories outside of Quebec. One of the programs that facilitates such immigration is Mobilité francophone, which allows applying for a work permit without the need for Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). Some of the main requirements of this work permit category are for the francophone person to:

• be have intention to live and work in a Province or Territory outside of Quebec;
• to have French language speaking and listening skills at an intermediate level, which is equivalent to level 5 or higher in the Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC) scale;
• to have a valid Offer of Employment / Job Offer to work in a Province or Territory outside of Quebec under any Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities (TEER) category of the National Occupational Classification (NOC), except for work in a primary agriculture occupation under TEER 4 or 5;
• be qualified to work under under any TEER category of NOC, except for work in a primary agriculture occupation under TEER 4 or 5;
• be able to meet all general elgibiligty requirements for obtaining a work permit.

Contact our immigration lawyer if you require assistance with Francophone Mobility / Mobilité francophone work permits >

Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) applications can be submitted for:

• Temporary positions in Canada
• Permanent positions in Canada

LMIA process is divided into 3 main streams:

• High-wage positions
• Low-wage positions
• Global Talent positions

Through a series of government-driven changes, LMIA process has become quite complex, restrictive, expensive and time-consuming for employers seeking to hire foreign workers to work in Canada. Some employers are subjected by the Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) to time-consuming and intrusive Employer Compliance Reviews (ECR) aimed at determining their compliance with the terms of previously issued LMIA(s). Methods of verifying employer compliance include the following:

• Employer Compliance Review (ECR)
• Inspection
• Review under ministerial instructions (LMIA suspension or revocation)

Employers that fail to demonstrate during ESDC's Employer Compliance Review that they have met LMIA requirements and conditions may be found to be non-compliant and may be subjected to:

• Ban of two years (the employer name, address and period of ineligibility will be published on a public website)
• Negative LMIA being issued for any pending applications
• Revocation of previously-issued LMIAs

Despite the complexity of LMIA process, some employers may find LMIA to be the only way to fill some of their vacant temporary and/or permanent positions in Canada.

Some business people may also find it useful to apply for an LMIA in order to get a work permit to start a business in Canada.

Contact our immigration lawyers if you require assistance with LMIA process or Employer Compliance Review >

Canada has agreements with many countries to facilitate youth mobility in corresponding countries.

Young foreigners from certain countries may come to work in Canada under one of the following programs:

• Working Holiday
• Young Professionals
• International Co-op (Internship)

Work Permits under International Experience Canada (IEC) may be available (subject to quotas) to qualified applicants from the following countries:

• Australia, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Ukraine, United Kingdom.

Canadian young people may also be able (subject to requirements) to participate in Travel and Work Abroad program under International Experience Canada (IEC) in the above-listed participating countries.

Contact our immigration lawyers if you require assistance International Experience Canada (IEC) Work Permits >

Most foreign workers will need to get a job offer from a Canadian employer before they can apply for Canadian work permit.

Here are some of the Canadian web-sites that may be of assistance to foreign workers interested in finding jobs in Canada:

• Job Bank
• Indeed.ca
• Workopolis
• Monster
• Jobillico
• Charity Village