Work permits for foreign nationals in Canada are categorized into two types: those requiring a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) and those that do not.
An LMIA is a document that certain Canadian employers must secure from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) before hiring a temporary foreign worker (TFW). This document ensures that employing a TFW will have a positive or neutral effect on the Canadian labour market.
Depending on their staffing needs, Canadian employers can sometimes hire temporary foreign workers from specific countries without requiring an LMIA, thanks to various international arrangements and agreements.
Career Path: Traders
Canadian employers hiring foreign nationals who work as traders can do so without an LMIA if the TFW is from any of the following six countries:
- United States
- Mexico
- Colombia
- Chile
- South Korea
- Peru
This is possible due to several international agreements Canada has with the aforementioned countries, including the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).
CUSMA, which replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), allows U.S. citizens to work in Canada without needing a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV). However, recent changes in legislation require Mexican citizens to obtain a TRV to work in Canada, unless they meet the following criteria set by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC):
- Enter Canada by air or transit through Canada to another destination;
- Be coming for a short-term visit, typically up to six months;
- Have either:
- Held a Canadian visitor, work, or student visa in the past 10 years, or
- Possessed a valid U.S. non-immigrant visa at the time of their application and travel.
Eligibility Criteria for Traders
Typically, the countries mentioned adhere to similar definitions of a trader as outlined in CUSMA. Generally, a trader is defined as someone who plans to and is capable of engaging in substantial trade of goods or services between Canada and their country of citizenship.
Career Path: Investors
If the temporary foreign worker is an investor from any of the following nine countries or regions, Canadian employers can hire them without needing an LMIA:
- United States
- Mexico
- Colombia
- Chile
- South Korea
- Peru
- European Union (under the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, CETA)
- United Kingdom
- Certain Trans-Pacific countries (under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, CPTPP)
Note: The six countries currently participating in the CPTPP are Canada, Australia, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, and Singapore.
Eligibility Criteria for Investors
Most countries with a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Canada, in line with CUSMA, share a similar definition of an investor. Generally, an investor is someone who can demonstrate a substantial investment in a Canadian business and is coming to Canada to develop and direct that business.
Career Path: Professionals
Temporary foreign workers from the following countries can be hired by a Canadian employer without an LMIA if they qualify as a professional:
- United States
- Mexico
- Colombia
- Chile
- Panama
- Peru
- GATS (General Agreement on Trade in Services) Member Nations
- Certain Trans-Pacific countries (as listed under investors in the CPTPP section above)
Defining a “Professional”
Each of Canada’s Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) defines a “professional” differently.
Under CUSMA, a professional is defined as someone who either has pre-arranged employment in Canada or a service contract with a Canadian company to perform work in an occupation aligned with their professional qualifications and one of the eligible CUSMA professions.
Intra-Company Transfers (ICTs):
ICTs involve employees of foreign companies being temporarily transferred to work in Canada for a branch, subsidiary, or affiliate of their employer.
While ICT work permits are available to all countries, certain FTAs include specific provisions:
- Executives or Senior Managers: United Kingdom, CPTPP Member Nations, CETA Member Nations, Peru, South Korea, Chile, Colombia, United States, Mexico
- Specialized Knowledge: United Kingdom, CPTPP Member Nations, CETA Member Nations, Peru, South Korea, Chile, Colombia, United States, Mexico
- Management Trainees: United Kingdom, CPTPP Member Nations, Peru, South Korea, Colombia
- Graduate Trainees: CETA Member Nations
Other Foreign Nationals Eligible for Work in Canada Without an LMIA:
Certain international agreements allow Canadian employers to hire specific foreign nationals from certain countries without an LMIA.
By Occupation: Unique work situations
- Airline personnel (operational, technical, and ground)
- Government personnel from the United States
By Occupation: Technicians
- Technicians
- Colombia
- Panama
- Peru
- CPTPP Member Nations
By Relationship Status: Spouses
- Colombia
- South Korea
- CPTPP Member Nations
- European Union (CETA): Spouses of ICTs
- United Kingdom: Spouses of ICTs
By Country/Agreement: Other
- South Korea
Contract Service Suppliers or Independent Professionals
- European Union (CETA):
- Contractual service suppliers
- Engineering technologists and scientific technologists
- Independent professionals
- United Kingdom:
- Independent professionals
- Contractual service suppliers
- Engineering technologists and scientific technologists
Contact us for more information.
