Canadian Work Permits: LMIA-Based and Open
How employer-specific and open work permits differ, when an LMIA is required, what both the worker and the employer must prepare, and how our licensed RCIC consultants support each side of the application.
Two Systems, Not One
Canadian work authorization runs through two parallel systems. The Temporary Foreign Worker Program is labour-market tested: the employer must obtain a Labour Market Impact Assessment before the worker can apply. The International Mobility Program covers categories exempt from that test, usually because of a treaty, a reciprocal arrangement or a broader benefit to Canada.
Which system a position falls under determines almost everything else — the cost, who files first, how long it takes, and what evidence carries the file. Getting that determination wrong at the start is the most expensive mistake in this area, because the work done under the wrong route rarely transfers to the right one.
Types of Work Permit
The categories below cover most applications we handle. Several can apply to the same person, and the better route is not always the obvious one.
LMIA-based employer-specific permits
The employer first obtains a Labour Market Impact Assessment from Employment and Social Development Canada showing the hire will not adversely affect the Canadian labour market. The worker then applies for a permit tied to that employer, occupation and location.
LMIA-exempt permits under the International Mobility Program
Certain categories are exempt from the LMIA because of a treaty, a reciprocal arrangement or a significant benefit to Canada. The employer submits an offer of employment through the Employer Portal and pays the compliance fee instead.
Intra-company transfers
Executives, senior managers and workers with specialised knowledge transferring to a parent, subsidiary, branch or affiliate of their current employer in Canada.
CUSMA professionals and traders
Citizens of the United States and Mexico working in one of the listed professions, or as traders and investors, without an LMIA where the treaty criteria are met.
Open work permits
Not tied to a single employer. Categories include post-graduation work permit holders, spouses of certain workers and students, bridging open work permits for pending PR applicants, and inland spousal sponsorship applicants.
Employer-specific vs open, in practice
An employer-specific permit ends your authorization if the job ends; an open permit does not. Changing employers on an employer-specific permit requires a new permit before starting the new role.
Eligibility Requirements
Beyond the requirements of the specific category, every work permit applicant is assessed against these general conditions.
- A genuine job offer from a Canadian employer, supported either by a positive LMIA or by a valid LMIA exemption and Employer Portal offer.
- Evidence you meet the requirements of the offered occupation — licensing, certification, education or experience as the role and province require.
- Satisfying the officer you will leave Canada at the end of your authorized stay, based on ties, purpose and the temporary nature of the work.
- Medical admissibility, including an immigration medical exam where the occupation or country of residence requires one.
- Criminal and security admissibility for you and accompanying family members.
- Sufficient funds to support yourself and any family members joining you, and to return home.
- Language ability where the specific stream or the employer's requirement calls for it.
How the Process Works
Work permit files are unusual in that two parties carry obligations. The employer's steps generally have to be finished before the worker's can begin.
- 01
Determine the route
Establish whether the position requires an LMIA or falls under an exemption. This single determination sets the cost, the timeline and who carries the burden of proof.
- 02
Employer-side preparation
For LMIA routes, the employer completes recruitment and advertising, prepares a transition plan where required, and files with ESDC. For exempt routes, the employer submits the offer of employment and pays the compliance fee.
- 03
Worker's permit application
Applications are filed online, from outside Canada, from inside Canada where eligible, or at a port of entry where the category allows it. Port-of-entry applications carry the risk of an on-the-spot refusal.
- 04
Biometrics and medicals
Biometrics are given at a collection point after the request is issued. An immigration medical exam is required for many occupations, particularly those involving healthcare, childcare or agricultural work.
- 05
Decision and port of entry
An approved application outside Canada results in a port-of-entry letter of introduction. The actual work permit document is issued by a border services officer on arrival.
- 06
Maintaining status and extending
Extensions are filed before the current permit expires; filing on time generally allows work to continue under maintained status while the extension is pending.
Documents Required
The exact list depends on the category and the visa office, but these form the core of most work permit applications.
- Valid passport with sufficient remaining validity for the intended period of work
- Copy of the positive LMIA and the LMIA number, or the offer of employment number from the Employer Portal
- Signed employment contract or offer letter setting out duties, wages, hours and location
- Proof of qualifications for the occupation — degrees, trade certificates, provincial licences or registrations
- Employment reference letters covering the experience the role requires
- Proof of funds for settlement and return travel
- Immigration medical examination results, where required by occupation or country of residence
- Police certificates where requested by the visa office
- For intra-company transfers: corporate ownership documents showing the qualifying relationship between the entities
- Marriage certificate and children's birth certificates where family members are accompanying you
Realistic Timelines
Two separate departments set two separate schedules. Both publish times that change and neither can be promised.
LMIA processing
ESDC publishes separate processing times by stream, including high-wage, low-wage, global talent and agricultural. Times vary and the recruitment period beforehand adds to the total.
Work permit processing
IRCC publishes work permit processing times by country of application and updates them regularly. Inland and outland applications are processed on different schedules.
Extensions and maintained status
Extension processing runs on its own published schedule. Filing before expiry generally preserves the ability to keep working under the same conditions while the decision is pending.
Common Reasons Work Permits Are Refused
These are the grounds IRCC commonly cites in work permit refusal letters.
- IRCC is not satisfied the applicant will leave Canada at the end of the authorized stay, weighing family ties, employment history and economic circumstances.
- The job offer or the employer's need is not accepted as genuine, or the wage offered does not match the prevailing wage for the occupation and region.
- The applicant does not demonstrate the qualifications, licensing or experience the offered occupation requires.
- The LMIA has expired, or the permit application does not match the occupation, employer or location named in it.
- Insufficient funds shown for the applicant and accompanying family members.
- Medical, criminal or security inadmissibility, or a prior misrepresentation finding.
- For LMIA-exempt categories, the exemption criteria are not clearly established in the submissions — a common issue in intra-company transfer and significant-benefit files.
What Our Firm Does
McBean Immigration Consulting Inc provides consultation and representation through Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants licensed by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants. Work authorization is granted by IRCC and by border services officers, not by us.
- Identify whether an LMIA is required or an exemption applies, before either side spends money on the wrong route.
- Advise employers on recruitment, advertising and transition plan obligations, and on Employer Portal submissions.
- Prepare the worker's application, including submissions addressing dual intent and ties.
- Act as authorized representative and manage communication with IRCC and ESDC.
- Advise on extensions, employer changes, open work permit eligibility and permanent residence pathways that build on Canadian work experience.
Employers hiring at volume can also review our corporate and contract work support.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a job offer to get a Canadian work permit?
Most work permits are employer-driven and require a job offer supported by an LMIA or an LMIA exemption. Open work permits are the exception — they are not tied to an employer, but eligibility depends on being in a defined category such as a post-graduation work permit holder, the spouse of certain workers or students, or an applicant with a pending permanent residence application.
What is an LMIA?
A Labour Market Impact Assessment is a document from Employment and Social Development Canada assessing whether hiring a foreign worker will have a positive, neutral or negative effect on the Canadian labour market. A positive assessment allows the employer to support a work permit application. The employer, not the worker, applies for it.
Can I change employers on a work permit?
On an employer-specific permit, you must apply for and generally receive a new work permit before beginning work for a different employer. On an open work permit you may change employers, subject to any conditions listed on the permit itself.
Can my spouse work if I hold a Canadian work permit?
Spousal open work permit eligibility depends on the principal worker's occupation and permit type, and the rules have been narrowed in recent years. Eligibility should be confirmed against the current criteria at the time of application rather than assumed.
How long does a work permit application take?
IRCC publishes processing times by country and application type, and they change regularly. LMIA processing at ESDC runs separately and adds to the overall timeline. Neither can be guaranteed by anyone outside those departments.
Not sure which work permit route applies?
Bring us the job offer or the role you are trying to fill and we will tell you which system it falls under and what each side needs to prepare.