Work Permits

Canada is ranked as the top immigration destination in the world which receives an estimate of 200,000 immigrants every year, of which, 90,000 foreigners enter Canada as temporary workers under work permit category. Work permit category is a very popular visa program. You are allowed to work in Canada for if you have skills that are needed. In most cases, you must have a valid work permit.

The applicant: These steps must be followed before you apply for a work permit:

• An employer must first offer you a job.
• Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC) must normally provide a labour market opinion (LMO) or "confirmation" of your job offer.
• After HRSDC confirms that a foreign national may fill the job, you apply to CIC for your work permit.

Spouse (wife, husband, or common-law partners) and dependents accompanying the temporary visa holder, if they want to work in Canada, they are required to have their own work permit. Your spouse may qualify for a work permit without the need for a job confirmation from Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC). Before your spouse can apply for a work permit without an HRSDC confirmation, you must meet two requirements:

• You must be authorized to work in Canada for six months or longer.
• The work you are doing must meet a minimum skill level.

If you meet these two requirements, your spouse may apply for a work permit that is “open” and that will allow them to accept any job.

NO HRSDC OPINION REQUIRED:

Some jobs do not require an HRSDC opinion. People in the following categories need a work permit but do not need a labour market opinion.

1. Workers covered under international agreements
   Professionals, traders, investors and business people coming to Canada to work under certain international agreements
2. Entrepreneurs and intra-company transferees:
   Some types of entrepreneurs, workers transferring within a company, and other types of workers who will provide significant benefit to Canadians or permanent residents by working in Canada
3. Spouses
   Spouses and common-law partners of certain foreign workers, spouses and common-law partners of certain foreign students, and spouses and common-law partners of work permit holders doing post-graduate employment
4. Spouses of certain foreign students may obtain a work permit without having to obtain a labour market opinion from HRSDC. This exemption applies to spouses who are not themselves enrolled in full-time studies. To be allowed to work in this category, you must prove that you are the spouse of a student who holds a valid student permit and who is studying full time at a post-secondary institution—a university, a community college, a CEGEP, technical or school of commercial studies—that is financed by the private or public sector and authorized by provincial law to award university degrees.
5. IT SPECIALISTS:
   HRSDC and CIC have developed a facilitated processing for IT specialists in high demand occupations in cooperation with employers and the Software Human Resources Council (SHRC). Under the facilitated processing, HRSDC has issued national confirmations for the following occupations:
   
   Senior animation effects editors
   Embedded systems software designers
   MIS software designers
   Multimedia software developers
   Software developers - services
   Software products developers
   Telecommunications software designers
   
   In the case of IT specialists, you should be aware that under the North American Free Trade Agreement, Canadian employers may hire US and Mexican citizens in the following occupations without needing an HRSDC confirmation:
   
   - Computer Systems Analysts with a Bachelor's degree, or a post-secondary degree, or a post-secondary diploma and three years work experience
   - Engineers with a Bachelor's degree or state/provincial license
   - Graphic Designers with a Bachelor's degree, or a post-secondary diploma, or a post-secondary certificate and three years work

LIVE IN CAREGIVERS: work permit to permanent resident.

Employing foreign live-in caregivers in Canada can be very important for a family in the care of children, or elderly or disabled relatives.If you are applying to work temporarily in Quebec, you must meet all of the federal requirements and you must get a Quebec acceptance certificate (CAQ) from the province.

The live-in caregiver must work in a private home, live in the house of the employer, be provided with a private, furnished room within the home, be employed on a full-time basis.

The live-in caregiver cannot work for more than one employer at a time, work for a health agency or labour contractors, or in day care or foster care.

Under the IRPA, there are special conditions allowing a foreign live-in caregiver to apply for a permanent resident visa after working for two years in Canada.