Foreign workers: Assessing language requirements

R200(3)(a) states that:

1. "An officer shall not issue a work permit to a foreign national if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the foreign national is unable to perform the work sought."

Immigration officers should not limit their assessment of language, or other requirements to perform the work sought, solely to those described in the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). However, the language requirement stated in the LMIA should be part of the officer's assessment of the applicant’s ability to perform the specific work sought because it is the employer's assessment on the language requirement(s) for the job.

Additionally, the officer can consider:

• the specific work conditions and any arrangements the employer has made or has undertaken to make to accommodate the applicant’s limited ability in English or French and to address potential safety concerns if any; and
• terms in the actual job offer, in addition to general requirements set out in the National Occupational Classification (NOC) description for the occupation. This is applied in assessing the extent to which weak official language skills could compromise the applicant’s “ability to perform the work sought”.

An officer should NOT consider perceived challenges the applicant might face in interacting with the broader community, such as availing him/herself of community services, if this is not relevant to their job performance. Such a consideration is beyond the scope of the current legislation.

The same principles respecting official language capability and the applicant’s ability to perform the work sought apply irrespective of the skill level of the intended occupation. There is no separate standard or criteria for applicants at NOC skill levels C or D.

An applicant's language ability can be assessed through an interview or official testing such as IELTS/TEF or in-house mission testing practice. In deciding to require proof of language ability, the officer’s notes should refer to the LMIA requirements, working conditions as described in the job offer and NOC requirements for the specific occupation, in determining what precise level of language requirement is necessary to perform the work sought. System notes must clearly indicate the officer’s language assessment, and in the case of a refusal, clearly show a detailed analysis on how the applicant failed to satisfy the officer that they would be able to perform the work sought.

Canada-Provincial/Territorial Immigration Agreements

Issues of language capacity and effective community orientation are being addressed through the TFW Annexes of some Canada-Provincial/Territorial Immigration agreements.