Program requirements for the Global Talent Stream

Eligibility for the Global Talent Stream

You may be eligible for Category A of the Global Talent Stream if you’ve been referred to the Global Talent Stream by 1 of the stream's designated partners and if you’re hiring an individual with unique and specialized talent.

Note that if the requested occupation is included on the Global Talent Occupations List, it’ll be processed as a Category B application and must meet Category B requirements.

Or

You may be eligible for Category B of the Global Talent Stream if you’re seeking to hire highly-skilled foreign workers to fill positions in in-demand occupations found on the Global Talent Occupations List. A referral isn’t required to be eligible for Category B.

As an employer applying through the Global Talent Stream, you must comply with the program requirements for the Global Talent Stream. You must also uphold the conditions and rules set out in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act regarding hiring a temporary foreign worker (TFW).

The TFW Program (TFWP) has measures in place to verify and ensure employer compliance with these requirements, and employers who fail to do so will be subject to consequences for non-compliance.

Processing fee

You must pay $1,000 for each position requested under the Global Talent Stream to cover the cost of processing your application.

• The processing fee payment (in Canadian dollars) can be made by:
  • Visa
  • MasterCard
  • American Express
  • Certified cheque (shall be made payable to the Receiver General for Canada)
  • Money order (shall be made payable to the Receiver General for Canada)
  • Bank draft (shall be made payable to the Receiver General for Canada)
• The processing fee won’t be refunded if your application is withdrawn at your request, cancelled or if your application receives a negative assessment. Refunds are issued only if a fee was collected in error
• The processing fee cannot be paid by nor be recovered from the TFWs

Recruitment fees

• cost of using a third-party representative
• advertising fees
• fees paid by a foreign national for assistance with finding or securing employment
• fees paid by an employer for assistance or advice in the hiring of foreign nationals

As an employer, you must confirm and ensure that you or anybody recruiting on your behalf doesn’t charge or recover any recruitment fees, directly or indirectly, from the TFWs. Failure to do so will result in a negative Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) decision.

Third-party representatives

Recruiters

A recruiter or anybody recruiting for the employer is someone who:

• finds or attempts to find an individual for employment with the employer, or
• assists another person in finding or attempting to find an individual for employment with the employer, or
• refers a foreign national to another person who finds or attempts to find an individual for employment with the employer

Some provinces and territories have specific requirements for recruiters and recruitment activities. It is your responsibility to ensure you comply with those requirements. As an employer, you’re also responsible for the actions of anyone who recruits on your behalf.

New employers

Employers who haven’t employed a TFW in the past 6 years prior to submitting a LMIA application will be subject to a review. The employer must demonstrate that they made reasonable efforts to provide a workplace that is free of abuse and that they weren’t an affiliate of an employer who is ineligible for the TFWP or in default of any amount payable in respect of an administrative monetary penalty.

A workplace that is free of abuse includes

1. proactive efforts made to prevent workplace abuse
2. reactive measures taken to stop abuse

An affiliate includes an employer that is controlled by another employer

1. 2 employers that are under common control, or
2. employers that aren’t operated at arm’s length

Business legitimacy

All employers applying to the TFWP must supply documents along with their LMIA application, including a Global Talent Stream application, to demonstrate that their business and job offer are legitimate.

Labour Market Benefits Plan

You’re required to work with Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) to develop a Labour Market Benefits Plan that demonstrates your commitment to activities that will have lasting, positive impacts on the Canadian labour market.

A Labour Market Benefits Plan will help you and the Government of Canada identify and track your overall job creation, skills and training investments that will benefit the Canadian economy through your employment of highly skilled global talent.

The commitments in your Labour Market Benefits Plan will be divided into mandatory and complementary benefits.

If you’ve been referred by 1 of the Global Talent Stream’s designated partners and are seeking to hire unique and specialized talent (Category A), you must commit to creating jobs for Canadians and permanent residents as your mandatory benefit.

If you’re an employer in Canada seeking to hire highly-skilled foreign workers to fill positions in occupations on the Global Talent Occupations List (Category B), you must commit to increasing skills and training investments for Canadians and permanent residents as your mandatory benefit.

In addition to the applicable mandatory benefit for Category A or B in your Labour Market Benefits Plan, you must also commit in the Plan to achieving a minimum of 2 complementary benefits with at least 1 activity for each benefit. The complementary benefits identified by an employer in their Plan cannot be the same as the mandatory benefit.

Complementary benefits, could include, but aren’t limited to job creation, investment in skills and training, transferring knowledge to Canadians and permanent residents, enhanced company performance and implementing best practices or policies as an employer for your workforce.

If you’re applying for positions in both Category A and Category B, you must commit to 1 activity as part of the job creation benefit and 1 activity as part of the investments in skills and training benefit, as well as at least 2 complementary benefits.

Activities to support mandatory and complementary benefits outlined in an employer’s Labour Market Benefits Plan could include, but aren’t limited to:

• increasing the number of Canadians and permanent residents employed full-time and part-time by the employer
• establishing or enhancing educational partnerships with local or regional post-secondary institutes or with other organizations that are supporting skills and training (for example, providing post-secondary institutes with free licenses or other access to specialized software that will help to build student skills on key industry tools)
• providing paid co-op or internship opportunities for Canadians and permanent residents at the firm
• developing, implementing or participating in initiatives that increase the participation of underrepresented groups in the workplace, (for example, hosting and/or attending events that support the professional development and/or hiring of underrepresented groups in the labour market and women in high-skilled technical and/or leadership roles at the firm)
• providing direct training to Canadians or permanent residents, including supporting employees to travel to and attend industry or industry sector conferences relevant to the development of their specialized skillset
• ensuring that the highly skilled foreign workers directly supervise and mentor Canadian workers at the firm to support knowledge transfer
• increasing growth of revenue, employment or investment at the firm
• developing or improving best company practices or policies related to attraction/retention of Canadian workforce (for example, by supporting code sprints and hackathons to hire new employees), and
• developing or enhancing partnerships with organizations that assist with the identification of top domestic capital

ESDC will work with you to complete the Labour Market Benefits Plan during the Global Talent Stream application process.

If you already have an approved Labour Market Benefits Plan and are submitting another application to the Global Talent Stream for additional position(s), you won’t have to submit a new Labour Market Benefits Plan; however, updates or additions to your existing Plan may be required.

As part of this review, you could be asked to provide an update on your commitments to date in the Labour Market Benefits Plan. You could also be asked to amend or expand existing commitments to reflect your request for additional position(s). This will help ensure that returning employers to the Global Talent Stream continue to provide positive lasting benefits for Canadian workers. Note that a decision by a returning employer not to amend their Labour Market Benefits Plan on request by ESDC officials could result in a negative assessment for the additional requested position(s).

If you anticipate applying to the Global Talent Stream for multiple TFWs over a 12-month period, a Labour Market Benefits Plan can be developed based on the forecasted number of positions to be requested, provided that the commitments made in your Plan reflect the additional positions sought. If you and ESDC officials agree to use this model, you likely won’t have to update your Plan each time you return to the Stream until your forecast has been met. Note that this applies only to the Labour Market Benefits Plan element of the application process, as you’re still required to submit an application each time you wish to access the stream.

As noted under the Processing Fee section of the Program Requirements for the Global Talent Stream, processing fees for an application won’t be refunded in the event of withdrawal or a negative assessment, or for choosing to go through a different TFWP stream.

Progress Reviews

Progress Reviews of your Labour Market Benefits Plan are separate and distinct from measures to ensure your compliance as an employer with the requirements and conditions of hiring a TFW.

Progress Reviews of your Plan will be conducted by ESDC on an annual basis to assess how well you’re meeting the employer-specific commitments detailed in your Plan. The annual reviews are your opportunity to report on the progress that your company is making in creating lasting, positive impacts on the Canadian labour market.

Your cooperation and responsiveness with ESDC in regard to scheduling and conducting these progress reviews (including providing supporting documentation) is important to ensuring your continued eligibility for the Global Talent Stream.

If you don’t make reasonable efforts to meet your Plan commitments, or complete your progress review within the requested timeframe, you’ll likely receive a negative decision on future applications to the Global Talent Stream for a period of 2 years. The 2-year period, during which applications to the Global Talent Stream would generally result in a negative decision, is to begin on the date that the employer is evaluated as having made unreasonable efforts on their Labour Market Benefits Plan. This progress review assessment of your Labour Market Benefits Plans won’t impact your access to other program streams.

Note that, you’ll be accountable for the benefits committed to in your employer-specific Labour Market Benefits Plan even if a foreign national who you hired for a position under the Global Talent Stream becomes a permanent resident of Canada while working in your organization.

The first progress review of your Labour Market Benefits Plan will be scheduled approximately 1 year after you sign your Plan. The review date for your first progress review doesn’t change even if you make amendments to your Labour Market Benefits Plan through subsequent Global Talent Stream applications for additional foreign workers. The review date also doesn’t change depending on when your foreign worker is issued a work permit.

Recruitment and advertisement

While there is no minimum recruitment requirement for the Global Talent Stream, you’re encouraged to recruit Canadians and permanent residents before offering a job to a TFW. You’ll be asked, as part of your application, to describe any recruitment efforts conducted.

Wages

Wages offered to TFWs should be similar to wages paid to Canadian and permanent resident employees hired for the same job and work location, and with similar skills and years of experience.

For the purpose of the Global Talent Stream, you must pay the prevailing wage, which is defined as the highest of either:

• the regional median hourly wage posted on Job Bank
• the wage that is within the wage range that you’re paying your current employees hired for the same job and work location, and with the same skills and years of experience
• under Category A, for the first 2 unique and specialized positions requested by an employer and approved by the TFWP per calendar year, at least $38.46 per hour that amounts to no less than a base salary of $80,000 annually. For any additional unique and specialized positions requested by the employer (in other words, more than 2) and approved by the TFWP per calendar under Category A, at least $72.11 per hour that amounts to no less than a base salary of $150,000 annually
• under Category B, for occupations with wage floors, employers must offer the hourly wage rate at minimum. Annual wage floors are provided for illustrative purposes only

To determine the median wage on Job Bank:

• go to Compare wages on Job Bank (wage updates took place during the week of November 14, 2022)
• in the “Job search” field, enter the job title or the National Occupations Classification (NOC) Code (2021 version) that best describes the duties and requirements of the position
• the hourly median wage will be listed in the middle column, by community or area. If the median wage is listed as "N/A", consult the provincial or territorial wage. If it isn’t available, consult the national wage

The TFW wages must be reviewed and adjusted, when applicable, at least annually, to ensure they continue to receive the prevailing wage for the occupation and region where they’re employed.

If the position requires additional skills and years of experience over the applicable NOC description, the wages offered should reflect these additional requirements.

For the purpose of determining the wage rate being offered, we’ll only consider guaranteed wages, which exclude:

• overtime hours
• tips
• benefits
• profit sharing
• bonuses
• commissions
• other forms of compensation

Note that failure to meet the prevailing wage will result in a negative LMIA decision.

Job duties and working conditions

The TFWs you hired through the TFWP must only perform duties that correspond to the occupation they were hired for.

Canadian law protects all workers in Canada, including TFWs. The exploitation of TFWs is considered a violation of Canadian laws and human rights.

Employers must:

• pay TFWs for all work (including overtime, where required by law)
• provide workplace safety insurance
• offer TFWs the same benefits as other workers, and
• not take the TFWs identification

Employment in most occupations is covered under provincial or territorial legislation that deals with labour and employment standards, such as hours of work, working conditions and termination of employment. In fact, every province or territory has a Ministry of Labour that can provide information to assist employers and TFWs with questions or issues related to work.

Note: Some employers are federally regulated and, therefore, are covered by the employment standards under the Canada Labour Code.

Health insurance

In applicable provinces/territories, you must obtain and pay for private health insurance that covers emergency medical care for any period during which the TFW isn’t covered by the applicable provincial/territorial health insurance system.

The coverage the employer purchases must correspond with the TFWs’ first day of work in Canada and the costs mustn’t be recovered from the TFWs.

During an employer inspection, an ESDC/Service Canada inspector will look at the policy coverage to make sure that it hasn’t been charged back to the worker, and that it covers at minimum the costs of basic emergency health care for sudden illness or injuries during the period the TFW isn’t covered by the provincial/territorial health insurance. Some private insurance companies offer more comprehensive plans, but ESDC will accept a basic plan so long as it ensures that the TFW won’t have to pay for medical care if they become sick or have an accident while working in Canada.

To demonstrate compliance, the employer must be able to show proof of payment for suitable private health insurance for each TFW, as well as the terms of the policy coverage (for example, the details of what is covered).

Workplace safety

You must always ensure that the TFWs you want to hire under the TFWP are covered from the provincial or territorial workplace safety insurance provider, where required by law. Where the provincial or territorial legislation allows employers the flexibility to opt for a private insurance plan, you must ensure that:

• any private plan chosen provides better or the same level of compensation to that offered by a province or territory
• all employees on the worksite are covered by the same provider

If you’re enquiring about private insurance plan equivalency, contact the appropriate provincial or territorial workplace safety authority.

The coverage you purchased must correspond with the TFWs' first day of work in Canada and the costs mustn’t be recovered from the TFWs.

Employment agreement

Although a copy of the employment agreement isn’t required at the time of LMIA submission, you must commit to providing a completed and signed employment agreement to each foreign worker on or before their first day of work with you. An employment agreement must:

• include information for employment in the same occupation, with the same wages and working conditions as those set out in the offer of employment
• be drafted in either English or French as preferred by the foreign worker, and
• be signed by both the employer and the foreign worker

Employers can develop and use their own employment agreement as long as it contains all the necessary information. You can also use the employment agreement template.

Employers must maintain complete employment records that fully document compliance with the employment agreement throughout the duration of the employment.

For positions in Quebec, visit the website of MIFI website (French only) for specific requirements regarding the employment contract.

Language of work

English or French are the only languages you can identify as a job requirement in your application and job advertisement. However, if another language is essential for the job, you must provide a justification on the application.

Positions with no language requirement

There may be rare cases where an offer of employment doesn’t require any language for the foreign national.

If there’s no language required for the job, you must provide more details on the application, including:

• how the foreign national will perform job duties in an effective and safe manner without the ability to communicate in any language, and
• the reasonable measures that are in place to ensure health and safety of all persons at the place of work. To demonstrate this, you must also provide applicable and appropriate documentation with your application

Examples of reasonable measures are:

• having translated workplace safety manuals and procedures
• providing workplace safety training in the foreign national’s identified language
• using international safety signs that use symbols (pictures)
• having official translators on-site, and/or
• employing other workers or supervisors who can speak with the foreign nationals in their identified language

Unionized positions

If you’re applying to hire TFWs for positions covered under a collective agreement, you must:

• advertise and offer the same wage rates as those established under the collective agreement
• offer the TFWs the same terms and conditions as Canadian and permanent resident workers
• submit a copy of the section of the collective bargaining agreement on the wage structure

The hiring of TFWs mustn’t affect current nor foreseeable labour disputes at the workplace. During LMIA assessment, if it is determined that hiring TFWs is likely to adversely affect the course, the outcome or the settlement of any labour dispute, you’ll receive a negative LMIA decision.

We recommend that you work actively with union representatives to recruit Canadians and permanent residents.

Employer compliance

As an employer, you must comply with all the TFWP requirements for the position you’re requesting. Learn about employer compliance and the possible consequences of non-compliance. The Progress Reviews on your Labour Market Benefits Plan under the Global Talent Stream are separate and distinct from these employer compliance measures.

List of designated partners for referral to Category A of the Global Talent Stream (as of December 2021)

For Category A of the Global Talent stream, employers must be referred by 1 of the stream’s designated referral partners. The role of designated referral partners is to refer innovative Canadian companies with whom they’re able to vouch for in terms of legitimacy and eligibility for Category A.

The list of designated referral partners for the Global Talent Stream includes the following organizations (as of December 2021):

Pan-Canadian

• Business Development Bank of Canada
• Council of Canadian Innovators
• Global Affairs Canada’s Trade Commissioner Service
• Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada - Accelerated Growth Service
• Invest in Canada
• National Research Council - Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP)
• Privy Council Office, Special Projects Team
• TECHNATION

The Atlantic Region

• Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (multiple locations across the region)

New Brunswick

• Ignite Fredericton
• Venn Innovation
• Government of New Brunswick – Department of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour

Newfoundland and Labrador

• Genesis

Nova Scotia

• Cape Breton Partnership
• Government of Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia Business Inc.
• Halifax Partnership

Prince Edward Island

• Government of Prince Edward Island, Island Investment Development Inc.

Central Canada

Ontario

• Burlington Economic Development Corporation
• Invest Brampton
• Invest in Hamilton
• City of Mississauga
• Communitech Corporation
• Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario
• Government of Ontario, Labour, Training and Skills Development – Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program
• Government of Ontario, Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation, and Trade – Ontario Investment Office
• Invest Ottawa
• Kingston Economic Development Corporation
• London Economic Development Corporation
• MaRS Discovery District
• Regional Municipality of Niagara
• York Region
• Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership
• Toronto Business Development Centre
• Toronto Global
• Town of Oakville
• Waterloo Region Economic Development Corporation
• Invest Windsor Essex

Quebec

• Quebec’s MIFI (French only) (for designated referral partners)
• Canadian Economic Development for Quebec regions

Western Canada

Alberta

• Calgary Economic Development
• Edmonton Metropolitan Region Economic Development Company also known as Edmonton Global
• Government of Alberta, Alberta Labour and Immigration

British Columbia

• Accelerate Okanagan
• BC Tech Association
• Government of British Columbia, Ministry Municipal Affairs
• Kootenay Association for Science & Technology
• Launch Academy
• Metro Vancouver Regional District/Invest Vancouver
• Vancouver Economic Commission
• Venture Kamloops

Manitoba

• Economic Development Winnipeg
• Government of Manitoba, Manitoba Education and Training
• Tech Manitoba

Saskatchewan

• Government of Saskatchewan, Ministry of Immigration and Career Training

Employers should note that applications to Category A cannot be processed until ESDC has confirmed that a designated referral partner has submitted a referral vouching for the employer’s legitimacy and eligibility for Category A of the stream.

Eligibility for Category A of the Global Talent Stream

For Category A of the Global Talent Stream, an innovative company must be referred by 1 of the stream’s designated referral partners on the basis that the position being requested requires unique and specialized talent to help the firm scale-up and grow.

In order to be eligible for Category A, a designated referral partner must validate that a company meets the following eligibility criteria at the time of each referral to ESDC:

• is operating in Canada
• has a focus on innovation
• has a willingness, and is capable of growing or scaling up
• is seeking to fill a unique and specialized position in the company, and
• has identified a qualified foreign worker for potential hire into that unique and specialized position

A unique and specialized position is indicated by:

• at least $38.46 per hour ($80,000 annual base salary), or equivalent to the prevailing wage for the occupation if it is higher. Note that employers must offer the equivalent of both the hourly wage rate and annual base salary at minimum, and
• advanced knowledge of the industry, and
• advanced degree in an area of specialization of interest to the employer, and/or
• minimum of 5 years of experience in the field of specialized experience

In general, an innovative company that is eligible to be referred to Category A should also be seeking to fill a very limited number of unique and specialized positions (for example, 1 or 2 positions per year) on the basis that very few specialized individuals exist with the unique skill set required for the positions being requested under Category A of the Global Talent Stream.

In certain exceptional circumstances, ESDC may consider accepting more than 2 referrals for an innovative company per calendar year (resetting on January 1) to Category A provided the company has been successful in meeting its Labour Market Benefits Plan commitments to date under the Global Talent Stream. The circumstances under which multiple referrals to Category A (in other words, more than 2 referrals) could be accepted are outlined below:

1. for each additional position requested by the innovative company to Category A, the designated referral partner has reconfirmed to ESDC that the employer meets the eligibility criteria for Category A and has also provided its assessment of the additional unique and specialized position being requested, and
2. the annual wage for the additional position being requested by the innovative company under Category A per calendar year, is at least $72.11 per hour ($150,000 annual base salary), or equivalent to the prevailing wage for that occupation if it’s higher. Note that employers must offer the equivalent of both the hourly wage rate and annual base salary at minimum. There is no flexibility in the application of the wage requirement for additional positions being requested under Category A

Global talent occupations list for Category B of the Global Talent Stream (as of December 2022)

For Category B of the Global Talent Stream, applications will be accepted from firms in Canada that need to hire highly skilled foreign workers for occupations found on ESDC's global talent occupations list, which have been determined to be in-demand and for which there is insufficient domestic labour supply.

For occupations with wage floors, note that employers must offer the hourly wage rate at minimum. Annual wage floors are provided for illustrative purposes only.

Note: Due to the TFWP’s migration to NOC 2021, the published global talent occupation list will display NOC 2011 codes and NOC 2021 codes. Some NOC codes are duplicated in this table as a result of the NOC migration.