Hire a skilled worker to support their permanent residency: Overview

1. Overview

The Government of Canada believes that foreign workers can help employers meet their labour needs when Canadians and permanent residents are not available. As part of this process the government supports higher-skilled foreign workers based on their potential to become economically established in Canada and to assist employers to meet their skilled labour shortages.

Employers who wish to hire skilled foreign workers and support their permanent resident visa application can make a job offer under Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Express Entry system. The job offer must meet the criteria of 1 of the listed economic immigration programs. These programs include:

Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP)

The employer must be offering a job for:

• positions in TEER 0/1/2/3 (Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities) of the NOC, such as management, professional, scientific, technical or trade occupations
• full-time hours (a minimum of 30 hours of work per week)
• at least 1 year, and
• a non-seasonal position

Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP)

The employer must be offering a job for:

• an eligible skilled trade or technical occupation (NOC TEER 2/3)
• full-time hours (a minimum of 30 hours of work per week), and
• at least 1 year

Canadian Experience Class (CEC)

The employer must be offering a job for:

• a NOC TEER 0/1/2/3 position such as: management, professional, scientific, technical or trade occupations
• full-time hours (a minimum of 30 hours of work per week)
• at least 1 year, and
• a non-seasonal position

Employers are not eligible to make a job offer to a foreign worker under these immigration programs, if they are:

• an embassy,
• a high commission or consulate in Canada
• on the list of ineligible employers maintained by IRCC
• new and have not been in business for a minimum of 1 year, or
• hiring workers who intend to reside in the province of Quebec

For information on the Quebec Skilled Worker Program, consult Quebec’s Ministère de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Intégration (MIFI) (French only).

Employers who wish to hire skilled foreign workers through 1 of these immigration programs may also want to hire these workers temporarily while their application for permanent residence is being processed by IRCC. As a result, employers can apply for a dual intent Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), which requires paying the processing fee. These dual intent LMIAs can be used to support the foreign national's application to IRCC for a:

• permanent resident visa, and
• temporary work permit

Employers submitting an LMIA application for a high-wage position may request an employment duration of up to 3 years. The employment duration must align with the employer’s reasonable employment needs. (High-wage positions include the Global Talent Stream, high-wage stream including caregiver positions, agricultural stream and Express Entry). The duration may be issued for longer in exceptional circumstances whereby the employer provides an adequate rationale.

Employers awaiting a decision who wish to modify the duration in their LMIA applications may contact the Employer Contact Centre or the appropriate processing centre. The option to increase the duration does not apply to already issued positive LMIA decisions.

As of September 26, 2024, employers submitting an LMIA application for a low-wage position may request a maximum employment duration of 1 year, down from 2 years.