Francophone Mobility work permit: How to apply

The Francophone mobility work permit makes it easier for Canadian employers to hire you without a labour market impact assessment, if you meet certain requirements and you are destined to live and work outside the province of Quebec.

On this page

• Who can apply
  • Bringing your family with you
• Steps for Canadian employers
• How to apply
• After you apply

Who can apply

If you’re applying on or after June 15, 2023

To be eligible, you must

• meet the general eligibility requirements for a work permit
• live and work in 1 of the 9 Canadian provinces or 3 territories outside Quebec
• be able to prove that your speaking and listening skills in French are at an intermediate level
  • This would be equivalent to a level 5 or higher in the Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC) scale.
• have an offer of employment for a job that’s classified under any Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities (TEER) category of the National Occupational Classification (NOC) system unless the offer of employment is for a job in a primary agriculture occupation under TEER 4 and 5

• Bringing your family with you

  If your spouse, common-law partner or dependent children want to work in Canada, they may be able to apply for an open work permit. Find out if they’re eligible for a work permit.

  Your dependent children can also go to school or university while you’re working in Canada.

  Find out if they need a study permit.

Steps your Canadian employer must take before you apply

Before you apply for your work permit, your employer must

• submit an offer of employment to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) through the Employer Portal using LMIA exemption code C16 for Mobilité Francophone
• pay a $230 employer compliance fee
• give you an offer of employment number: a 7-digit number required for your application

How to apply

Step 1: Make sure you have what you need

To apply online, you need

• a scanner or camera to create electronic copies of your documents
• a valid credit or debit card

Step 2: Create your online account or sign in

You need an account to apply online. You can use your account to

• submit your application forms
• check your status

Create an account or sign in  (opens in a new tab) 

How to start your application

Once you sign in to your account, follow the steps below:

1. Go to the Start your application section on the account welcome page.
2. Click “Apply to come to Canada.”
3. On the next page, scroll down to the I do not have a personal reference code section.
4. Click the “Visitor visa, study and/or work permit” button.
5. On the next page, select “Work.”

Step 3: Get your document checklist

You must answer some questions to create a personalized document checklist.

If you’re applying from outside of Canada

Make sure you answer these questions correctly:

• When asked How long are you planning to stay in Canada? Based on the offer of employment, choose either
  • temporarily – more than 6 months, or
  • temporarily – less than 6 months
• In response to the statement I have a job offer and my employer gave me an offer of employment number or LMIA number (or proof of that your employer applied for an LMIA), answer “Yes.”
  • The offer of employment number is the 7-digit number your employer received after sending their offer of employment to us.
• When asked What type of work permit do you want to apply for? choose “A work permit with a labour market impact assessment exemption.”

If you’re applying from inside Canada

Make sure you answer these questions correctly:

• When asked How long are you planning to stay in Canada? Based on the offer of employment, choose either
  • temporarily – more than 6 months, or
  • temporarily – less than 6 months
• When asked Do you have a written job offer?, answer “Yes.”
• When asked Which option best describes your work situation?, choose “I’m applying for an employer-specific work permit with LMIA-exemption.”

Step 4: Fill out the forms

Read the instruction guide before you fill out the form.

The guide will explain how to fill out each field on the work permit application form.

Step 5: Upload your documents

Your document checklist will ask you for most of the documents that you must upload. You can also upload other documents under Client Information.

There’s only 1 Client Information field. You may need to combine more than 1 document in 1 file and upload them together. Find out how to upload multiple documents into 1 field.

Submit proof of language ability

For applications submitted on or after June 15, 2023

You must submit documents that prove you can speak and listen at an NCLC level 5 or higher. This can include

• speaking and listening Test d’évaluation de français (TEF) or Test de connaissance du français (TCF) results
• a written confirmation from a college or university for a program in French
  • This could be a transcript or an official letter of completion.
• other documents that show education in French

For applications submitted before June 15, 2023

You were required to prove that your language of daily use is French. This could include

• documents that show education in French
• proof that you obtained an NCLC level 7 or higher for all 4 tests in the Test d’évaluation de français (TEF) or the Test de connaissance du français (TCF)

Upload your proof of French language ability in the Client Information field.

You don’t need to prove you can read or write in French to be eligible for this LMIA exemption.

Step 6: Pay your fees and submit your application

You must pay the work permit processing fee.

Create an account or sign in  (opens in a new tab) 

Next steps

• After you apply
  • processing times, biometrics and what happens if your application is approved
• When you arrive in Canada
  • what to bring with you and what to expect when you arrive at the port of entry

Learn more about living and working in Canada

Credit cards and prepaid cards

We accept credit cards and prepaid cards from:

• Visa^®
• MasterCard^®
• American Express^®
• JCB^®
• UnionPay^® (for online applications only; debit cards not accepted)

If you use a prepaid credit card, keep it for at least 18 months after you pay to make refunds easier. Find more on prepaid cards.

We also accept all Visa Debit cards.The card you use doesn't have to be in your name. The cardholder’s name will appear on the receipt but it does not need to match your application.

Debit cards

It must:

• be from a Canadian bank using INTERAC^® Online, and
• be registered for online banking through your bank’s website.

We also accept all Debit MasterCard^® and Visa^® Debit cards. If your card has the Visa Debit logo on it, alone or with the INTERAC^® Online logo, select Visa Debit as your payment method.

The card you use does not have to be in your name. The cardholder’s name will appear on the receipt but it does not need to match your application.