International Mobility Program: Canadian interests – Reciprocal employment – Academic exchanges [R205(b)] (exemption code C22)

Academia is a field where exchanges and mobility are very common, especially at the recent post-graduate level (post-doctoral fellows and award recipients are now facilitated under R205(c)(ii), C44). Strict job-for-job reciprocity is not necessarily required. Citizenship and Immigration Canada recognizes that opportunities exist for Canadians to take similar positions in foreign educational institutions, and therefore allows for the application of R205(b), C22 for the situations described below.

Guest lecturers

Work permits exempt from a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) under R205(b), C22 may be issued to guest lecturers. They are defined as persons invited by a post-secondary institution to give a series of lectures and who occupy a temporary position of a non-continuing nature (which does not comprise a complete academic course) for a period of less than one academic term or semester.

Teachers, elementary and secondary

Persons who are engaged by educational institutions as elementary and secondary teachers coming to Canada under reciprocal exchange agreements arranged between foreign educational authorities and Canadian provincial/territorial governments or school boards, whose schools follow a curriculum/program of studies approved by a provincial/territorial government, may be issued work permits under this category as well.

Included are pre-school, elementary and secondary school teachers coming to Canada under the Reciprocal Exchange Agreement between New Zealand and the province of Ontario. It should be noted that family members of Australian and British teachers coming to Canada under the terms of a Reciprocal Exchange Agreement may be issued work permits under the general C20 category.

Visiting professors

Visiting professors may be issued work permits pursuant to R205(b), C22. They are people working for a period of not more than two academic years to take a position with a post-secondary institution and who retain their position abroad. Visiting professors may also include those on sabbatical who are doing collaborative research with a Canadian post-secondary institution.