Caribbean Agricultural Liaison Officers [R205(a) – C10] – Canadian interests – Unique work situations - International Mobility Program

In these instructions “officer” refers to employees of both Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency.

The instructions on this page should be reviewed in conjunction with

• Significant benefit to Canada [R205(a) – C10] – Canadian interests – International Mobility Program

The Commonwealth Caribbean Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (CCSAWP) is a memorandum of understanding between 11 different Caribbean governments and Canada. It was initially signed in 1967, and the latest version was signed in 1995.

The Caribbean countries are

• Anguilla
• Antigua and Barbuda
• Barbados
• Dominica
• Grenada
• Jamaica
• Montserrat
• Saint Kitts and Nevis
• Saint Lucia
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Trinidad and Tobago

As part of the CCSAWP agreement, all of these countries provide liaison officers to be available in Canada to assist their agricultural workers. 

The liaison officers from 2 countries, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago, are accredited by Global Affairs Canada as consular officers and therefore authorized to work under paragraph 186(b) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR).

As per the operational guidelines in the agreement, Jamaica appoints one or more agents in Canada to ensure the smooth functioning of the CCSAWP for the mutual benefit of both the employers and workers, and to perform the duties required of that agent under the existing employment agreement.

For the remaining 8 Eastern Caribbean countries, a single office for the Eastern Caribbean liaison has been set up under the agreement. The 8 countries are

• Anguilla
• Antigua and Barbuda
• Dominica
• Grenada
• Montserrat
• Saint Kitts and Nevis
• Saint Lucia
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Liaison officers appointed to work at the Jamaican Liaison Service or the Eastern Caribbean Liaison Service offices located in various provinces across Canada qualify under this exemption. The officers provide social, cultural and economic benefits to Canada by working with federal and provincial governments and non-governmental organizations to support the overall welfare of agricultural workers who are vital to Canada’s food security.

Both of the liaison services are exempted from the requirement to submit an offer of employment directly to IRCC through an account in the Employer Portal and pay the employer compliance fee when making an offer of employment to foreign workers. For further information, see Exemption from the employer compliance regime for the International Mobility Program.

On this page

• Place of application
• Eligibility
• Documentary evidence
• Application assessment
• Final decision
  • Approval
  • Refusal
• Previous updates

Place of application

For more information consult: Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) and International Mobility Program (IMP): Persons who may apply at a port of entry.

Eligibility

To be eligible under R205(a), administrative code C10 as a Caribbean Agricultural Liaison Officer, a foreign national must

• be employed by one of these Caribbean countries as a Agricultural Liaison Officer to be available in Canada to assist their agricultural workers:
  • Anguilla
  • Antigua and Barbuda
  • Barbados
  • Dominica
  • Grenada
  • Jamaica
  • Montserrat
  • Saint Kitts and Nevis
  • Saint Lucia
  • Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
  • Trinidad and Tobago

Documentary Evidence

With the application for a work permit, officers should be satisfied that they have the following documentary evidence to make an assessment:

• documents listed in Significant benefit to Canada [R205(a) – C10] – Canadian interests – International Mobility Program
• an offer of employment submitted using the Employer Portal or using alternate means if authorized to do so
  • the offer of employment must clearly describe
    • the skills and experience required by the employee in order to perform the work sought
    • details of the position (title, duties, duration of employment, arrangements as to payment)

Application assessment

Foreign nationals who are eligible for processing under administrative code C10 are subject to all other eligibility and admissibility requirements (including section A39) under the IRPA and the IRPR.

Officers must be satisfied that all eligibility requirements are met at the time of the decision on the work permit application.

Final Decision

Approval

Under the Application screen, officers should enter the following information in the specified fields:

Refusal

If an officer has determined that the applicant does not meet the eligibility requirements, they should record their refusal reasons for decision and outline the rationale underlying the decision as well as the facts and elements considered in a case note. For assistance, officers can follow the steps in Decision-making: Standard of review and process for making a reasonable decision.

Previous updates

2021-12-06