Temporary public policy: Graphic designers working on live-action television or film in Canada

This section contains policy, procedures and guidance used by IRCC staff. It is posted on the department’s website as a courtesy to stakeholders.

A temporary public policy has been issued to provide a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) exemption to facilitate the issuance of employer-specific work permits to eligible foreign graphic designers who are coming to Canada to undertake work activities for all production stages (pre-production, production and post-production) related to live-action television and film projects and productions.

The Temporary public policy to exempt foreign graphic designers from certain work permit requirements comes into effect on September 10, 2021. This public policy is in effect until March 9, 2022.

Policy objective

In recognition of the confusion that the inconsistent application of the eligibility considerations for administrative LMIA exemption code C-14 under paragraph 205(a) Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) may have caused for businesses in the television and film industry, and to give employers time to reorient their recruitment of foreign workers toward pathways they qualify for under the International Mobility Program and Temporary Foreign Worker Program, a temporary public policy facilitating the entry of certain graphic designer workers is appropriate. This will also help industry meet immediate staffing needs in support of COVID-19 recovery efforts.

Eligibility

To be eligible under this public policy, a foreign national must

have submitted a work permit application under section R200 or R201 after the public policy came into effect
be intending to work in an occupation that is included in unit group 5241 – Graphic designers and illustrators of the 2016 National Occupational Classification (NOC) system, as defined in section R2
be intending to perform work for one or more named live-action television or film productions being filmed in whole or in part in Canada, whether at the pre-production, production or post-production stage
provide a letter from the employer, or an authorized representative of the employer, to support the work permit application in (1). The letter must attest
1. to the details of the named live-action television or film productions (for example, working titles, production locations)
2. that the foreign national’s presence and work are essential to the television or film productions described in (i)
3. to the wage that the foreign national will be paid, which must be both
  1. a) the same as that set out in the copy of the offer of employment that was provided under paragraph R209.11(1)(d) and
  2. b) at or above the median wage for NOC 5241 in the specific community or area of work, as specified on the Government of Canada’s Job Bank site
4. that the television or film productions described in (i) satisfy the criteria for a federal, provincial or territorial tax credit for television or film production, or are recipients of federal, provincial or territorial funding for television or film production

Officers can find further information on the criteria for tax credits or funding at Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit or Telefilm Canada.

Documentary evidence

Foreign nationals who meet the eligibility requirements must provide the following documentary evidence:

offer of employment number received after the employer submitted the offer of employment in the Employer Portal

Important: Employers have been instructed to use the administrative LMIA exemption code “R01 A25.2 Public policy” when submitting the offer in the Employer Portal. They have been instructed to write in the LMIA exemption justification field “Applying under Graphic Designer public policy. Attestation letter has been provided to the temporary worker.”
the attestation letter indicated in the Eligibility section
proof that they have the experience and education to meet the occupational requirements stated in NOC 5241 – Graphic designers and illustrators

Note: Foreign nationals may work for more than one production during the same time period; however, each production they will be working on must be specified in the letter from the employer.

Processing of work permit applications

Fields to review in the Global Case Management System

When assessing whether applicants meet the public policy eligibility requirements, officers should review the following fields under the Employment Details tab in the Global Case Management System (GCMS) for information provided by the employer:

Field	Considerations
Requirements Exemptions Met	Has the employer indicated that they are submitting the application under the graphic designer public policy? Has the employer stated that they have provided an attestation letter to their temporary worker?
Wages	Are the wages provided higher than the median wage indicated on Job Bank for the province of destination?
Duties	These are the activities that the foreign national will be performing. Do they align with the main duties stated in NOC 5241?
Job Requirements	Are there specific requirements that align with the benefit? A specific period of training or experience as a graphic designer?
Minimum Education Requirements	Are the educational requirements compatible with those listed for the occupation in the NOC?
Other Training Required	The employer may indicate specialty training as a requirement.

Refer to Employer-specific work permits with Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) exemptions (International Mobility Program) for further guidance.

Work permit issuance in GCMS

Under the Application screen for employer-specific work permits, enter the following:

Field	Selection or input
Case type	52 The Case type field must be “52”. No other case type will allow the correct linkage in GCMS. Entering a case type other than “52” will result in incorrect accounting in GCMS, requiring manual corrections to be made and making inspection activities more difficult. If the “Employment Details” tab does not auto-populate, follow the instructions at How the offer of employment is matched to the work permit application.
Province of destination	Address of physical job location If there is more than one location, enter the main location in this field and the secondary location in Remarks.
City of destination	Address of physical job location If there is more than one location, enter the main location in this field and the secondary location in Remarks.
Exemption code	R01 This field should auto-populate when the work permit is properly matched with the offer of employment.
NOC	NOC 5241 The NOC code should auto-populate when the work permit is properly matched with the offer of employment.
Intended occupation	Graphic Designer or similar title within the NOC The job title should auto-populate when the work permit is properly matched with the offer of employment.
Salary (CAD)	Enter the “Amount per year” as indicated in the offer of employment (the temporary worker’s wage in Canadian dollars and number of working hours) Note: This amount should be above the median wage for the province of destination.
Employer	Business operating name The business operating name should auto-populate when the work permit is properly matched with the offer of employment.
User Remarks Mandatory	Officers must list the names of the productions that the foreign national will be working on according to the attestation letter. The following format should be used: As per R185(b)(ii), authorized to work on the following production(s): Name of production or list of productions

Page details

Date modified:: 2021-10-19

Language selection

Search