Marine workers – Work to support offshore construction inside Canada’s 200 nautical miles (230 miles) exclusive economic zone (EEZ)

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

In these instructions, “officers” refers to employees of both IRCC and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

Officers should review the instructions on this page in conjunction with the following:

For marine workers who are work permit exempt (crew members):
- Marine workers – Crew members employed by a foreign company aboard a means of transportation – Work without a permit [R186(s)]
- General information: Work without a permit – International Mobility Program
For marine workers who are required to have work permits:

In addition, officers should review the instructions in conjunction with the following:

Canada’s territorial limit extends 12 miles from all Canadian ocean shorelines. Normal immigration requirements apply within this limit. Within Canada’s 12- to 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ), work permits are also required for any workers hired aboard a marine installation or structure (and its safety zone) that is anchored or attached to the continental shelf or seabed in connection with the continental shelf or seabed’s exploration or the exploitation of its mineral or non-living resources. This includes any artificial island constructed, erected or placed on the continental shelf. This does not include vessels operating past the 12-mile territorial limit that are not attached to or the property of an artificial island, or anchored to the seabed.

Definitions that pertain to the Oceans Act

Artificial island

Any man-made extension of the seabed or of a seabed feature, whether or not the extension breaks the surface of the superjacent waters.

Continental shelf

The seabed and subsoil of those submarine areas that extend beyond the territorial sea throughout the natural prolongation of the land territory of Canada to the outer edge of the continental margin or to a distance of 200 nautical miles from the inner limits of the territorial sea, whichever is the greater, or that extend to such other limits as are prescribed in the Oceans Act.

Marine installation or structure

Any ship, offshore drilling unit, production platform, sub-sea installation, pumping station, living accommodation, storage structure, loading or landing platform, floating crane, pipe-laying or other barge or pipeline and any anchor, anchor cable or rig pad in connection therewith, and any other work within a class of works prescribed in the Oceans Act.

Overview

As a rule, foreign nationals working on vessels which are operating inside Canada’s EEZ will be subject to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) and therefore may be required to obtain work permits.

Within the EEZ (12 to 200 miles), foreign nationals who are working on any marine installation or structure that is anchored or attached to the continental shelf or seabed in connection with its exploration or the exploitation of its mineral or non-living resources are required to obtain work permits.

If the same workers are on a foreign vessel that is operating within the EEZ and is not anchored to the seabed, then they do not need work permits, even if the activities are related to exploration. For instance, crew members of seismic vessels not anchored to the seabed would be work permit exempt, since seismic vessels only map out potential underwater resources and drilling points from the surface by sending seismic waves/signals to the bottom of the sea. They are not attached to the seabed and do not exploit underwater resources. They usually sail on the surface of the water. This conclusion would also apply to a foreign fishing boat with a foreign crew fishing in Canada’s EEZ, since fish are neither mineral nor non-living resources. The crew would not need work permits.

Note: Even if there is a work permit exemption, the presence of the foreign vessel and its foreign crew may be subject to other legal or regulatory requirements.

For instance, under the Coastal Fishery Protection Regulations (administered by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans), Canadian companies can request the use of a foreign fishing vessel to replace their Canadian fishing vessel that has been permanently removed or rendered unserviceable.

Also, vessels involved in oil exploration and exploitation off the coast of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland must generally meet the requirements of the Fed-Prov Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board or the Fed-Prov Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board, which includes making efforts to hire Nova Scotians and Newfoundlanders first.

Foreign nationals need an LMIA if they are employed in any of the following locations:

aboard any marine installation or structure attached or anchored to the continental shelf:
- in connection with the exploration of that shelf; or
- in connection with the exploitation of its mineral or other non-living resources
on or under any artificial island constructed, erected or placed on the continental shelf or seabed, including the following examples:
- foreign nationals employed on drill ships or drill platforms anchored to the continental shelf for the purpose of searching for oil
- gravity-based structure (GBS) production platforms used to extract crude oil within the 200-mile economic zone limit or the edge of the continental shelf

Refer to:

Refer to the tables below for additional scenarios.

Territorial waters

Type of vessel or installation	Example	Work permit required
Foreign vessels engaged in international transportation	Foreign vessel transports containers from foreign ports to one Canadian port, unloads cargo and returns to foreign destination	No
Foreign vessels engaged in domestic transportation (cabotage)	Foreign vessel transports containers from foreign ports to one Canadian port, unloads and loads cargo, transports it to another Canadian port, unloads and loads, then returns to foreign destination	Yes
Foreign vessels engaged in domestic transportation (cabotage)	Foreign feeder service vessel transports goods between 2 Canadian ports	Yes
Foreign vessels, marine installations or structures, whether or not anchored to the seabed	Vessel performing seismic surveys sailing on the surface of the water	Yes
Foreign vessels, marine installations or structures, whether or not anchored to the seabed	Oil platform anchored to seabed	Yes

Exclusive Economic Zone

Foreign vessels, marine installations or structures and operating within Canada’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

Type of vessel or installation	Examples	Work permit required
Anchored or attached to the continental shelf or seabed in connection with its exploration or the exploitation of its mineral or non-living resources	Oil platform anchored to seabed	Yes
Anchored or attached to the continental shelf or seabed in connection with its exploration or the exploitation of its mineral or non-living resources	Drillship that attaches itself to the seabed when drilling	Yes
Not “attached to” or not the property of an artificial island, or not anchored to the seabed, whether or not their presence is related to the exploration or exploitation of the EEZ’s mineral or non-living resources	Vessel performing seismic surveys not anchored to seabed, sailing on surface of water	No
Not “attached to” or not the property of an artificial island, or not anchored to the seabed, whether or not their presence is related to the exploration or exploitation of the EEZ’s mineral or non-living resources	Fishing boat with foreign crew catching fish	No
Not “attached to” or not the property of an artificial island, or not anchored to the seabed, whether or not their presence is related to the exploration or exploitation of the EEZ’s mineral or non-living resources	Floating crane not anchored to seabed	No

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2025-07-18

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