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Marine workers – Work permit required under International Mobility Program or Temporary Foreign Worker Program

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

Important: These instructions relate only to who may be authorized to work in Canada for immigration purposes. Foreign nationals must comply with all other requirements related to labour safety and labour laws.

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:

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

Foreign nationals who are seeking entry to work temporarily in Canada in an occupation related to transportation (such as marine workers, air pilots, truck drivers and train drivers) may work with or without a work permit.

Foreign nationals who meet the requirements of subsection 3(1) and paragraph 186(s) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) may work without work permits as members of a crew.

In most cases, foreign nationals who do not meet R3(1) or R186(s) are required to obtain work permits with a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) from Employment and Social Development Canada/Service Canada (ESDC/SC). Foreign nationals who meet the requirements of R204 or R205 may be eligible to apply for an employer-specific work permit under the International Mobility Program (IMP).

On this page

When a work permit may be required

Officers should read the following instructions Marine workers – Overview and Definitions to familiarize themselves with the roles and responsibilities of various departments and agencies and with the following definitions:

In general, where a coasting trade licence (CTL) is required, officers can assume that the ship is no longer engaged primarily in international transportation, meaning that the work permit exemption for crew members no longer applies.

Temporary workers are not considered crew members and require a work permit if they are in any of the following situations:

The Coasting Trade Act (CTA) may be used by an officer when determining if foreign members of a crew aboard a maritime vessel will require work permits. When a vessel meets the criteria which define coasting trade as outlined in the CTA, the ship requires a CTL.

Consult the Guidance library: Coasting trade activities for examples of situations regarding CTL requirements.

The requirement for a CTL signals that a foreign vessel is involved in cabotage activities, and relatedly, that foreign crew members onboard the vessel are considered, in general, to be entering the domestic labour market and performing work. Work is defined in section 2 of the IRPR:

“work” means an activity for which wages are paid or commission is earned, or that is in direct competition with the activities of Canadian citizens or permanent residents in the Canadian labour market.

Consequently, officers may consider the CTL requirement for a vessel to be indicative of the fact that marine workers onboard require an LMIA from ESDC/SC and work permits from IRCC or the CBSA. However, an employer may provide an IMP offer of employment if they can satisfy an officer that they meet the requirements of an IMP category (for example, section 204 of the IRPR on the basis of international agreements or section 205, Canadian interests). In either case, whether in the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) or the IMP, if a work permit is issued, it is employer-specific, as it is based on a specific job offer.

Examples of cases where the significant benefit provision under paragraph R205(a) may be considered:

Seaspan: International Mobility Program: Unique work situations - Seaspan

Normally, crew members arriving in Canada aboard international vessels may not perform work off the vessel, for example, securing a ship to the dock or loading or unloading of cargo, without work permits.

For work that is not obviously connected to the operation of the vessel, such as operating cranes or vessels’ tender boats, the officer should be satisfied that the work being performed by the foreign national is related to the operation of the vessel or is related to providing services to the passengers or other members of the crew. The work performed should be assessed on a case-by-case basis as per the situation. Refer to Work related to operations of the vessel while alongside dock or in port.

Travel document requirement for marine workers who are not members of a crew

Documents Marine workers who are not crew members
Temporary resident visa are not exempt under subsection R190(3.1) if they are on board of the vessel on which they are employed
Temporary resident visa are exempt if they meet one of the requirements under section R190, except under subsection R190(3.1)
Passport are not exempt. They must hold one of the documents described under subsection R52(1). The document must be valid for the period authorized for their stay.
Passport are exempt if they meet one of the exceptions under subsection R52(2)

Can a work permit be issued prior to the coasting trade licence issuance?

No. Although the CTL is not an immigration requirement, the officer must be satisfied that the foreign national can perform the job being sought and for the transportation of passengers on the coasts, do a round trip or multi-stop trip without an international stop, or undertake any other commercial marine activity in Canadian waters. Although, a CTL is not a requirement to issue the work permit, it is a requirement for them to meet the ability to perform the work as per paragraph R200(3)(a).

Paragraph R200(3)(a) An officer shall not issue a work permit to a foreign national if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the foreign national is unable to perform the work sought.

In exceptional circumstances, where the employer qualifies for a fast-track submission of the CTL, and the processing officer learned that the CTL would likely be issued (a positive decision is made but not yet shared with the employer), a work permit may be issued without the CTL. A note should be added in this regard in the officer’s notes in the Global Case Management System (GCMS).

Registered vessels under certain free trade agreements

Under the Canada-European Union (EU) Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Agreement on Trade Continuity between Canada and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (CUKTCA), vessels registered in an EU member state or the United Kingdom and engaged in the following operations are exempt from the requirement to obtain a CTL:

Despite being exempt from the need to obtain a CTL, the vessel is still engaged in cabotage. The CETA provisions grant an exemption only from the CTL requirement, not from the regular work permit requirements that apply to foreign crew members working on board vessels engaged in cabotage.

Additionally, foreign vessels do not need a CTL to reposition, without consideration, their owned or leased empty containers.

Generally, temporary workers aboard vessels undertaking repositioning of empty containers on a foreign vessel (not registered in Canada), that is, engaged primarily in international transportation, do not need work permits when the vessel is doing so.

Types of commercial marine activities in Canadian waters that require a work permit

Commercial marine activities in Canadian waters are known as coasting trade. If employers are engaging in these activities, they need to obtain a CTL, unless exempt, and a work permit.

Below are 3 types of coasting trade:

Transport of passengers

Transporting passengers is considered coasting trade if a marine vessel

Example 1

A cruise ship

Example 2

A cruise ship

Example 3

A cruise ship

Transport of goods

Transporting goods is considered coasting trade if a vessel

This includes scenarios where the vessel exits and re-enters Canadian waters with the goods.

Example 1

A Canadian company wants to use a foreign-registered vessel to transport cargo from Eastern Canada to Western Canada via the Panama Canal.

A foreign-registered vessel picks up cargo at one place in Canada and delivers it to another place in Canada. It does not matter that the vessel travels through the Panama Canal; the activity is considered coasting trade.

Example 2

A foreign-registered vessel wants to load bunker fuels in a Canadian port and then deliver or discharge some of that fuel to a place in Canada.

Other commercial marine activities

A vessel that does any other commercial activity in Canadian waters or the waters above the continental shelf of Canada is engaged in coasting trade.

Example 1

A Canadian company wants to use a foreign-registered vessel to conduct cable-laying work in Canadian waters.

The foreign-registered vessel would be compensated for its cable-laying activities. As such, this work is considered a marine activity of a commercial nature.

Example 2

A foreign-registered vessel (cruise ship or barge) offers onboard accommodations to dock workers at a Canadian port.

A floatel is any vessel (such as a cruise ship or barge) used for onboard accommodations. Providing accommodations onboard a vessel in Canadian waters is a paid, contracted service where the vessel basically acts as a hotel. As such, this work is considered a marine activity of a commercial nature.

For definitions of coasting trade and coasting trade exemptions, check the

Multiple coasting trade elements

There are also some activities that are related to multiple coasting trade elements.

Example:

A foreign-registered tanker is coming from the West Coast of the U.S. and wants to discharge oil at a terminal in Vancouver, BC. The vessel would then load more oil and then anchor for 2 weeks in Canadian waters to provide bunkering services.

This scenario includes 2 activities:

Ships on standby

There may be situations where a vessel and its crew are stationed in a Canadian port on standby, during which time the crew is paid a wage or commission. In assessing work permit requirements in these situations, and consistent with existing guidance for all ships, officers should first consider requesting documentation showing whether an application for a CTL was made or a CTL has been obtained by the vessel.

In addition to this information, officers should consider all of the following:

Officers are further encouraged to consider whether the time spent on standby in Canada is foreseen or unforeseen.

In general, unforeseen periods of time spent in Canada on standby may not detract from an overall assessment that a ship remains engaged in international transportation. For example, vessels on standby as a result of mechanical failure or adverse weather or because they are waiting for a delayed delivery of goods intended for international shipment may remain engaged in international transportation despite the length of time they spend in Canada, during which paragraph R186(s) applies.

However, when the amount of time spent on standby in Canadian territorial waters is reasonably foreseeable and of a duration that indicates the primary purpose is not international in nature, LMIAs and work permits are required for all foreign crew members and other employees onboard the vessel.

The following are examples of what officers could consider when making their assessment:

Assessing work permit applications

Before issuing the work permit, Border Services Officers should follow these steps when an application received approval by IRCC and the applicant is seeking entry on a work permit (LMIA-required or IMP category):

Final decision

If the work permit application is LMIA-based, officers should consult the following instructions:

Approval

If the work permit application is approved under the International Mobility Program (section R205 or R204), officers should follow the following instructions:

The work permit will be issued under the authority of the relevant regulation, section R204 or R205.

In the GCMS, on the “Application” screen, officers should enter the information below in the specified fields:

Field Selection or Input
Case Type

52

  • Important: When the applicant selects the work permit type “Exemption from Labour Market Impact Assessment” on the application, the “Case Type” field in the GCMS is set automatically to “52.” Consult Employer-specific work permits — General processing — International Mobility Program
Exemption Code

The administrative code of the relevant IMP category

This code is auto-populated from the IMP offer of employment.
Province of Destination Location: the province of destination should match the address of employment in the offer of employment. This information is under the “Employment Details – LMIA Exempt” tab.
City of Destination The city of destination should match the address of employment in the offer of employment. This information is under the “Employment Details – LMIA Exempt” tab.
NOC The National Occupation Classification code is auto-populated from the offer of employment.
Intended Occupation

The job title

(auto-populated from the offer of employment)
Employer

Business operating name

(auto-populated from the offer of employment)
Duration If the work permit application is approved, the work permit should be issued for the period specified in the offer of employment. Officers cannot issue a work permit or grant authorization as a temporary worker beyond the validity of the passport. For further guidance, please consult the instructions on Conditions and validity period for work permits (temporary workers).
Conditions

Imposing conditions on the work permit (location)

  • Officers are required to refer to the information provided by the employer in their offer of employment, in which the employer includes a primary location and other secondary locations across Canada. In such cases, if the officer does not have any concerns regarding imposing conditions on location, the officer must include “various locations across Canada as per the offer of employment” in the user remarks of the work permit.
  • If the officer determines that the location should be restricted, a note should be left in the application. Any location discrepancy between the offer and the work permit will automatically be considered as an error if there are no notes.
Fees Allocating fees: Instructions on allocating employer compliance fees for LMIA-exempt work permits in the GCMS can be found in the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) Operational Bulletin OPS-2018-15 (available internally only).

Note: If the employer is authorized to use an IMM 5802 form instead of completing the offer of employment through the Employer Portal, please review .

Refusals (TFWP and IMP applications)

If an officer is not satisfied that all the requirements of section R200 are met, they must record their reasons and outline the rationale underlying the decision as well as the facts and elements considered. They must also provide an explanation for the decision in a case note.

A decision is reasonable and therefore defendable when another person is able to trace the decision maker’s reasoning, without encountering fatal flaws in the overarching logic, and is satisfied that there is a line of analysis within the given reasons that could reasonably lead the tribunal from the evidence before it to the decision maker’s conclusion.

The officer needs to engage with the documentary evidence that was provided by the applicant. Simply stating “I have reviewed the submissions, and I am not satisfied that section R200 is met” is not sufficient for another reasonable person to understand the logic of the decision without reviewing all of the evidence again.

Refusal reasons should clearly indicate which criteria or what requirement of section R200 was not met and explain how the conclusion was reached.

For assistance, officers can follow the steps in Decision making: Standard of review and process for making a reasonable decision.

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2025-07-18