In this menu, “closed” means the permit is tied to an employer. It does not mean every route below needs a Labour Market Impact Assessment. Each section says which it is.
Read this before the list
- LMIA-exempt, but still tied to an employer: free-trade professionals, many Quebec files that are exempt, the International Mobility Program, significant benefit (C10), intra-company transfers, many TV and film roles, Young Professionals and International Co-op under International Experience Canada.
- Often no work permit at all: a tour guide paid abroad who leaves with the group, and an IT worker who only meets a client and does not take a Canadian job.
- LMIA required: Global Talent Stream, and Quebec’s facilitated LMIA. “Facilitated” does not mean the LMIA disappears. A tour guide hired and paid in Canada usually needs an LMIA too.
- Open, and LMIA-exempt: Working Holiday, inside International Experience Canada. It is listed here because the menu groups the whole program together.
How we can help
- Classify the job before a fee is paid: exempt and closed, no permit, LMIA, or open.
- There is no program named “International Mobility Program Plus.” If that is what the menu item means, it is the family of LMIA-exempt permits described below.
Canada’s Free Trade Agreements
- LMIA-exempt work permits for citizens of the treaty country. CUSMA (United States and Mexico) covers listed professionals, intra-company transferees, traders, and investors. CETA and the CPTPP have their own professional and transfer categories.
- The occupation has to be on that agreement’s list. A listed job is not enough if the person is a national of a country outside the agreement.
- The permits are employer-specific. They are temporary. They do not become permanent residence because the agreement is well known.
How we can help
- Check citizenship, the occupation list, and the employer before anyone treats a job offer as a treaty permit.
Temporary Work Permits in Quebec
- A job in Quebec often needs a Quebec consent, commonly the temporary CAQ for work, as well as the federal work permit.
- The exemption lists are not the same. You can need an LMIA and a CAQ, an LMIA only, a CAQ only, or neither, depending on the category.
- Quebec’s facilitated LMIA, described below, is still an LMIA.
- Changing the job, the location, or the employer inside Quebec usually means a new consent and a new permit. Working in Montreal on a permit issued for another province is work outside the permit.
How we can help
- Say which of the four combinations applies, and file the CAQ and the federal permit in the order that category needs.
International Mobility Program Plus
- There is no separate public program by this name.
- The International Mobility Program is the family of LMIA-exempt work permits: trade agreements, intra-company transfers, significant benefit, International Experience Canada, spouses of skilled workers in the categories that still qualify, and others.
- The employer usually submits an offer of employment and pays a compliance fee in the employer portal before the worker applies, even though no LMIA is filed.
- “Exempt from the LMIA” does not mean exempt from a work permit, and it does not mean the employer has no duties. Employers can be inspected.
- The permit is often closed, which is why it sits on this page.
How we can help
- Pick the real exemption inside this family, and file the employer offer and the worker’s permit as two steps.
Significant Benefit
- LMIA-exempt, often called C10. Discretionary. The person’s presence has to bring a significant social, cultural, or economic benefit.
- Officers look at a record that is already distinguished: awards, publications, a unique skill, or a benefit that is specific and documented. A plan to become significant later is not the test.
- Entrepreneurs who will operate a business that benefits Canada, artists, and specialized technical workers are sometimes assessed here.
- The permit is usually employer-specific or tied to the business.
- It is not a substitute for the paused Start-up Visa, and it is not a way around an LMIA for an ordinary skilled job.
How we can help
- Test whether the record already exists. If it does not, we do not file C10 as a substitute for an LMIA or a paused start-up.
Intra-Company Transfers
- LMIA-exempt. An executive, a senior manager, or a worker with specialized knowledge moves from a foreign company to a related Canadian company.
- At least one year with the foreign company in the last three, in a similar role. The companies must be parent, subsidiary, affiliate, or branch.
- Specialized knowledge means unusual and advanced knowledge, not “the person knows our software.” Executives and managers must actually manage.
- A transfer used to fill a line job, or a company created only to make the transfer possible, does not qualify.
- The permit is closed to that Canadian employer. Time limits differ for managers and for specialized-knowledge staff. Trade agreements can have slightly different transfer rules for their own nationals.
How we can help
- Check the one-year history, the corporate relationship, and whether the role is really executive, managerial, or specialized.
TV and Film Production Workers
- Often LMIA-exempt when the production and the role fit significant benefit or an entertainment category.
- The usual picture is a foreign production filming in Canada, or a Canadian production that needs a specialized foreign role for a limited shoot.
- The permit, when required, is tied to the production. It is not an open permit for any set.
- A very short engagement paid from abroad may be a business visitor instead. The production company, the payer, and the length of the shoot decide.
How we can help
- Place the person on a production-specific permit or as a visitor, from the contract.
International Experience Canada
LMIA-exempt permits for young adults from countries with a youth-mobility agreement. Usual age 18 to 35. Some countries stop at 30. Spots are limited and released in rounds. You need an invitation from the pool before you apply, plus the police, medical, and insurance documents the round requires. It is temporary, often one year or two depending on the country. It is not permanent residence. Skilled work can later count toward the Canadian Experience Class.
- Working Holiday — open permit.
- Young Professionals — employer-specific, for a job that supports the person’s career.
- International Co-op — employer-specific, for a placement that is part of study in the home country.
How we can help
- Check the country, the age cap, and which of the three categories the job or the study placement actually is.
- Enter the pool for an invitation. We do not file the permit before the invitation.
Tour Guides Operating in Canada
- A guide who enters with a foreign group, is paid by the foreign operator, and leaves with the group is often a business visitor and may not need a work permit.
- A guide hired by a Canadian company and paid in Canada needs a work permit. Ordinary guiding usually needs an LMIA. There is no general exemption for tour guides.
- A significant-benefit argument would need unusual facts, not the job title.
- A park or another regulated place can also require a local licence. The immigration permit does not issue the licence, and the licence does not issue the permit.
How we can help
- Separate a foreign-paid group escort from a Canadian guiding job, and start an LMIA only for the second.
IT Workers as Business Visitors
- An employee of a foreign company who meets a Canadian client, gathers requirements, or holds discussions, while the hands-on work stays abroad, can be a business visitor. After-sales service under the original sales contract is a recognized activity.
- A worker who sits in a Canadian office and does the day-to-day programming a Canadian employee would do needs a work permit.
- A new project, a Canadian payroll, or a role that lasts for months is not a business visit.
- If the facts are a Canadian job, the route is a work permit, often an LMIA or a trade-agreement professional category.
How we can help
- Draw the line from the contract. If it is a Canadian job, we move it to a permit instead of stretching the visit.
Global Talent Stream
- Part of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. It does need an LMIA. The processing target of about two weeks is for the LMIA, not for the work permit that follows.
- Category A — the employer is referred by a designated partner because the company is growing and needs a unique talent.
- Category B — the occupation is on the global-talent list, concentrated on technology and related specialized roles.
- The employer commits to a labour-market benefits plan, such as creating jobs or training Canadians.
- The worker then applies for an employer-specific permit based on the positive assessment.
- The stream does not nominate anyone for permanent residence. Skilled work on the permit can later support Express Entry or a province, under those programs’ own rules.
How we can help
- Place the employer in Category A or B, prepare the benefits plan and the LMIA, then the closed work permit.
Quebec Facilitated LMIA Processing
- A simpler or faster recruitment and assessment path for certain occupations and regions. The LMIA does not disappear.
- The employer still files with Service Canada, still offers the prevailing wage, and still meets program conditions.
- The worker still needs the federal work permit and, unless an exemption applies, the Quebec consent to work.
- Quebec’s list changes. An occupation facilitated one year can be off the list the next, especially when local unemployment is high.
- The permit is still closed: one employer, one job, one place.
How we can help
- Check the current facilitated list for that region, then file the LMIA, the CAQ if required, and the federal permit.
