Canada has a number of work permit and permanent residency options to support the hiring of foreign talent in tech.
Canadian tech employers continue to face labour shortages, as the tech sector continues to grow despite the pandemic. One way to support gaps in the labour market is to hire talent from abroad.
The shortage of qualified workers in Canada was the crux of the Council of Canadian Innovators‘ recent call for the federal government to pilot a new visa that would allow tech workers to come to Canada without a job offer.
Recognizing the importance of the tech sector to the economy, federal and provincial governments offer many different options to employers seeking to recruit tech talent as follow:
Global Talent Stream
The Global Talent Stream is designed to process 80% of applications in two weeks or less. Canadian employers can use it to onboard foreign staff without delay. In order to take advantage of this fast-track work permit, employers must fall under Category A or B.
- Category A: is for companies that have gotten approval from a referral partner. These referral partners are oftentimes local, governmental or semi-governmental agencies that are mandated to support local economies.
- Category B: is for employers who are looking for certain skilled workers whose occupations can be found on the Global Talent Occupations List. Some of the eligible occupations include computer engineers, software engineers and designers, as well as information systems analysts and consultants.
Foreign workers hired through the GTS must be paid at the prevailing wage or higher.
CUSMA
The Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement has provisions that facilitate talent mobility between the three countries. There are two categories that are relevant to tech workers: Professionals and Intra-Company Transfers (ICT).
CUSMA identifies 63 occupations that qualify under the Professionals category. Computer systems analysts are among these occupations.
Intra-Company Transfer (non CUSMA)
It is possible to make an ICT from a country other than Mexico or the United States. For example, the free trade agreement between the European Union and Canada (CETA) has provisions for ICTs, as does the agreement with the UK.
Pathways to permanent residency
When foreign workers get permanent residency status they are able to work in Canada without needing to renew any work permit or LMIA. Some pathways to permanent residency require job offers, however, it is also possible for tech talent to get permanent residence on their own.
Express Entry
Express Entry is an immigration pathway for skilled workers. Tech workers, specifically, can come to Canada through CEC (Canadian Experience class ) and FSWP (Federal Skilled worker program.
Provincial immigration for tech workers
The following are just a few select provincial programs available to tech workers. There are more than 100 economic-class immigration streams. Technology professionals may be eligible for more programs that are not specific to tech workers.
Alberta Accelerated Tech Pathway
Alberta’s Accelerated Tech Pathway offers an expedited provincial nomination option to eligible Express Entry candidates. The Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) launched this stream in January 2022.
British Columbia Tech
The British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) offers a priority pathway called the BC Tech stream available to certain tech workers. This PNP targets candidates who have job offers in one of 29 tech occupations.
Ontario Tech Draws
Ontario conducts Tech Draws for tech workers who are eligible for the Human Capital Priorities (HCP) stream.
Candidates also need to have work experience as one of the following six tech occupations:
- software engineers and designers
- computer programmers and interactive media developers
- computer engineers
- web designers and developers
- database analysts and data administrators
- computer and information systems managers
Quebec Immigration Program for Workers in Artificial Intelligence, Information Technology, and Visual Effects Sectors
Quebec launched this immigration pilot in April 2021 in an effort to grow its tech sector. The pilot has two streams:
Artificial intelligence (AI)
Within this stream are two sub-streams: one for people who graduated from a Quebec college or university, and one for workers trained abroad. The Quebec sub-graduate stream requires applicants to have experience and a job offer. The foreign workers sub-stream does not require a job offer, in some cases. Both demand that applicants have relevant education that is comparable to a Quebec bachelor’s degree at the least.
Information technology (IT) and visual effects
Tech workers applying for this program must have worked for at least two out of the last five years in one of 10 occupations. Candidates also need to have an ongoing job or new job offer in their field and prove they have at least the equivalent of a Quebec technical studies diploma or bachelor’s degree.
Both streams have two further divisions. One is for francophones, and one for non-francophones. A person who applies under the francophone category must show that they have an advanced intermediate knowledge of French. The non-francophone stream does not have such a requirement.
Saskatchewan Tech Talent Pathway
The Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP) recently launched a new tech pathway for future Canadian immigrants.
To be eligible, applicants to Saskatchewan’s Tech Talent Pathway must have an employer-specific SINP Job Approval Letter for an eligible technology sector occupation. They need at least one year of work experience in that occupation within the past five years, or six months of work experience in the province.
