Normally, processing involves an officer individually evaluating each work permit applicant to determine if they are approved. This includes a review of the applicant’s experience, education, language ability and any licensing requirements.
The officer will also assess if the offer of employment is genuine. They do this by checking if the employer is actively engaged in their business if they can pay employee wages and that they are compliant with federal and provincial employment laws.
The new approach will apply to any applicant who is returning to the same employer and occupation whether they are applying from in Canada or abroad.
The department expects that the proposed measures will be beneficial.
Candidates must meet the following criteria to be eligible:
- They need to be issued an employer-specific work permit once in the past five years with no discrepancies from the previous application
- They must submit a complete work permit application for a new employer-specific work permit
- They must return to the same occupation, with the same National Occupation Classification (NOC) code
- They need to provide biometrics, either prior to or with their new application
- They must meet all other admissibility requirements throughout the screening process
Most employers who choose to hire through the TFWP need to get a positive or neutral Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). This document is submitted to ESDC and outlines the employer’s plan to hire, and why they need to hire, foreign workers. It must demonstrate that hiring foreign workers will have a positive, or neutral, impact on Canada’s economy.
Employers need to provide evidence that they tried to find qualified Canadian citizens or permanent residents to fill the vacant job positions before seeking foreign workers.
Additionally, employers may be inspected for compliance with government regulations after their employee has begun working in Canada.
