IMMIGRATION SERVICES
Work Permits in Canada
Whether you need an employer-specific permit backed by an LMIA, an open work permit, or a renewal before your status expires, get the right work authorization, done correctly the first time.
A Clear Path to Working in Canada
A Canadian work permit can open the door to your career, your family’s future, and eventually permanent residence, but a refused or poorly prepared application can set you back years. As a Vancouver-based Canadian immigration lawyer, I represent workers and employers across Canada and around the world on every category of work permit application: LMIA-based and LMIA-exempt employer-specific permits, open work permits, post-graduation work permits, and extensions or restoration of status.
Every application I prepare is built as a legal submission: the correct category, complete supporting evidence, and persuasive representations that address the officer’s concerns before they arise.
Find your route
Three ways to work in Canada
Nearly every Canadian work permit falls into one of three families. Which one fits depends on your job, your employer and your circumstances, and choosing correctly the first time matters.
Employer-driven
LMIA-based permits
The default route: your employer obtains a Labour Market Impact Assessment from Service Canada showing no Canadian was available for the role.
- High-wage and low-wage streams
- Employer-specific permits
- Recruitment and wage requirements apply
LMIA-exempt (IMP)
The International Mobility Program allows hiring without an LMIA where an exemption applies, significant benefit, religious work, trade agreements, intra-company transfers and more.
Open work permits
No job offer needed: work for almost any employer. Available through specific programs: IEC working holidays, post-graduation permits, spousal permits and bridging permits.
- IEC working holiday
- Post-graduation (PGWP)
- Spousal & bridging permits
Work Permit Services
Employer-Driven Work Permits
- LMIA-based employer-specific work permits
- LMIA-exempt permits, intra-company transfers
- CUSMA & free-trade professional work permits
- CPTPP, CETA & other treaty work permits
- Global Talent Stream applications
- Francophone Mobility work permits
- Employer compliance guidance
- Significant benefit (C10) work permits
- Religious work permits (C50)
Open & Special Work Permits
- Post-Graduation Work Permits (PGWP)
- Spousal open work permits
- Bridging open work permits
- International Experience Canada (IEC)
- Work permit extensions, maintained status & restoration
- Refused work permit applications, strategy & reapplication
For employers
Hiring foreign talent?
For employers
Strategy & compliance
- Choosing between LMIA and LMIA-exempt hiring, before recruitment starts
- Employer Portal offers, compliance fees and record-keeping
- Wage, working-conditions and inspection readiness
- Immigration advice for employers, book a consultation
For workers
Applications & refusals
- Choosing the right permit category for your situation
- Complete, well-documented applications the first time
- Extensions, maintained status and changing employers
- Refused? Reconsideration and next steps
Before you apply
What every work permit file needs
Streams differ, but the fundamentals don’t. Depending on your circumstances, IRCC may assess:
- A genuine job offer, and the right permit category for it
- Evidence you meet the education, experience and language requirements
- Admissibility: records, prior refusals and immigration history
- Timing, filing before your status expires, with maintained status in mind
Good to know
Work permit questions, answered
Not always. Many workers qualify under the International Mobility Program, significant benefit, religious work, trade agreements, intra-company transfers, or open permits like IEC and PGWP. The right route depends on your job and circumstances; choosing it correctly is most of the battle.
Often, yes. Depending on your occupation, wage and permit type, your spouse may be eligible for an open work permit and your children for study authorization. Eligibility rules have changed several times recently, current rules should be confirmed before you plan.
Processing times vary widely by country of application and stream, from weeks to many months. Building the timeline into recruitment or travel plans, and filing complete the first time, is the best protection.
A refusal is not necessarily the end, reconsideration requests, a stronger new application, or judicial review may be available. But refusals stay on your record, so the response should be strategic. See work permit refusals.
Employers must submit offers through the Employer Portal (IMP) or comply with LMIA conditions, pay the wages and provide the conditions promised, keep records, and be prepared for inspections. Non-compliance can mean penalties and bans from hiring foreign workers.
Ready to work in Canada?
Tell me about your situation and I’ll map out the strongest work permit strategy for you, clearly, honestly, and with no surprises.