Canada offers various work permit options, including open work permits, employer-specific work permits, and study work permits. Each type has specific eligibility criteria and requirements.
It’s important to choose the right type of work permit to match your needs and situation.
If you have completed your studies from a designated learning institution (DLI) and wish to remain in Canada temporarily to work, you may be eligible for a post-graduation work permit (PGWP).
However, simply graduating from a DLI does not automatically make you eligible for a PGWP. To verify eligibility, you should consult the DLI list to determine which schools offer eligible programs.
All online studies at a PGWP-eligible DLI from outside Canada between March 2020 and August 31, 2022, count toward PGWP length.
The policy changes as of September 1, 2022.
Check if you’re affected by these changes.
Until August 31, 2023, you can complete 100% of two study programs online if:
Time not counted toward PGWP length:
From March 2020 until August 31, 2023, the duration of your PGWP will include the time you spent studying online from outside Canada.
After September 1, 2023, for your online studies to be counted towards your PGWP, you must have completed a minimum of 50% of your program in a physical classroom setting in Canada.
How long your PGWP is valid for depends on the length of your study program.
You won’t be eligible for a post-graduation work permit (PGWP).
We may grant you a PGWP that’s valid for the same length of time as your study program. For instance, if you completed a 9-month program, you may receive a 9-month work permit.
We may grant you a PGWP that’s valid for 3 years.
You may be eligible for a PGWP that combines the length of each program. The programs must be both:
Make sure your passport is valid for the duration of the PGWP eligibility. If your passport expires before the PGWP, the permit will only be valid until the passport’s expiration date, and you will be notified if you need to extend the passport to receive the full PGWP validity.
Extending Your PGWP
You can only extend the PGWP if instructed by the authorities. In such cases, you will need to apply for an extension through a paper application, to ensure that the PGWP is valid for the entire period of eligibility.
You may be eligible for an open work permit with a validity of up to 18 months under a new public policy, provided you meet the requirements. Check if you are eligible for this type of open work permit.
Employer-specific work permit
An employer-specific work permit lets you work in Canada according to the conditions on your work permit, such as:
Before you apply for an employer-specific work permit, your employer must give you
An open work permit lets you work for any employer in Canada, except for one that is listed as ineligible on the list of employers who have failed to comply with the conditions, or regularly offers striptease, erotic dance, escort services or erotic massages
The Intra-Company Transfer program allows international companies to transfer qualified employees to Canada on a temporary basis. This is with a view to expanding Canadian exports, enhancing competitiveness in overseas markets as well as improving management effectiveness.
Since these transferees provide economic benefits to Canada through their expertise, they are exempt from the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), however, they require a work permit.
Essentially, the ICT Program allows the transferees to stay in Canada for a temporary period only, with a possible pathway for permanent residence.
Inland Sponsorship Work Permit – Work Permit through Spouse or Common law partner Class sponsorship application
Applicants who are in Canada and sponsored by their spouse or common-law partner may apply for an open work permit. The work permit application must be submitted along with the sponsorship application and include the work permit processing fee.
To be eligible, the applicant must:
If the sponsorship application has been submitted without a work permit, it can be added as soon as the sponsorship file number is received.
Citizens of the US or Mexico may be eligible to apply for a work permit through the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). This program has four categories:
This program has four categories:
For business people conducting business activities such as research, production, marketing, and sales. The applicant and business must not intend to enter the Canadian labor market.
Eligible professionals with a job offer from a Canadian employer can apply, without a Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA)
For professionals transferring from a foreign company to its Canadian branch. The job offer from the Canadian employer is exempt from LMIA requirements.
For executives and supervisors in the trading and investment sector.
Please note that these categories have specific requirements and eligibility criteria.
Obtain a work permit through the International experience Canada program
Canada has reciprocal agreements with 35 countries, allowing their nationals to apply for a work permit. The eligibility criteria depend on the country of nationality and may vary between countries. Participating countries include:
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Italy, Ireland, Japan, South Korea, Latvia Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Ukraine, United Kingdom.
As previously stated above, your eligibility criteria will be based on your country of nationality. The program is open to individuals aged between 18 and 35 inclusive, however some of the listed countries only allow individuals who are aged between 18 and 30 inclusive, such as Australia
The International experience Canada offers three separate programs in which to pledge come to Canada, however all three programs are not available to every country. You will need to check to see which programs are available to you based on your nationality.
The three programs are:
Working holiday program
Young professionals program
International coop program
In addition to the 35 countries, Canada also has agreements with recognized organizations that offer the Working Holiday, Young Professionals, and International Coop programs. If an individual’s country of nationality is not listed above, they may still be eligible to apply through a recognized organization.
For example, US citizens can apply for a Working Holiday or Young Professional work permit via a recognized organization, as there is no mobility program between the US and Canada.
You may be eligible for a post-graduation work permit (PGWP) if you graduated from a designated learning institution (DLI) and want to stay in Canada temporarily to work.
Graduation from a DLI doesn’t automatically make you eligible for a PGWP. Check the DLI list to find out which schools have eligible programs.
All of the time you spent studying online at a PGWP-eligible DLI from outside Canada between March 2020 and August 31, 2022, counts toward the length of a PGWP.
This policy will change as of September 1, 2022.
Find out if these changes affect you and how.
Until August 31, 2023, if you’re completing 2 study programs, you can finish 100% of your studies online from outside Canada if
The following time won’t count toward the length of a PGWP:
Until August 31, 2023, the time you spend studying online from within Canada still counts toward the length of your PGWP.
Starting September 1, 2023, you must complete 50% of your program in-class in Canada.
How long your PGWP is valid for depends on the length of your study program.
You aren’t eligible for a PGWP.
We may give you a PGWP that’s valid for up to the same length as your study program.
For example, if you completed a 9-month program, we may give you a work permit for up to 9 months.
We may give you a PGWP that’s valid for 3 years.
You may be able to get a PGWP that combines the length of each program.
Each of the programs you completed must be
You can’t get a PGWP if you already had one after completing an earlier program of study.
Make sure your passport is valid for the entire length of time you should be eligible for. If your passport expires earlier
You can only extend a PGWP if we tell you to. If this happens, you have to apply on paper to extend your PGWP so that it’ll be valid for the full length it should be.
You may be eligible for an open work permit of up to 18 months under a new public policy. Find out if you meet the requirements for this open work permit.
Citizens of the United States or Mexico may be eligible to apply for a work permit through the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
This program has fOUR categories:
This category is for business persons who wish to come to Canada to perform business related activities such as research and design, growth, manufacture and production, marketing, sales, distribution, after-sales service and general service. It is important to know that the applicant nor the applicants business must not intend to enter the Canadian labour market and the operations of the business remain outside of Canada.
If you occupation as listed as one of the qualifying occupations eligible to participate, you may apply for a work permit. Please note that this category also requires a job offer from a Canadian employer. However, it is important to know that this job offer does not require a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA)
This category is for applicants who are currently working in a business or organization in the United States or Mexico, which also has a Canadian business organization operating in Canada. This category allows for the transfer of a professional from the foreign company to it’s Canadian branch/organization in Canada. Please note that this category also requires a job offer from the Canadian employer, however this job offer is also exam from the requirement of a Labour market impact assessment.
This category allows for traders / investors to apply for work permit. You may only apply for this work permit if you’re coming to Canada in a supervisory or executive level.
Obtain a work permit through the International experience Canada program
Canada currently has reciprocal agreements with 35 countries, which allow nationals of these countries to apply for a work permit. Depending on which country, each agreement is separate and may have different criteria and conditions from another participating country.
The following countries who can participate in the IEC include,
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Italy, Ireland, Japan, South Korea, Latvia Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Ukraine, United Kingdom.
As previously stated above, your eligibility criteria will be based on your country of nationality. The program is open to individuals aged between 18 and 35 inclusive, however some of the listed countries only allow individuals who are aged between 18 and 30 inclusive, such as Australia
The International experience Canada offers three separate programs in which to pledge come to Canada, however all three programs are not available to every country. You will need to check to see which programs are available to you based on your nationality.
The three programs are:
This allows individuals to apply for an open work permit. “open” that you can work for any employer you wish anywhere in Canada, excluding the province of Québec. This program is perfect if you wish to travel and work in Canada, or to gain valuable Canadian work experience.
The duration of the open work permit will be based on the agreement with your country of nationality in Canada.
For example: a citizen of Ireland is eligible to apply for a two year open work permit, whereas a citizen of Italy can apply for 6 months only.
This program allows individuals to gain professional experience in the occupation. This program requires a job offer from a Canadian employer, however this job offer is LMIA exempt, which means that the employer is not required to obtain a Labour market impact assessment in order to provide this job offer. Duration of this program is dependent on the agreement between the country of nationality in Canada.
This program allow students who have a job offer from a Canadian employer, to complete their internship in Canada as part of their educational program from the country of nationality. The duration of the work permit is for 6 months for all countries.
In additional with have an agreement with 35 countries, Canada also has an agreement with name recognized organizations which also offer the working holiday program, the young professionals program and the International core program. If your country of nationality is not listed on the countries above, you may still be eligible to apply through a recognized organization.
For example: the United States does not have a used mobility program with Canada, however US citizens can apply via a recognized organization to obtain a working holiday or young professional work permit.
Pursue your dream degree in Canada with the study permit visas. Based on your credentials, work experience and language skills, we help you choose the right institution for your course. We offer personalized guidance based on your profile.
If you’re unsure what is the best choice for you, fret not, just email us and sit tight. Our team will help you with the entire process!
The study permit is a document that allows foreign nationals to study at designated learning institutions (DLIs) in Canada. A study permit is required if:
Student Direct Stream / SDS is available for legal residents of China, India, Morocco, Pakistan, the Philippines, Senegal & Vietnam
To be eligible, an applicant must:
Inland Sponsorship Work Permit – Work Permit through Spouse or Common law partner Class sponsorship application
Applicants who are already in Canada under been sponsored by their spouse or common-law partner, may submit an application for an open work permit. This work permit application should be submitted along with the sponsorship application and should include the work permit processing fee on the open work permit holder’s fee.
To be eligible to submit a work permit application you must:
If you have already submitted your sponsorship application and did not include a work permit application, you may submit the work permit application soon as you receive a file number for your sponsorship application.
An open work permit lets you work for any employer in Canada, except for one that is listed as ineligible on the list of employers who have failed to comply with the conditions, or regularly offers striptease, erotic dance, escort services or erotic massages
The Intra-Company Transfer program allows international companies to transfer qualified employees to Canada on a temporary basis. This is with a view to expanding Canadian exports, enhancing competitiveness in overseas markets as well as improving management effectiveness.
Since these transferees provide economic benefits to Canada through their expertise, they are exempt from the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), however, they require a work permit.
Essentially, the ICT Program allows the transferees to stay in Canada for a temporary period only, with a possible pathway for permanent residence.
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