How do I come to Canada as a temporary foreign worker?

To come to Canada as a temporary foreign worker, you must get a work permit. There are different kinds of work permits.

If you are not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, you need a work permit to work legally in Canada.

In general, you need to apply for a work permit from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) or a Canadian visa office before you come to Canada. For these work permits:

• You need to get a job offer from a Canadian employer before you apply.
• The employer must apply for a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC).
• ESDC will decide whether the employer can hire a foreign worker to fill the job.

There are special work permits for some kinds of workers. For example, there are special work permit programs for caregivers, business people and agricultural workers.

There are different types of work permit inside Canada which you can apply depending on your qualifications and certain other conditions.

For more information, go to Working Temporarily in Canada on the IRCC website.

Work permit inside canada

Eligibility conditions for getting a temporary work permit:

• You are currently in Canada and possess a valid work or study permit, or your parents or spouse have a work or study permit;
• You have graduated from a program at any—
• Canadian university;
• Publicly funded trade/technical school,
• Community college;
• CEGEP; or
• Other eligible school.
• You hold a temporary resident permit having a validity of six months or more;
• You have already applied or been included in an application for permanent residence from inside Canada(you shall have to pass some stages in the main application process to become eligible for a work permit);
• You have sought for refugee status in Canada and are awaiting for a decision from RPD(Refugee Protection Division) of Immigration and Refuge Board of Canada;
• You have been recognized by the RPD as a convention refugee or protected person;
• You have had your refugee claim turned down by the RPD, however you cannot be removed from Canada due to reasons beyond your control; or
• You are authorized to work in Canada without any work permit but you still require a work permit for working in a different job.

Different categories of work permit inside Canada:

• Open Work Permits.
• Employer-specific work permits