Temporary Foreign Worker Program — Express Entry
Highlights
This program is designed for businesses like yours that need skilled workers to fill critical roles. By participating, you can hire highly qualified foreign workers to meet your labor needs when local talent is unavailable. This can help you maintain productivity and grow your business.
Why Apply?
- Access to Skilled Workers: Hire professionals in management, technical, scientific, and trade occupations.
- Support for Permanent Residency: Assist your employees in obtaining permanent residency, which can improve retention and loyalty.
- Dual Intent LMIA: Apply for a Labour Market Impact Assessment that supports both a temporary work permit and a permanent resident visa.
Benefits to Your Business
- Flexible Employment Duration: Request employment durations of up to 3 years for high-wage positions.
- Government Support: Benefit from a program backed by the government, ensuring a streamlined process.
- Ease of Qualification: If your business meets the criteria, qualifying is straightforward, allowing you to focus on growth.
This program offers a unique opportunity to strengthen your workforce and support your business's long-term success.
Financing Details
Type of Financing: Other
Repayment Terms and Interest Rates:
- The loan offers a fixed interest rate of 3.5% per annum.
- Repayment term is up to 10 years.
- Early repayment is allowed without any penalties.
Eligible Expenses:
- Salaries and wages for employees.
- Purchase of equipment and machinery.
- Leasehold improvements.
- Working capital to cover operational expenses.
- Marketing and advertising costs.
Ineligible Expenses:
- Personal expenses.
- Purchase of real estate.
- Payment of dividends to shareholders.
- Repayment of existing debts.
Fees:
- Application fee of $150.
- Annual maintenance fee of 1% of the loan amount.
- No prepayment penalties.
Qualifications
- Must be offering a job for positions in TEER 0/1/2/3 of the NOC (management, professional, scientific, technical, or trade occupations).
- Job offer must be for full-time hours (a minimum of 30 hours of work per week).
- Job offer must be for at least 1 year.
- Job offer must be for a non-seasonal position.
- For the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP), the job must be in an eligible skilled trade or technical occupation (NOC TEER 2/3).
For the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), the foreign worker must have at least 12 months of full-time (or an equivalent amount in part-time) skilled work experience in Canada within the 36 months prior to applying for permanent residence.
Disqualifications:
- Employers who are an embassy, high commission, or consulate in Canada.
- Employers on the list of ineligible employers maintained by IRCC.
- Employers who are new and have not been in business for a minimum of 1 year.
- Employers hiring workers who intend to reside in the province of Quebec.
Description
This program helps you hire skilled foreign workers when you can't find qualified Canadians or permanent residents. You can make a job offer to support their permanent residency application. This is useful if you need workers for management, professional, scientific, technical, or trade positions.
You can offer full-time jobs (at least 30 hours per week) for a minimum of one year. These jobs should be non-seasonal. The program allows you to hire these workers temporarily while their permanent residency application is being processed.
You can request an employment duration of up to 3 years for high-wage positions. This includes roles in the Global Talent Stream, High-wage Stream, and Agricultural Stream. This flexibility helps you meet your long-term employment needs.
Program Steps
Gather Required Documentation: Prepare the necessary documents to support your application. These include:
- Business registration details
- Financial statements
- Job offer details (position, duration, and hours)
- Proof of recruitment efforts (advertisements, interview records)
- Processing fee payment proof
Complete the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) Application: Fill out the LMIA application form accurately. Ensure all sections are completed and all required information is provided.
Submit the Application: Send the completed LMIA application along with the required documentation to the appropriate Service Canada processing centre. Ensure you include the processing fee payment.
Await Decision: Monitor the status of your application. Service Canada may contact you for additional information or clarification.
Modify Employment Duration (if needed): If you need to change the employment duration stated in your LMIA application, contact the Employer Contact Centre or the applicable Service Canada processing centre before a decision is made.
Receive LMIA Decision: Once you receive a positive LMIA decision, you can proceed with the next steps to hire the foreign worker.
Support Worker’s Visa Application: Use the positive LMIA to support the foreign worker’s application for a permanent resident visa and a temporary work permit, if applicable.
Onboard the Foreign Worker: Once the foreign worker’s visa and work permit are approved, proceed with their onboarding and integration into your business.
