New Requirements for the International Mobility Program

New Requirements for the International Mobility Program

On June 20, 2014, the Government of Canada announced changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), including reorganizing the TFWP into two distinct programs:

1. TFWP: requires a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) and is led by Employment and Skills Development Canada (ESDC); and

2. International Mobility Program: LMIA – exempt and led by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC).

The following fees/regulations for the International Mobility Program came into force on February 21, 2015.

• a $230 compliance fee for employers;
• a requirement for employers to submit employment information directly to CIC; and
• a new fee of $100 on open work permit applications.

Employers are required to pay a $230 compliance fee when hiring foreign nationals under employer-specific LMIA exemption (e.g., intra-company transferees, foreign workers entering under trade agreements, significant benefit exemptions, provincial/territorial agreements, etc.). The $230 fee will be payable by employers for each LMIA-exempt employer-specific work permit application, including renewals.

What this means for employers of PNP Applicants

When applying to hire a foreign national under an employer-specific LMIA-exemption, employers will need to complete the following steps:

1. The employer must pay the compliance fee of $230 electronically using the “Pay Your Fees” page on the Immigration and Citizenship page of the Government of Canada website at http://cic.gc.ca/english/information/fees/index.asp. Employers will receive a receipt number from CIC.
2. The employer must complete the following form electronically: IMM5802 – Offer of Employment to a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) Exempt Foreign National.

• The employer must include the $230 fee receipt number in the required field of the IMM5802 form.
• Upon completion of the form, the employer will click on the “Submit” button and this will populate an email with the correct information and attach the IMM5802 Offer of Employment for direct submission to CIC.

3. The employer must then provide a copy of the IMM5802 Offer of Employment to the foreign national for inclusion with the work permit application.

The new $100 fee introduced on open work permits will be in addition to the $155 work permit processing fee. This fee will be paid by the foreign national and applies to most open work permit applicants (e.g., International Experience Canada participants, spouses of skilled temporary foreign workers and international students, post-graduation work permit applications, etc.).

For more detailed information on these changes, please visit:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/tools/temp/work/admissibility/specific.asp.