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Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program
If you’ll be working in the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program, you’re not eligible to apply for a work permit at a POE.
In most cases, you need to give biometrics. After you pay the biometrics fee and submit your application, we’ll send you a letter that says you need to give your biometrics. The letter will tell you how and where to give your biometrics. You have up to 30 days to give your biometrics (in person).
If you didn’t pay the biometrics fee, we’ll send you a letter asking you to do this first. You can only get the instruction letter if you pay the biometrics fee.
To come to Canada temporarily, you need to give biometrics once every 10 years. If you gave biometrics in the past and they’re still valid, you don’t need to give them again. Find out if your biometrics are still valid and when they expire by using the Check Status Tool.
Work Permit Application
We’ll check your application to make sure you have all the necessary documents.
If it’s incomplete, we’ll return your application without processing it.
We may also ask you to:
- go to an interview with our officials in your country, or
- to send more information
You might need a medical exam to enter Canada. If you do, an officer will tell you and will send you instructions on what to do. A medical exam can add over 3 months to the time it takes us to process your application.
An officer will also check:
- the list of employers who failed to comply with the conditions to make sure that the employer can hire you, and
- that you qualify for a work permit and have given us all the documents we need
If your application is approved
If your application is approved, you’ll get a letter that says you’re allowed to work in Canada. Bring this letter with you when you travel to Canada.
That letter is not a work permit. You’ll get your work permit when you arrive in Canada.
The work permit will outline:
- the type of work you can do
- the employer you can work for
- where you can work, and
- how long you can work
If you applied for your work permit at the port of entry
If you’re eligible to apply for the work permit as you enter Canada and are approved, the border services officer may then give you a work permit that sets out any conditions on your stay and work in Canada.
If you applied for your work permit from inside Canada
If you’re eligible to apply from within Canada, we’ll mail the work permit to the Canadian address you gave us.
Need Help?
Contact us for more information about working in Canada or for assistance in applying for an open work permit. Our Canadian immigration services include different options where you can choose between Full Representation, Final Review and Do-It-Yourself packages. If you have any questions, you can book free immigration consultation to speak with immigration consultant in Toronto.
Atlantic Immigration (Pilot) program
(A) LMIA (Labour Market Impact Assessment)
The Atlantic Immigration Pilot helps you hire qualified candidates for jobs you haven’t been able to fill locally. These candidates can be overseas or living in Canada temporarily.
There are 3 programs you can use to hire someone:
- Atlantic International Graduate Program
- Atlantic High-skilled Program
- Atlantic Intermediate-skilled Program
- Transition plans will be required for high-wage positions whereby employers must demonstrate increased efforts to hire Canadians in the long-term.
Each program has requirements that you and the candidate must meet.
Before you make a job offer, you must be designated by the provincial government of the Atlantic province where the candidate will be working.
Once you make a job offer, you and the candidate will work through several steps. If you and the candidate meet all the requirements, the candidate gets permanent resident status in Canada.
A). International graduates – Atlantic Immigration Pilot
The Atlantic Immigration Pilot has 3 programs:
Employers offering a wage that is below the provincial/territorial median hourly wage must:
- High-Skilled Program
- Intermediate-Skilled Program
- International Graduate Program
Find out if you’re eligible
To qualify for the, you must:
- have lived in an Atlantic province for at least 16 months in the 2 years before getting your degree, diploma or credential
- meet the education requirements
- take a language test to show you can communicate in English or French
- show that you have enough money to support yourself and your family in Canada
Work experience
This program doesn’t require work experience.
Education
You must meet all these requirements:
- You must have at least a 2-year degree, diploma, certificate, or trade or apprenticeship credential from a recognized publicly-funded institution in an Atlantic province.
- You must have been a full-time student for the entire duration of your studies.
- You lived in one of the Atlantic provinces for at least 16 months in the 2 years before getting your degree, diploma or educational credential.
- You had the visa or permit you needed to work, study or train in Canada.
- English or French second-language courses for more than half of the program
- distance learning undertaken for more than half the length of the program
Education outside Canada
Only your education in Canada is considered. However, if you have education credentials from outside Canada you want to include, you must have your education outside Canada assessed.
Language
Even though you were educated in Canada, you must take one of the language tests we approve. The test shows you can communicate in English or French well enough to live and work in Canada.
Learn about language testing for the Atlantic Immigration Pilot.
If you took one of the approved tests, you can send those results if they:
- are less than 2 years old
- show you meet the level the program requires
Proof of funds
You need to have enough money to support yourself and your family when you get to Canada. The amount you need depends on the size of your family. The size of your family includes anyone you support who isn’t immigrating with you.
Learn how much money you should have when you arrive in Canada.
If you’re already living and working in Canada with a valid work permit, you don’t need to show proof.
2. Get a job offer
You must have a job offer that meets all these requirements:
- The job offer was made using the Offer of Employment to a Foreign National [IMM5650] .
- The employer has been designated as an employer taking part in the Atlantic Immigration Pilot by the Atlantic province (New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, or Prince Edward Island) where you’ll be working. They must have a Confirmation of Designation from the province.
- The job must be full-time, meaning you’ll work at least 30 paid hours per week.
- The job must be non-seasonal. In general, this means you have consistent and regularly scheduled paid employment throughout the year.
- The job is skill type/level 0, A, B or C under the National Occupational Classification (NOC).
- The employer is offering you a job that will last for at least 1 year.
3. Submit your application
When you and the employer have completed all the steps, you can submit your application.
To save time, start filling in your permanent resident application before all the steps are completed. Gather the documents that go with your application as soon as you can.
Application for the Atlantic International Graduate Program
High-skilled workers – Atlantic Immigration Pilot
The Atlantic Immigration Pilot has 3 programs:
- High-Skilled Program
- Intermediate-Skilled Program
- International Graduate Program
- Find out if you’re eligible
- Get a job offer
- Submit your application
1. Find out if you’re eligible
Work experience
In the last 3 years, you must have worked at least 1,560 hours. This is how many hours you would have worked in 1 year if you were working 30 hours per week.
This work must have been at National Occupational Classification (NOC) skill type/level 0, A, or B.
To calculate your hours:
- Count hours worked in part-time and full-time jobs.
- The hours must be in 1 occupation, but they can be with different employers.
- You must have been paid for these hours. Volunteering or unpaid internships don’t count.
- Don’t count hours when you were self-employed.
- These working hours can be inside or outside Canada.
- The hours must have been accumulated over a period of at least 12 months.
If you aren’t eligible for the High-Skilled Program, see if you’re eligible for the Intermediate-Skilled Program.
Education
You must have one of the following:
- a Canadian secondary (high school) or post-secondary certificate, diploma or degree
- a foreign degree, diploma or certificate, equal to a Canadian credential. You’ll need an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report from a recognized organization to show your credential is valid and equal to a Canadian credential. If you already have an ECA report, it must be less than 5 years old when we receive your permanent resident application.
Language
You must take one of the language tests we approve. The test shows you can communicate in English or French well enough to live and work in Canada.
Learn about language testing for the Atlantic Immigration Pilot.
If you have taken an approved test, you can send those results if they:
- are less than 2 years old
- show you meet the level the program requires
Proof of funds
You need to have enough money to support yourself and your family when you get to Canada. The amount you need depends on the size of your family. The size of your family includes anyone you support who isn’t immigrating with you.
Learn how much money you should have when you arrive in Canada.
If you’re already living and working in Canada with a valid work permit, you don’t need to show proof of funds.
2. Get a job offer
You must have a job offer that meets all of these requirements:
- The job offer was made using the Offer of Employment to a Foreign National [IMM5650] (PDF, 817.97 KB) form.
- The employer has been designated as an employer taking part in the Atlantic Immigration Pilot by the Atlantic province (New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, or Prince Edward Island) where you’ll be working. They must have a Confirmation of Designation from the province.
- The job must be full-time, meaning you’ll work at least 30 paid hours per week.
- The job must be non-seasonal. In general, this means you have consistent and regularly scheduled paid employment throughout the year.
- The job is skill type/level 0, A or B under the NOC.
- The employer is offering you a job that will last for at least 1 year.
3. Submit your application
When you and the employer have completed all the steps, you can submit your application.
To save time, start filling in your permanent resident application before all of the steps are completed. Gather the documents that go with your application as soon as you can.
Application for the Atlantic High-Skilled Program
C). Intermediate-skilled workers – Atlantic Immigration Pilot Need Help?
Contact us for more information about working in Canada or for assistance in applying for an open work permit. Our Canadian immigration services include different options where you can choose between Full Representation, Final Review and Do-It-Yourself packages. If you have any questions, you can book free immigration consultation to speak with immigration consultant in Toronto.