Canada Work Permits — every route to working in Canada.

• Whether an LMIA is genuinely required

  Many applicants assume they need one when an exemption applies. Establishing exemption early saves months and thousands in employer cost.

• Where you are applying from

  Most open permits cannot be obtained from outside Canada, which changes the realistic options considerably.

• Your current status and its expiry

  Applying before expiry generally preserves your right to work. Letting status lapse turns a simple filing into restoration.

• The occupation and its TEER level

  Skill level drives spousal eligibility, PR pathways and in some cases the permit route itself.

• Employer compliance obligations

  Employer-specific permits carry an inspection regime. Employers should understand it before they hire.

• How the permit feeds your PR plan

  The permit you take now determines the Canadian experience you can claim later. Choose with PR in mind.

• Who it covers

  Anyone holding a valid work permit, open or employer-specific, whose program of study runs six months or less. There is no application and no fee, and your work permit is the only proof a college can ask for. Study-related conditions printed on the permit — the “not authorized to study” line — stop applying, and no CAQ is needed in Quebec. The measure runs to 31 December 2027.

• The Express Entry cost

  Study full time under this policy and the work you do during those studies will not count toward Canadian Experience Class eligibility, or toward Canadian work experience points under the CRS. If a co-op placement is attached and the employer or occupation differs from your current one, you also need a second work permit before it starts. Read the full breakdown →

• What changed

  Where an in–Canada extension is eligible for concurrent processing — filed while the employer’s LMIA is still pending — IRCC holds the application for 90 days from the date it was received rather than refusing it. The hold gives ESDC time to decide the LMIA before IRCC makes a final decision.

• Who it covers

  Applicants in Canada whose current work permit expires within two weeks of filing, where the employer has already submitted a complete LMIA application to ESDC with enough advance notice for it to be decided inside the window.

• Why it matters

  Without the hold, an extension filed before the LMIA arrived would simply be refused, pushing an otherwise sound application into restoration and a loss of work authorisation. The 90–day window lets the two processes run in parallel.

• What it does not change

  You still have to file before your current permit expires — that is what preserves maintained status. And a work permit application received after the LMIA validity date has already passed is still refused, so the LMIA has to be live when you file.

Extending from inside Canada? The mechanics live on the work permit extension page, and other statuses are covered under temporary resident extensions. Employers running the recruitment side start with the LMIA guide.