Coming to Canada: Necessary Documentation

Prior to arriving

The Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program facilitates the entry of TFWs into Canada to address temporary labour and skills shortages. The program is a partnership between Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) and Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), with Canada Border Services Agency having the final word on who may enter Canada.

There are a number of documents which must be filed in order for you to work in Canada. Some of these are the responsibility of the employer, and some are your responsibility. To enter as a TFW, you must have copies of all of the documentation in order to be allowed into the country. The following section describes the process, and all of the documentation that is necessary.

Labour Market Opinion (LMO) – A Labour Market Opinion is issued by Service Canada (the service arm of Human Resources and Sk Development Canada).  The LMO provides the employer with an opinion as to whether or not there is a real need to hire foreign workers for the jobs they have available.  It allows the employer to consider you for employment.  It is the employer who applies for the LMO, not you.  The employer will give you a copy of the approved LMO so that you can apply for your Visa and/or Work Permit.  To help your employer apply for an LMO, you will need to provide them with your full name, date of birth, country of citizenship and country of last residence.  To find out more about the LMO process, see the HRSDC Temporary Foreign Worker Program website.

  • In Quebec, there is an additional requirement in the LMO process. The employer must apply, on your behalf, for a Québec Acceptance Certificate (QAC) from the Ministère de l’Immigration et des Communautés culturelles (MICC). There is a cost associated with the QAC, which can be paid by either you or the employer. A joint HRSDC/MICC letter is sent to the employer, who then sends it to you for submission to CIC. To find out more about this process see the Ministère de l'Immigration et des Communautés culturelles (MICC) website.
  • In Alberta, workers in compulsory trades must be assessed by Alberta Apprenticeship & Industry Training (AAIT). AAIT evaluates work experience by speaking directly with previous employers and training institutions (using interpreters where necessary), and then issues a letter of approval permitting the TFW to enter and work up to 180 days in Canada before passing the exam. Usually this assessment is paid for by the TFW, though sometimes the employer will pay.

Letter of offer – Along with the LMO and QAC (in Quebec) and Letter of Approval (in Alberta), employers provide you with documentation that outlines the job you are being offered, conditions of employment and agreements made between yourself and the employer. The conditions of employment include, for example, the wages you will be paid and a description of payroll deductions, and the duration of your employment. It may also include a commitment from the employer to provide on-the-job accommodation in remote locations, and training supports. The offer of employment may be in the form of a letter or formal contract between yourself and the employer. You must include the offer of employment when you apply to Citizenship and Immigration Canada for a visa and/or work permit. It is important to make sure you save a copy of it, in case of a disagreement between yourself and the employer. 

For jobs requiring lower levels of formal training, employers must submit a job offer with the application for a LMO. Under this pilot program, employers have a number of responsibilities that must be included in the contract. Employers must:

  • sign an employer-employee contract outlining your wages, duties, and conditions related to your transportation, accommodation, health and occupational safety;
  • cover all recruitment costs related to hiring you;
  • ensure that you can find suitable and affordable accommodation;
  • pay your airfare to and from Canada (note that TFWs in this category must return to their country of permanent residence for at least four months before a subsequent work permit can be issued);
  • cover transportation costs from the airport to the location of work;
  • provide medical coverage until you are eligible for provincial health insurance coverage;
  • register you, the worker, under the appropriate provincial workers’ compensation and/or workplace safety insurance plans; and
  • when an offer of employment is for longer than 12 months, indicate in the contract that wages will be reviewed and adjusted, if necessary, at the end of one year to ensure prevailing wage rates are being respected.

Visa – Citizens from some countries require visas to enter Canada. This includes TFWs. To find out if you require a visa, look for your country of residence on the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website, where countries that require visas are listed. You can apply for a visa through CIC visa offices in the location where you live. It is important to note that you are responsible for the visa, not the employer. This includes paying the processing fee when you apply for your visa. You must pay the fee whether your application is accepted or rejected. 

The time to process depends on where you apply, because it is different from one visa office to the next. Check the CIC processing times for an idea of how long it may take to process your visa application.

Typically a visa requires both a medical and criminal check. You may be asked to go and speak to an immigration office at the visa office. It may help your visa application to be processed faster if you have all the necessary documentation before applying. For example, make sure any photocopies of documents can be easily read, provide translation for any of your proofs of previous employment and training in the construction trades, and apply from a country where you are a citizen. See How to apply for more information.

In order to reduce the lag time between the approval processes for LMOs and visas, CIC allows proposed TFWs in skilled occupations to apply for their visas at the same time that Service Canada is assessing the LMO for the employer. This is called concurrent processing. If your employer wants you to apply for the visa at the same time as the LMO, he/she must provide you with the LMO file number. You can then apply for your visa. While this may speed up the process, there are some risks. The worker must pay the fees for the visa application and medical examination (where required), which are non-refundable even if the LMO is denied. If the LMO is still pending 60 days after you have applied for the work permit, you must contact your employer to find out how much longer Service Canada anticipates it will take to process the LMO. If Service Canada requires more than 90 days after the work permit application was made to process the LMO, you must notify the visa office – otherwise your work permit could be refused. Concurrent processing is only available to people in construction occupations that require more formal training (skilled occupations). To find out more about concurrent processing, and the occupational requirements to use this service, go to the CIC website. 

  • Letter of introduction – When you apply for your visa, the immigration officer can provide a recommendation or “opinion on the worker’s admissibility” for the Canadian Border Services Agent, who will review the documents at the border. Having this letter of introduction can help speed things up at the border. 
     
  • Work permit – Work permits are issued at the port of entry into Canada. Be sure to have your copy of the LMO and letter of offer or job contract from the employer; letter of introduction and/or visa approval from the immigration officer, and any documentation concerning your employment history in the construction trades. Due to busy work schedules and so on, some workers find it useful to appoint a third-party representative to follow-up on the application on their behalf. To do this, use this form. For more information on applying for a work permit, visit the CIC website.

At the port of entry, a border control officer will determine your eligibility to enter the country. This decision is mostly focused on security issues. However, you need to demonstrate that you meet all of the job requirements and training set out in the LMO or you will not be issued a work permit. Once the immigration officer has checked your documents, the officer will print the actual permit for you.

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After arriving

Two key documents you need to apply for as soon as you arrive in Canada are a Social Insurance Number, and a health card.

Social Insurance Number (SIN) – You must have a Social Insurance Number (SIN) to work in Canada. It is not legal for an employer to hire you without this number. You also use this number when you apply for government services or pay your taxes. To apply for a SIN, you need to go to a Service Canada Centre. Phone 1-800-206-7218 to find the centre nearest to you. Or, visit the Service Canada web page on the Social Insurance Number for more information.

Provincial health insurance – All residents of Canada have access to medically necessary hospital and physician care through a provincial health insurance program. Doctors are paid by government taxes so that the patient does not have to pay for most health care costs. Health cards are issued by provincial and territorial governments. Contact information for the health ministry of each province or territory is available at Provincial/Territorial Health Insurance Card Links. For TFWs, the employer is responsible for making sure you are covered by medical and health insurance and workers’ compensation when you arrive in Canada. 

For a checklist of other things you need to do once you arrive in Canada, read the Welcome to Canada guide.

This page last updated December 2009