CIMM – Open vs. Employer-Specific Work Permits – December 05, 2023

Key Facts And Figures

• In 2022, 77% of work permits issued by IRCC were open, while 23% were employer-specific. Of these employer-specific work permits, 42% were issued under the International Mobility Program (IMP), and 58% were issued under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP).

Key Messages

• Employer-specific work permit holders are authorized to work for the employer who provided the offer of employment that supported their work permit application. Open work permit holders may work for any eligible employer anywhere in Canada immediately upon entry.
• Employers of employer-specific work permit holders are subject to an employer compliance regime, which seeks to ensure the protection of foreign workers through a suite of regulatory obligations. This aims to promote safe and fair working conditions for temporary foreign workers.
• Additionally, under the TFWP employers must meet certain wage requirements, which are applied using the Labour Market Impact Assessment to avoid wage suppression for foreign workers and Canadians alike.
• IRCC has also implemented facilitative measures to support employer-specific work permit holders, including the Open Work Permit for Vulnerable Workers, to enable workers to leave abusive situations. Also, the Changing Employers Public Policy permits workers to change employers and begin working with that new employer more quickly.

Supplementary Information

• The employer compliance regime does not apply to employers of open work permit holders, as there is no listed employer on which to impose the requirements.
• The Open Work Permit for Vulnerable Workers (OWP-V) is available for employer-specific work permit holders facing abuse. The current approval rate for these applications is 54%, with a number of factors influencing the refusal rates. For example, refused applicants are often re-applying multiple times without a change in their circumstances hoping for a different outcome. In total, 25% of applications between June 1, 2019, and September 30, 2023, were repeat applications. Additionally, 15% of applicants did not hold an employer-specific work permit, an eligibility requirement, before applying. Application volumes in this program are relatively low, with just over 2,500 applications received in 2023 up to the end of September. This low volume can explain the variability in refusal rates, as small trends in applications can impact overall approval rates.
• Members from the Bloc Quebecois have previously raised allegations from the Réseau d’aide aux travailleuses et travailleurs migrants agricoles du Québec that applications under the OWP-V are being refused at disproportionate rates in Quebec. Approval rates in Quebec are slightly higher than the national rate (57% vs. 54% respectively). Approval rates in Quebec have increased from 47% in 2022 to 57% in 2023.