International Mobility Workers Unit: Help for employers

The International Mobility Workers Unit (IMWU) provides opinions on whether or not you (the employer) and the temporary foreign worker you want to hire are exempt from

• getting a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA)
• the work permit requirement

You can request an opinion from the IMWU to find out if an LMIA or work permit exemption applies to your situation. The IMWU can only assess 1 LMIA or work permit exemption per request. If you submit a request for an opinion on more than 1 exemption, we won’t process it.

Who can request an opinion

To make a request with the IMWU, the temporary foreign worker must be

•   located outside Canada
•   eligible to apply at the port of entry (POE) (no flagpoling allowed), and
•   from a country whose nationals are visa-exempt

If the temporary foreign worker doesn’t meet these requirements

• you can’t request an opinion from IMWU and
• the temporary foreign worker must apply for a work permit
  • The officer who processes the work permit application determines if an LMIA or work permit exemption applies.
  • This happens at the visa office, a POE or a case processing centre.

The IMWU also cannot issue opinions for a temporary foreign worker who

•   already has a valid work permit
•   has already applied for a work permit
•   is waiting for a decision on an ongoing work permit application

Request an opinion

To request an opinion from the IMWU on whether a single LMIA or work permit exemption applies to your situation, send an email to IRCC.IMWU-UMIT.IRCC@cic.gc.ca and include the following:

• a copy of the biographic data page of the temporary foreign worker’s passport
• supporting documentation such as
  • a letter explaining the details of the Canadian company and their staffing needs
  • a job offer or employment contract
  • the temporary foreign worker’s CV
  • the temporary foreign worker’s diploma, if applicable
  • any other pertinent document, according to the selected exemption code
• a complete Request for an Opinion on Work Permit or LMIA exemption form [IMM 5686] (opens in a new tab)
  • the LMIA exemption or work permit exemption code that is most relevant to your hiring situation

When to submit the request

Submit your opinion requests to the IMWU at least 45 days before the date that the temporary foreign worker plans to enter Canada.

After we receive your request

We’ll review the supporting documents and employment offer. Based on the review, we’ll give an opinion letter on whether an LMIA or work permit exemption applies to your situation.

If we give a positive opinion (the exemption applies)

• you need to give the opinion letter to the temporary foreign worker
• the worker needs to bring the letter with them when they go to a POE

If we give a negative opinion (exemption doesn’t apply), the worker needs to apply for a work permit with other supporting documents or criteria. For example, you may need to get an LMIA for the worker.

Final decision

The border services officer at the POE makes

• the final decision to approve an LMIA exemption, work permit exemption or both
• an assessment of admissibility of the temporary foreign worker

The officer may consider the IMWU’s opinion, but this won’t guarantee

• that the temporary foreign worker will be exempt from needing an LMIA or work permit
• entry into Canada

This means that the officer may decide the LMIA or work permit exemption doesn’t apply even if the IMWU gives a positive opinion.

• In this case, the officer will also tell the worker their next steps.
• Unlike the officer at the POE, the IMWU only assesses the worker’s eligibility and not their admissibility.
• To know for sure if they’re eligible for an LMIA-exempted work permit, workers need to apply for a work permit before arriving in Canada.

Questions

If you have any questions, please contact the IMWU at IRCC.IMWU-UMIT.IRCC@cic.gc.ca.