Temporary Residence

At Kadri Law, we are proud to represent many of the world’s leading multinational companies that do business in Canada.   We help these companies access the skills and talents of professionals that go beyond borders.  This includes facilitating the entry of skilled professionals and foreign personnel when deployment in Canada is required.   We also recognize the urgency of certain situations, especially in the manufacturing sectors of our economy.  When your Company needs to bring foreign workers to Canada on an urgent basis, Kadri Law is an industry leader in the devise and execution of foreign worker strategies that address exigent situations.  

Canada has an active foreign worker program that grants entry to foreign nationals and authorizes them for employment purposes.  In fact, Canadian Immigration legislation was intended to facilitate the entry of business people and foreign workers who will strengthen the country’s economy.
As a general rule, foreign nationals seeking to perform work in Canada typically require a work permit to facilitate entry.  There are notable exceptions to this general rule, as not all businesspeople and foreign workers seeking entry into Canada require an employment authorization.
 
Where work permits are required, Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) has been re-organized into two distinct programs with major differences between the various streams.  The first stream allows foreign workers to enter Canada at the request of Canadian Employers but must follow the approval of a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).  The second stream does not require labour certification and includes the newly branded International Mobility Program (IMP).  This includes all those streams in which foreign nationals are not subject to an LMIA requirement.
 
Canada’s overhaul of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) has resulted in new regulatory changes that can be highly problematic for both businesses and foreign workers alike.  If you are a Company seeking to bring a foreign worker into Canada, it is important to ensure the strategy you utilize is sound and properly vetted, as legislative exemptions to the LMIA requirement still exist and should be used whenever possible.  You need to engage an experienced and capable immigration lawyer who can devise and execute comprehensive legal strategies that address both short term and long-term objectives.

As a general rule, most Companies must successfully undergo the LMIA labour certification process before a foreign national can apply to obtain a Canadian work authorization.  However, at Kadri Law our expertise in this area of law has been cultivated over the past 2 decades as we serve the interests of Companies around the globe and with great success.  We are widely recognized as one of Canada’s leading Business Immigration law firms.  

Our firm works with certain legislatives exemptions to the LMIA requirements and your Company’s ability to qualify for the same is critical.   At Kadri Law, we can effectively bypass the LMIA process using these legislative exemptions authorized under IRPA and where circumstances warrant consideration of the same.  Many of these exemptions are determined heavily on the circumstances involved with the Canadian work assignment, and also having regard for the individual credentials held by each foreign worker. Therefore, this assessment should be done on a case-by-case basis. However, in general terms, International Agreements are the most popular vehicle used by Kadri Law in certain industries to avoid the necessity of having to go through the LMIA process.

Certain business professionals covered by International Agreements such as NAFTA, CETA, WTO/GATS, etc. are exempt from the labour certification process that mandates an approved LMIA before a work permit may be authorized.  International Agreements have their own specific categories of businesspeople who are covered by them.  Generally, those relevant to your facts and circumstances could be Certain Professionals, Intra Company Transferees, and Business Visitors. Businesspeople covered by these International Agreements must still comply with the general provisions on temporary entry to Canada.

Absent any LMIA exemption that authorizes the entry of a foreign worker under Canada’s International Mobility Program, the LMIA process is the only other option to pursue your Company’s objectives.  The LMIA process is inherently more onerous having regard for such factors as processing time, expense, and government regulation, but understandably so.  While Canada understands the value of foreign workers to our economy, the LMIA process is designed to ensure that Canadian Companies are actively recruiting and attempting to hire qualified Canadians.  If an LMIA is approved, it is evidence that a foreign worker is in fact needed to fill the position based upon a recognizable domestic labour shortage and upon a variety of assessment factors considered prior to the approval.   

The following are examples of the many legal services we offer for Work Permit applications authorized under Canadian and International Law: