Temporary foreign workers can enter Canada as business visitors, as intra-company transferees or pursuant to Labour Market Impact Assessments. Furthermore, temporary foreign workers can enter Canada pursuant to a Canadian provincial nominee program. Business visitors can work in Canada provided they are not paid by any employer in Canada and are not entering the Canadian labour force. Foreign nationals who come to Canada to be trained, to do training or to attend meetings are considered business visitors. A temporary foreign worker is eligible for a Canadian work permit if an intra-company transferee (specialized knowledge worker or senior manager / executive) and has been employed by a foreign employer for at least one year prior to being transferred to a related Canadian employer.
Temporary foreign workers entering Canada pursuant to work permits based on Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIA) must have skills that are either senior managerial (NOC-0), professional or semi-professional (NOC-A)or where a minimum of two years of post-secondary education is required for the position (NOC-B). Work permits are also issued to temporary foreign workers who have been nominated by a Canadian provincial nominee program. In Ontario, the Ontario Provincial Nominee Program requires that an Ontario employer make an offer of employment to a temporary foreign worker who has at least two years of experience in his or her profession or occupation.
Stories about foreign workers are often in the news in Canada. If interested, click here to read an article by Mr. Haroon Siddiqui, the Editor Emeritus of the Toronto Star. The Toronto Star is the newspaper with the largest daily circulation in Canada.