All permit and visa options for going to Canada

Whether you want to go to Canada for a holiday, an internship, to study, work or immigrate permanently, this guide reviews the many options and talks you through the different routes for going to Canada, either temporarily or permanently.

Summary

• Chapter 1 – Basic concepts to understand before you go any further: Do you need a visa or an eTA? What are closed and open work permits? What is an LMIA? What does a “qualified job offer” mean?
• Chapter 2 – Tourist status: How to enter Canada as a visitor.
• Chapter 3 – International Experience Canada (IEC): The Working Holiday permit, the Young Professionals permit and the International Co-op (Internship) permit.
• Chapter 4 – Study permits and the Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP): Offered to certain students completing their studies in Canada.
• Chapter 5 – The Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP): A closed work permit, which requires a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).
• Chapter 6 – Francophone Mobility work permit: For Canadian employers to hire you without an LMIA (outside Quebec).
• Chapter 7 – The Spousal Open Work Permit (SOWP): If your spouse works or studies in Canada, you can obtain a SOWP under certain conditions.
• Chapter 8 – Maintained status: Allows you to remain in Canada between the expiry of one work permit and the start of your next permit.
• Chapter 9 – Permanent residence (PR): Someone who has been given PR immigration status but is not yet a Canadian citizen.
• Chapter 10 – Canadian citizenship: The final step in immigrating to Canada permanently.

Before you read the following chapters, this first chapter explains the basic concepts and terminology you’ll need to know when planning your trip to Canada.

To visit Canada, do I need a visa?

To visit Canada temporarily (if you are not a permanent resident or citizen of Canada), you’ll need one of the following, depending on your nationality:

• An Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA) if you are a national of a visa-exempt country.
• A visitor visa if you are a national of a country for which a visa is required.

You can check the list of countries for visa exemption and the list of countries that need a visitor visa here.

Nationals who are visa-exempt for visiting Canada must still apply for a work permit if they want to work in Canada, or a study permit if they want to study in Canada for more than six months.

An eTA is a travel authorisation that approves you for flying to (or transiting through) Canada. It is not a visa.

Open and closed work permits

An “open” work permit means that you are not tied to a specific employer. You can change employers whenever you want, and you can work for multiple employers if you want. You need an open work permit if you want to work as a freelancer in Canada. You do not need to find an employer first to obtain an open work permit.

A “closed” work permit means that you are tied to a specific employer. You are not allowed to work for another employer or have multiple clients. You must have an eligible job offer to be able to apply for a closed work permit.

For more info, read Open and closed work permits in Canada – The fine print explaining the difference.

The Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) for work permits

The Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) is a process that Canadian employers must complete in certain cases when they want to hire a foreign worker. The LMIA costs the employer CA$1,000 (and is not reimbursed if unsuccessful).

The process requires the employer to demonstrate that they are unable to find a suitable employee among Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada, which is why they need to hire a foreign worker for the position. If the LMIA process is approved, the employer can invite the foreign worker to apply for a work permit.

Learn more in What exactly is a Labour Market Impact Assessment in Canada?

In Canada, there are two main groups of work permits:

• Work permits requiring an LMIA: The Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP).
• Work permits that do not require an LMIA: The International Mobility Program (IMP).

There are several work permits that do not require an LMIA, including the IEC program and the Francophone mobility permit.

The term “qualified job offer”

To be eligible for some work permits, candidates may be required to have a “qualified job offer.” Most often, a qualified job offer is any job offer at TEER level 0, 1, 2 or 3 of the National Occupational Classification of Canada (NOC).

This is subject to change in 2025 (we will update when we receive official details, but some permits are anticipated to only be offered to TEER level 0 and 1 jobs).

The NOC is divided into five levels:

• TEER 0 jobs are management occupations.
• TEER 1 jobs are those which generally require a university degree.
• TEER 2 jobs generally require a college diploma or some form of apprenticeship training that lasts two or more years. TEER 2 also covers supervisory occupations.
• TEER 3 jobs generally require a college diploma or some form of apprenticeship training that lasts less than two years. TEER 3 also covers jobs where you have had to train on-the-job for more than six months.
• TEER 4 jobs generally require a high school diploma or several weeks of on-the-job training.
• TEER 5 jobs generally require only short-term work demonstration and no formal education.

For more details, read Working in Canada: what is meant by TEER categories 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5?