February 13, 2015 ? Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has provided further information about changes to the fee and application requirements for the International Mobility Program. Starting February 21, 2015, employers seeking work permits for foreign nationals will be required to submit information about their business, offer of employment and pay an additional processing fee of $230. This fee and employment information must be submitted by the employer before a foreign national can make an application for a work permit.
Who is affected?
All Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) Exempt work permit applications are affected. This includes Intra-Company Transferees as well as work permit applications made pursuant to a Free Trade Agreement (e.g., NAFTA).
What information is required?
The required employment information will be provided through a form, which will be available on the CIC website starting from February 18, 2015. The relevant information will include:
? Name, address, contact information
? Business number
? $230 fee payment receipt number
? Information supporting use of LMIA-exemption
? Offer of employment using the form made available by CIC
Following electronic submission, a copy of the form must be provided to the foreign national for inclusion with the work permit application.
CIC will automatically reimburse the $230 fee if the foreign national?s application for a work permit is subsequently refused. If the employer withdraws the offer of employment before a work permit is issued the employer must notify CIC in writing to receive reimbursement.
CIC also confirmed that starting July 2015 employers will be able to access an Employer Portal in order to submit this information and remit the required fee.
For further information about this update, or to discuss your case please contact Green and Spiegel LLP.
