IMP Program – Work Visa without LMIA – RainCity Immigration Ltd

IMP Canada

The IMP Canada program is an international mobility initiative, short for International Mobility Program, or IMP for short. Under this immigration program, Canadian employers are allowed to hire foreign workers based on temporary work visas.

This type of work visa does not require a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) and is known in Iran as the IMP Canada visa or significant benefit-based work visa.

What is the IMP Canada visa?

The IMP Canada visa is a subset of the international mobility program, under which the Canadian government issues work visas to foreign job seekers who can prove they provide economic, cultural, or social benefits to Canada and Canadians, or those under international trade agreements with Canada.

The IMP Canada work visa comes in two forms:

Work Permit

Open Work Permit

One of the differences between these two visas is that work permits usually require a job offer from an employer, while open work permits do not require a job offer for issuance. Additionally, the common aspect of both within the IMP international program is that neither requires LMIA approval.

Example 1: The Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) or the Bridging Open Work Permit, which are part of the IMP program, are both types of open work visas and do not require a job offer or LMIA approval.

Example 2: Jobs classified under the “significant benefit” category in the IMP immigration method, such as the Francophone Mobility Program, require a work permit, which necessitates a job offer from a Canadian employer outside the province of Quebec. This type of work visa also does not need LMIA approval.

Immigrating to Canada through IMP

To obtain a temporary work visa for Canada, the IMP immigration program offers several pathways. Each pathway to obtain a work visa through the IMP immigration program has its specific requirements and documents, but they all share one common factor: the lack of need for an LMIA.

International Canada Work Permit Program (IMP) Paths

Some pathways that lead to the IMP work visa in Canada, which are actually part of the IMP immigration method, include:

Stream or Program	Who can apply?
Competitiveness and public policy
Post Graduate Work Permit (PGWP)	Graduates from Canadian universities and institutions with a DLI number.
Work visa for student accompanies in Canada	The spouse of students who have a full-time study permit in Canada.
Significant Benefit Stream
C11 visa for Canada (Entrepreneurs and self-employed)	Private sector entrepreneurs who intend to set up or buy a business in Canada. In this case, the applicant must own exclusively or hold a majority stake in the business in Canada and demonstrate that the business provides a significant benefit to Canada.
Intra-Company Transfer Program (ICT)	For companies that are based outside Canada but have branches inside Canada. These companies can transfer their employees to the Canadian branch to continue their work there.
Provincial Entrepreneur Program	Applicants who are pursuing entrepreneurship through Canada’s Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP).
French-speaking workforce	Those who can significantly contribute to Canada through programs like the Mobilité Francophone Program.
Television and Film Production Worker	Workforce in the film and television sector.
Emergency Repair	Individuals needed for emergency repairs of industrial equipment in Canada.
Reciprocal Employment Stream
International Exchange Program (IEC)	Citizens of countries that have a bilateral work agreement with Canada and are between 18 and 35 years old.
International Free Trade Agreements	Individuals whose jobs fall under one of the following agreements: North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Chile-Canada Free Trade Agreement / Canada-Peru Free Trade Agreement / Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement / Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between Canada and the European Union (CETA) General Agreement on Trade in Services
Charitable and Religious Worker Stream
Charitable Worker:	Individuals who immigrate to Canada with the aim of engaging in charitable activities.
Religious Worker	Individuals who immigrate to Canada with the aim of working in religious occupations.

Through all the pathways mentioned above, it is possible to obtain a Canadian IMP visa and subsequently apply for permanent residency in Canada, allowing you to immigrate to this country permanently.

IMP Work Visa Statistics – Significant Benefit issued under each program – 2015 to January 2022

	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	January 2022
Significant benefit – general	10,995	7,070	8,760	9,725	14,815	5,735	7,890	520
Entrepreneur / Self-employed (C11 visa)	550	590	685	955	1.100	830	1,235	60
ICT visa	11,550	12,365	12,795	14,450	17,230	11,770	15,645	1,350
Emergency repairs	945	1,020	1,215	1,115	1,180	595	685	35

IMP Work Visa Requirements

As mentioned, Canada’s IMP work visa program has several pathways, each leading to a Canadian temporary work visa. What the requirements for the IMP work visa are depends on which of the International Mobility Program pathways you choose.

Each program and method under Canada’s IMP has its own specific requirements. Some work visa requirements are general and common across all IMP immigration methods, while others are specific to that IMP method.

General requirements:

– Valid educational credential

– Sufficient work experience

– Adequate financial means to cover living expenses in Canada

– Good proficiency in English or French

– Good physical health

– No criminal record

Special Conditions

When choosing any pathway under the IMP program, you must also meet its specific conditions:

Example 1: If you want to obtain a temporary work visa for Canada through the Intra-Company Transfer program (ICT visa), you need to meet specific requirements, such as:

Having a business plan that realistically demonstrates your work activities in Canada and justifies your work presence in the country.

Example 2: If you want to get an IMP work visa through the Francophone Mobility Program, you need to meet the following conditions:

You should have an intermediate level of French (B1).

You must receive a job offer from a Canadian employer outside of Quebec.

Your job offer can be in any occupation listed in Canada’s National Occupational Classification (NOC) (except for low-skilled agricultural jobs).

Comparing the TFWP and IMP Work Visa Conditions

On the opposite side of the IMP program is the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), which allows Canadian employers to hire foreign workers to enter Canada on a work visa. However, this program requires an LMIA approval, and the process of obtaining a work visa through it is longer than that of the IMP program.

To better understand the differences between the Canadian work visas through the IMP program and the TFWP program, refer to the table below:

Regular TFWP Work Visa Conditions	IMP Work Visa Conditions
LMIA approval is mandatory	Exempt from LMIA
The work visa is closed-type (limited to a specific employer)	The work visa can be open or closed (may be limited to a specific employer or not)
It’s based on labor market needs (to temporarily fill a labor shortage)	Visa issuance is not related to labor market conditions, and the IMP visa is issued for the benefit and economic or cultural profit of Canada
To issue a temporary work visa, the domestic labor market conditions in specific professions and provinces in Canada are assessed	IMP visas largely depend on international agreements
The amount of salary paid by the employer for the position in question is important in the work visa review process	The salary is not important under IMP conditions; instead, in some pathways of the IMP program, the applicant’s skill level is crucial
Employers must first offer jobs to Canadian workers before providing job offers to foreign workers.	Employers do not have to prioritize Canadian workers and can directly offer jobs to foreigners
To receive LMIA approval, employers need to pay a $1,000 fee If they have a job offer, the employer only has to pay a compliance fee of $230	There is no need to pay fees for open work visas.
Only jobs in the highest income bracket can receive their visa in two weeks	Most IMP visas are issued within two weeks
The temporary work visa is issued under the authority of Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)	The IMP visa is under the supervision of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)

Both of these visas do not have restrictions for employers, meaning you can work for any employer, provided they are on Canada’s list of authorized employers.

Open work permit under the Canadian IMP program

Under the IMP Canada program, Open Work Permits are of two types:

Restricted Open Work Permit: With this permit, you’re limited to a specific job or location, meaning you can only work in a particular job or at a certain place in Canada. For example, if you’ve applied for permanent residency through one of the Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP) and are waiting for the outcome, you can apply for a bridging open work permit and start working in the meantime. However, your employment will be restricted to the province through which you applied for permanent residency, and you must work in that same province.

Unrestricted Open Work Permit: With this permit, there are no restrictions regarding the job or work location, allowing you to work in any job and anywhere in Canada. For example, with a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP), you can work in any job and any location across Canada.

What are the financial requirements for the IMP Canada program?

Applicants must demonstrate their financial capacity to the Canadian government through financial documents, proving they have enough funds to support themselves during their stay, and in some cases, to start a business in Canada. Therefore, financial capability can be divided into two parts:

Financial capability for living expenses

Canadian immigration officers use the Low-Income Cut-Off (LICO) table as a tool to assess an applicant’s financial capacity. LICO stands for Low-income cut-off and indicates the lowest income level used to define poverty in urban areas of Canada with a population of at least half a million people. In other words, if your income is below LICO, Canada considers you to be living below the poverty line.

For short-term visas, officers expect you to show 12 months’ worth of LICO in your bank account.

Number of family members	Minimum required amount in Canadian dollars
1	26,620
2	33,140
3	40,742
4	49,466
5	56,104
6	63,276
7	70,448
More than 7 For each additional person	7,172

One thing to note is that the budget and financial capability referenced in the table must belong solely to the individual or be jointly owned with their spouse, and the applicant cannot borrow the amount from someone else.

Financial capability to cover investment costs (if starting a business in Canada)

The minimum amount needed for investment will be determined based on the type of business in Canada.

Ways to prove financial capability:

Proving financial capability through a bank letter and three months of activity from short-term accounts.

Proving financial capability through a bank letter and one to two months of activity from short-term accounts along with a source like a sales contract.

Proving financial capability through a bank letter from long-term accounts (and financial source if necessary).

Proving financial capability through a foreign currency account along with providing financial sources.

Proving financial capability through a bank letter and official property evaluation.

Official property evaluation.

Keep in mind that the last two options are less recommended.

Required documents for obtaining an IMP work visa

To obtain a work visa through any method of the IMP program, you must provide the relevant documents for that method. Since the IMP work visa is a temporary work visa, you need to present documents showing that you will not stay there long-term and that you will return to your home country after the specified time period.

Some of these documents are general, such as:

Identification documents (valid passport, birth certificate, marriage certificate if applicable).

Educational documents (degree and academic transcripts).

Employment documents (employment letter, work contracts if available, insurance records, company registration documents or business certificate if self-employed).

Financial documents (financial capability, account statements, property documents, etc.).

Certificate of no criminal record and completion of medical tests.

Documents specific to each IMP program:

For example, in the Intra-Company Transfer (ICT) program, you need to provide specific documents such as:

Documents proving you are employed by an international company outside Canada and intend to transfer to its Canadian branch.

Providing descriptive documents that show a tangible connection between the activities of the company outside Canada and its Canadian branch or any other company that is considered a partner in Canada.

Providing a detailed business plan.

Steps to obtain an IMP work visa.

Depending on the specific IMP pathway, the steps to obtain an IMP work visa can differ somewhat, but the general process is as follows:

Receive a job offer from a Canadian employer (not all IMP pathways include this step).

Employer extends the job offer.

Submit an application for a work visa.

Issuance of the IMP work visa.

Cost of the IMP work visa in Canada.

The cost of obtaining a temporary IMP work visa varies based on the specific pathway you choose under Canada’s IMP program. However, all pathways share the following costs:

Type of Application	Cost in Canadian Dollars
Work Permit	155
Employer Compliance Fee (if you have a job offer)	230
Biometrics Fee per person	85
Family Biometrics (two or more people)	170

How long does it take to receive the IMP work visa?

According to the Canadian immigration website, the processing time for work permit applications submitted from Iran is currently 16 weeks. This timeframe starts after biometrics have been done at the Canadian embassy. Additionally, the processing time for IMP work visa applications is not fixed and may vary based on the conditions at the Canadian embassy, possibly taking less or more time.

What are the benefits of the IMP work visa?

No need for an LMIA

Shortened application process for the work visa

Faster issuance of the work visa through the Global Skills Strategy

Possibility for family members to accompany you

Opportunity to obtain permanent residency in Canada after receiving the work visa

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Frequently asked questions

Is it possible to get an IMP work visa for Canada without a language certificate?

It depends on which pathway you choose under the IMP program. If you choose a pathway that requires a job offer from a Canadian employer, it’s usually important for employers that you have a good level of language skills, and they may ask for a language certificate based on the type of job offered.

What are the age requirements for the IMP visa?

In general, there is no age limit for obtaining a Canadian work visa. However, for work permits that require a job offer, age restrictions may apply based on the employer’s requirements.

Can you obtain permanent residency in Canada through the IMP work visa?

yes You can convert an IMP visa to Canadian permanent residence through Express Entry immigration programs or provincial immigration programs.

Why is it relatively easier to get a work visa for Canada through the IMP program?

The IMP visa is directly under the supervision of Immigration Canada and does not require an LMIA permit. As a result, the process of receiving a job offer is shortened and the foreign job seeker can apply for a work visa faster.

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