Work permit - R196 and R299(1)

This section contains policy, procedures and guidance used by IRCC staff. It is posted on the department’s website as a courtesy to stakeholders.

Processing and collection of fees (on or after February 21, 2015):

A completed Application for a Work Permit (IMM 1102B) or an Application for a Temporary Resident Visa (IMM 5257B) together with the appropriate fee will initiate processing. Unless the client is fee-exempt, the fee must be submitted with the application. If the client is fee-exempt, the appropriate fee exemption code will be entered on the application and entered into the processing system.

Maximum fee

A group of three or more performing artists and their staff who apply at the same time and place for a work permit pay a maximum fee of $465. An employer who has made offers of employment to a group of three or more foreign nationals, consisting of performing artists and their staff, pays a maximum of $690, if those offers are made at the same time.

Fee exemptions

Please refer to the Coding Handbook.

Work permits for applicants for permanent residence

Applicants for permanent residence in Canada (or those granted early admission by a visa office abroad) who also wish to obtain a work permit shall be charged the required fee for each transaction.

Payment by employers

Under the IRPR, the legal obligation for payment of immigration processing fees lies with the employee who is considered the recipient of CIC’s services. However, employers often agree to pay the immigration processing fees for their foreign employees by private arrangement. In such cases, employers submit payment on behalf of their employee either through HPM (in Canada) or at visa offices abroad (for applicants abroad).

Restoration in Canada

Persons who lose status as workers must apply for restoration of temporary resident status through an Application to Change Conditions, Extend my Stay or Remain in Canada [IMM 5710E] to CPC Vegreville.

At Ports of entry

Workers with work permits from visa offices abroad

Visa offices abroad collect the data for work permits that they authorize. This is downloaded to FOSS to facilitate the printing of the work permit at the POE. When the applicant arrives for examination, officers will check that the permit has been properly completed, and if there are any questions they will contact the issuing office abroad.

Workers with no work permit

  • When it is determined at an examination that a person seeking entry requires a work permit, the officer shall ensure that the fee is collected from the client before issuing an IMM 1102B or IMM 1442B, unless the client is fee-exempt.
  • Since no formal written application is submitted at ports of entry, fees will be collected when the decision is made to proceed with the issuance of the IMM 1102B or IMM 1442B.
  • If a temporary resident permit is required as well as the IMM 1102B or IMM 1442B, the manager must authorize its issuance before the fee is paid. Refer to Temporary Resident Permit for further information.

For information on temporary resident permits with work permits, see Temporary Resident Permit.

Spontaneous applications for permanent residence and work permits at a port of entry

Spontaneous applicants for permanent residence arriving at the port of entry are not to be accepted. All documentation required for temporary entry must be collected at the port of entry. The IMM 1102B or IMM 1442B must be coded to indicate that the fee has been paid or that an exemption has been applied.

Temporary inability or refusal to pay

Where a client is unable to pay the fee immediately, an officer will, where practicable and applicable

  • counsel the individual to withdraw their application and leave Canada or declare the applicant inadmissible and produce a report pursuant to A44(1).
  • where the client refuses to pay the required fee, refer them to a Senior Immigration Examining Officer (SIEO) and normal enforcement action will apply.
  • defer the application, pursuant to A23, by releasing the applicant subject to “Conditions” that must be imposed pursuant to R43, i.e., that they report at a later date for continuation of examination. If the examination is to be continued at another Immigration office, the port of entry will advise that office as soon as possible of the details. The examination can be concluded once the fee is paid.

Performing artists (entertainers) and their staff

 

Note: Under the IRPA and its Regulations, most performing artists and their staff no longer need to apply for a work permit. However, there are some who still must do so. The procedures given below are intended for these clients. For instance, a group that will be performing in “a bar, restaurant or similar establishment” requires a work permit. There are other clients in this category who are still required to obtain a work permit and R186 should be read in detail when making a determination.

It is to be noted that R296(2)(d) still specifies that groups of performing artists and their staff who must obtain a work permit at the same time and place as a temporary resident visa do not enjoy any fee exemption related to their application for a temporary resident visa.

The Regulations provide that the total amount of fees payable by a group of three or more persons consisting of performing artists and their staff, who apply at the same time and in the same place for a work permit will not exceed $465 [R299(3)]. However, performing artists who also need a TRV are still required to pay the appropriate fee for each individual. The maximum TRV fee provision of R296(3) applies only to families.

Note: The wording of the Regulations allows a mixed group of performing artists and their staff who require a work permit to benefit from the maximum fee provision as long as the total number of persons is three or more. Some documentation presents this as a “group of three or more performing artists and their staff” which may give the false impression that a minimum of three performing artists must apply to trigger the Regulation.

Each IMM 1102B or IMM 1442B issued must be coded to show “fee paid” or “fee exempt,” as applicable.

Extension of Haiti special measures for work permits

Exemptions and refusals

Refusals

In cases where an application for a work permit results in a refusal by an inland immigration office, and where a fee has been collected, the application must be retained for statistical purposes. Financial statistics pertaining to these payments are to be kept manually, as they will not be coded on any computerized document. Fees paid for refused applications will not be refunded.

Work that is integral to a course of study

The exemption from HRSDC confirmation and/or from the fee relating to work permits issued under R205(c)(i) or R299(2)(e) pertains to work that forms an essential part of a course of study. For purposes of applying this exemption, the officer must ensure that the work is listed as a requirement in the syllabus and that Canadian students taking the same course are also required to work in order to obtain course credits. In other words, in order for the work to be considered an integral part of the course of study, the course could not be passed without taking the work in question into consideration.

NSERC and NRC Researchers – Exempt from the work permit fee

Persons sponsored or invited by the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) as distinguished scientists or scholars to participate in research for the NRC and the NSERC are exempt from the work permit fee.

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