Government Terminates Recruitment and Advertisement Exemption for Foreign Graduates

Employers seeking to hire foreign graduates of Canadian colleges and universities on a full-time basis following the expiration of their Post Graduate Work Permits are now subject to standard Labor Market Opinion recruitment and advertisement requirements. Canada’s labor authority has terminated the recruitment exemption for the hiring of these foreign nationals, effective immediately. 

Employers submitting a Labor Market Opinion (LMO) application for individuals transitioning from Post Graduate Work Permits to full-time employment must now ensure that they meet all standard LMO requirements. In general, employers are required to advertise positions for at least four weeks before applying for an LMO and must use at least two other recruitment methods that are consistent with the advertising practices for the occupation. If the position is in a highly skilled occupation, one of these methods must be national in scope. If the employer is hiring for a low-skilled occupation, the employer must show that it has made efforts to target under-represented groups in the labor force. 

What This Means for Employers 

There will no longer be a processing time advantage to obtaining a work permit for a recent graduate of a Canadian college or university compared to other foreign nationals. The advertising requirement will add several weeks to the time necessary to sponsor foreign graduates for work permits. 

How Fragomen Can Assist 

Fragomen can assist clients with assessing requirements for work permits across Canada and can also assist with preparing and filing of work permit applications. 

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to [email protected].  

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