Government Terminates Recruitment and Advertisement Exemption for Foreign Graduates
June 6, 2014

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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