Before you hand in your notice, look at the document in your wallet. Your work permit, not your job offer or your pay stub, decides whether you may move to a new employer next week or whether you have an application to file first. Plenty of workers in Brampton and across Peel learn this late, after they have accepted a better offer from a logistics company on the other side of town and have been told to start Monday.
The answer to the question depends mainly on the type of permit you hold. Some permits let you change jobs at any time. Others are limited to one employer, one job, and sometimes one location, and working outside those limits is a serious problem even when your new employer is entirely legitimate and the work is identical.
This article is general information and is not legal advice. Work permit rules and public policies can be changed or withdrawn, so check IRCC’s website for the current position, and get advice about your own circumstances before making a move.
Read Your Permit First
An open work permit generally lets you work for most employers in Canada. IRCC says that open permit holders can change employers at any time while the permit is valid. No new application is needed just because you changed jobs. Check the conditions printed on your permit, though, as some carry restrictions on occupations or locations, such as limits from a medical exam or a study-related condition.
An employer-specific work permit names the employer. It often also sets out the occupation and work location. To change employers, you must apply for a new work permit. The same logic often applies when your job changes inside the company, such as a promotion to a different occupation or a move to a new work location outside what your permit allows. If a change in your role would make your permit inaccurate, ask before accepting it.
A permit held under International Experience Canada has its own rules. Working Holiday holders have open permits. Young Professionals and International Co-op participants can change employers only for valid reasons and through a separate process.
What the New Employer Has to Do
A new employer-specific permit needs the new employer’s involvement, and that step can be slow.
If the job needs a Labour Market Impact Assessment, the employer must get a positive LMIA from Service Canada. That means recruitment, the right wage, and meeting the program’s requirements, and it usually takes a substantial amount of time. You would then use the new LMIA number, a job offer letter, and a signed contract for your application. An LMIA issued for your old employer does not move with you.
If the job is exempt from an LMIA, for example under a trade agreement or an intra-company transfer, the employer submits an offer of employment through IRCC’s Employer Portal and pays the employer compliance fee. They then give you an offer number to use in your application. Being exempt from one requirement does not make you exempt from the others, so confirm the exemption applies to you and to the new position.
Prospective employers often have not been through this before. Some believe they can just add you to the payroll since “you already have a permit.” It is worth explaining what you will need and asking early whether they will go through the process. If the new job is a low-wage position, ask about current restrictions. Service Canada has refused to process low-wage LMIA applications in certain metropolitan areas where unemployment is above a set level, and Brampton falls within the Toronto census metropolitan area for that purpose. The list is updated regularly. Your employer’s work visa options will often be determined by details like this.
Costs are another point to discuss. An employer cannot pass an LMIA fee or the employer compliance fee on to you, and a person who asks you to pay for a job or a positive LMIA is a warning sign. Ontario’s Employment Protection for Foreign Nationals Act, 2009 restricts recruitment fees, and buying a job offer could expose you to fraud and even a misrepresentation finding, if the job turns out not to be real.
When You Can Actually Start
This is where mistakes are most costly. Traditionally, a worker had to wait until the new permit was issued. A public policy now offers some workers an interim route, and it needs careful handling.
According to IRCC, you may be able to start your new job before your application is approved if you meet these requirements:
- You applied for a new employer-specific work permit while in Canada.
- You currently hold an employer-specific work permit, or you are a worker who can work without a permit. Business visitors and short-term workers under the Global Skills Strategy are excluded.
The authorization is not automatic. After you apply, you must submit a request through IRCC’s web form, using the prescribed text and the code PPCHANGEWORK2020, which IRCC says it needs to prioritize your request. IRCC then replies by email, usually within about 10 to 15 days, and later for a paper application. The email states whether you may work for the new employer while your application is processed. Note that the email is not your work permit. Keep it safe, give a copy to the new employer, and keep following the case through to the end.
You should not start until that email arrives, even if your friend started after two days, and even if your new employer tells you that it is fine. Temporary public policies can end or change, so check the current IRCC page on the day you apply.
If you do not fit this policy, or IRCC’s email says no, you wait for the new permit before starting. One of IRCC’s own pages still says you cannot start a new job until the permit with new conditions is issued, so treat the authorization email as the only safe signal for an early start.
If You Are Laid Off or Fired
A job loss is frightening, but it does not by itself end your right to stay in Canada. Your status and your permit normally run until the expiry date on the document. IRCC’s advice in this situation is to look for a new job offer, apply to change the conditions on your permit, stay in Canada, and stop working for any employer until your new permit is approved or you receive the work authorization email.
Practical steps during this period:
- Note your permit’s expiry date and work backward from it.
- Get your Record of Employment and any termination letter, and review your entitlement to termination pay under Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, 2000. This does not depend on your immigration status.
- Look into whether you may be eligible for Employment Insurance, since you may have paid premiums.
- Do not do “cash” work for friends or a relative while you wait.
If your permit will run out before you have a new offer, consider applying to change your status to visitor to stay legally while you search. A visitor cannot work, but it may maintain your legal footing while you look for a new position.
Keeping Your Status Through the Change
If you apply for a new work permit before your current one expires and you remain in Canada, you generally keep your status while the application is processed. You may also continue working under the conditions of your existing permit, meaning for your existing employer. This is often called maintained status. It does not authorize you to work for the new employer on its own.
If your status has run out, restoration may be possible, but only within 90 days of losing status, and you may not work while that is pending. After those 90 days, your options narrow sharply.
Avoid leaving Canada on a short trip during this process without advice. Leaving can end maintained status, and coming back depends on holding the right documents.
Why Unauthorized Work Is So Harmful
A worker who starts a new job early may think this is a small technical slip. In reality, working for an employer without authorization can be a breach of your conditions, and can lead to:
- A refusal of the new work permit, and in some situations, a six-month bar on further work permits.
- A report and a possible exclusion order or other removal order.
- Problems with later applications, because you may have to explain the period of unauthorized work.
- Work experience that may not count toward permanent residence.
Employers also face risks, including penalties for hiring someone who is not authorized to do that job. A new employer who tells you not to worry about it is taking a risk with your future as well as with their own business.
Thinking About Permanent Residence Before You Move
A job change can affect more than your permit. If you have a pending or planned permanent residence application, check how it could be affected. An Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program application may depend on a specific job offer, and leaving that job may harm or end the application. Express Entry profiles require accurate information about your work and offer, and those may need to be updated.
Skilled work history can also be affected. A move to a job in a different TEER category may not count toward the program you had in mind. A month-long gap may not be fatal, but a pattern of breaks could change your calculations, so look at the date you expect to apply before you decide.
Your Old Employer
You generally have the right to resign, and a work permit does not bind you to stay. Your employment contract may require you to give notice, and Ontario law may require it in some situations, so read what you signed. An employer has no right to keep your passport or permit, and threatening to report you because you are leaving does not change your rights. If that happens, or if the job has become abusive, you may be able to apply for an open work permit as a vulnerable worker, which is a separate option for those at risk.
Leave properly if you can. Ask for a reference letter describing your duties, hours, and pay, since you may need this later for permanent residence. Keep copies of your pay stubs and T4s, as they can be hard to get after you leave.
A Sensible Order of Steps
If you are considering a move, the following order will often help:
- Check your permit’s type, conditions, and expiry date.
- Ask the new employer whether the job needs an LMIA or qualifies for an exemption, and get that in writing.
- Hold off on resigning until you understand how long the new employer’s step may take.
- Check how the move affects any permanent residence plans.
- File your application from inside Canada before your current permit runs out.
- Request interim authorization if you qualify, and wait for the email.
- Start the new job only when you have authorization in hand.
If any step feels unclear, or your new employer’s explanation does not match what you have read on IRCC’s site, it is worth asking for help. You can contact our office with your permit and your job offer. No lawyer can promise how an officer will decide, but a few questions early on could spare you a much harder problem later.