Courtesy of Canada’s unprecedented growth in the technological sector, the demand for foreign workers in tech has increased tremendously in the past few years. A number of tech employers are also experiencing a labour shortage. The best way to bridge these gaps in the labour market is to hire foreign talent.
As Canada continues to be a leader in the world of tech, the country’s top organizations suffer a considerable shortage of qualified workers for tech-savvy jobs. To combat this challenge, the Council of Canadian Innovators calls for a high potential tech visa that would allow professional and qualified foreign individuals to acquire permanent residency in the country without a job offer.
The tech sector plays a key role in Canada’s economic success. Therefore, the country’s provincial and federal governments have introduced several options for tech employers who want to hire foreign talent.
Let’s look at some options you can consider if you’re looking to recruit foreign tech talent.
Global Talent Stream
Canada has become a global leader in research, technology, talent, and development. Considering this, the government of Canada has introduced the Global Talent Stream to help employers fast-track tech talent.
The program permits professional and qualified workers to acquire a work permit within two weeks of applying. It’s considered one of the biggest pillars of the country’s Global Skills Strategy. It allows Canada’s leading tech companies to hire skilled talent quickly.
Category A is focused on companies that have acquired approval from a local, semi-governmental, or governmental referring partner. These referring agencies are typically authorized to support local businesses.
Category B is specifically designed for employers seeking foreign skilled workers whose professions are included in the Global Talent Occupations List. Most notable occupations and professions in the list include but aren’t limited to software developers, IT consultants and professionals, computer engineers, and computer system analysts.
Employers from both categories need to offer at least a prevailing wage or more to the foreign talent hired via the GTS program.
The prevailing wage is the highest of one of the following areas.
- The average salary for the occupation in the country’s government Job Bank.
- The wage that lies in the pay range offered by the employer to its current workers who work at the same position, have the same experience, same skillset, and work at the same location.
- The wage floor is specified in the Global Talent occupations list.
CUSMA
The Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement allows talent mobility across these countries. There are two fundamental categories associated with the tech workers, namely, ICT (Intracompany Transfers) and Professionals.
As mentioned in the agreement, there are about 63 occupations that come under the professional category, computer system analysts’ jobs being the most prominent occupation in the category.
ICTS are basically professional workers who move across different locations within their multinational company to one of its branches in Canada. The ICT transferee is typically the workers who have worked for the company for 12 months at least at a management level role or have specialized knowledge in certain professional areas relevant to their business.
Intracompany Transfer (non-CUSMA)
Intracompany transfers are also possible from countries other than the US or Mexico. Canada has made a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), which allows a company’s workers to transfer to its branch in Canada without having to obtain a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). This is one of the most prominent advantages of intracompany transfers through CETA, as companies typically avoid LMIAs because they don’t only consume a significant portion of their valuable time but also cost them financially.
![graphical illustration of laptop and documents on a table]()
Permanent Residency
When foreign workers acquire the status of permanent residency in Canada, they become eligible to work in the country without having to renew their LMIA or any other work permit. While tech workers can also get permanent residency status on their own, Canada also offers some pathways to tech talent which require them to have a job offer first. Skilled workers looking for a reliable job in Canada can find numerous immigration pathways leading to permanent residency; some of these programs, however, are specifically directed toward tech workers.
Express Entry
One of the most prominent immigration programs for skilled workers in Canada, Express Entry, is an online application system that allows tech workers to enter the country through CEC (Canadian Experience Class) or FSW (Federal Skilled Worker Program). However, tradespeople can come to the country via FSTP or the Federal Skilled Worker Program.
It’s fundamentally a point-based systems, and therefore, the eligible candidates get points on the bases of their language, education, and work experience. These points affect their scoring on the CRS (Comprehensive Ranking System). About every 14 days, the country issues ITAs (Invitations to Apply) to the highest-scoring candidates. If you successfully obtain an ITA, you can submit your application for permanent residence.
The Express Entry 2020 annual report released by the IRCC indicates that most ITAs were offered to tech candidates from different technology-related occupations.
During the pandemic, however, companies in Canada experienced a considerable backlog in the applications they received. Because of this backlog, Express Entry’s recruitment via CEC and FSW programs has been temporarily halted. According to Sean Fraser, Immigration Minister in Canada, draws for these candidates will resume in July 2022.
In 2022, only the workers nominated in a PNP (Provincial Nominee Program) obtained ITAs in Canada. What’s important to note here, however, is that the tech professionals eligible for Express Entry are also eligible to be nominated in a PNP (Provincial Nominee Program).
Need Help?
Nanda & Associate Lawyers Professional Corporation, a reliable Canadian immigration law firm, helps people acquire obtain intracompany transfer visas in Canada. We also help several experienced legal consultants onboard who help our clients make refugee protection claims, spousal sponsorship appeals, or immigration appeals. Feel free to contact us to book a free consultation today.
Disclaimer: This blog is only intended for educational purposes and shouldn’t be used as a substitute for legal advice.
