Everything you need to know about the Employer Compliance Portal

The IRCC Employer Compliance Portal is a digital platform managed and maintained by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). It’s used by Canadian employers to comply with the requirements under the International Mobility Program (IMP). The portal helps employers meet their legal obligations when hiring temporary foreign workers (TFWs) through the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA)-exempt work permits.

Submitting an Offer of Employment

Employers in Canada hiring foreign workers under LMIA-exempt work permits (i.e., workers coming to Canada under international agreements, intra-company transferees, certain academic and research workers, or workers already inside Canada needing an extension of their current permits either through a nominee program or the Atlantic Immigration Program) must submit an “Offer of Employment” to the IRCC.

This involves providing information about:

• the job (job title, wage, benefits, and work location);
• the employer (business location, primary contact email and phone number)
• the foreign national (passport details, country of citizenship, date of birth)

The offer will also confirm the job offer meets Canadian labour laws and immigration requirements and will confirm to the reviewing visa officer the worker in question has an employer supporting their work permit.

Payment of Employer Compliance Fee

When submitting an offer of employment through the portal, employers are required to pay a $230 compliance fee which is mandatory for most LMIA-exempt work permit applications.

When the fee is paid and the offer is submitted, the employer will receive an email confirmation with an Offer of Employment number (e.g.: A12456789). This number is then given to the worker to apply for their work permit.

Submitting the Work Permit

It’s important to note just submitting the Offer of Employment does not grant the foreign national the legal authority to work. They still must file a work permit application and include all supporting documents to demonstrate they meet the eligibility requirements. The worker almost must include the payment receipt if applicable and/or email confirmation from the employer to further demonstrate the job offer is valid.

LMIA-Exemption Codes

There are several exemption codes that fall under the following Legislative Sections:

• A25.2 Public policies
• R204: International agreements or arrangements
• R205: Canadian interests
• R206: No other means of support
• R207: Permanent residence applicants in Canada
• R207.1: Vulnerable workers
• R208: Humanitarian reasons

Note that not every section requires an employer compliance fee to be paid or an Offer of Employment however for most Economic streams, an offer must be submitted and compliance fee must be paid.

Some of the most common ones used are:

R204(c) Canada-provincial/territorial exemption codes (Nominated by a province for permanent residence under T13 endorsed by an Atlantic province the Atlantic Immigration Program under C18.)

If you’re an employer looking for information on how to set up an account in the Employer Portal, view the Guide here.