Canada · Work authorisation

Employer-specific work permit through the Global Talent Stream

Issued by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), after a labour market impact assessment by Service Canada. It is checked against conditions rather than scored, so the question is whether you meet each one, not how many points you gather.

Basis
Checklist
Steps
5
Possible outcomes
4
Last checked
2026-09-01

Conditions

What this permit
asks of you.

Which desk decides

The authority, exactly

This is the fast temporary route, and none of it starts with you. Your employer applies to Service Canada for the labour market impact assessment; only once that is positive do you apply to IRCC for the permit. The permit is employer-specific: it names the employer, the location and the occupation, and you may not work outside what it names. It is not permanent residence, though time worked on it can later count towards the experience the permanent routes ask for.

Qualification

What it wants from your degree

A job offer from an employer in Canada who either has been referred to the stream by a designated referral partner (Category A) or is hiring into an occupation on the global talent occupations list (Category B).

The procedure

5 steps,
in the order they happen.

Prepare your documents

  1. Confirm with the employer which category applies. Category A needs a referral from one of the stream's designated referral partners; Category B needs the position to appear on the global talent occupations list, and no referral. Find your own line on that list rather than assuming the category covers your field.Most lines on the list carry no figure and are set at the prevailing wage for the occupation and location. A minority carry a published annual and hourly floor, and where one applies the employer must offer at least the hourly rate.
  2. The employer draws up a labour market benefits plan with the department, committing to lasting benefits for workers already in Canada, and pays the assessment fee. Neither the fee nor any recruitment cost may be charged to you or recovered from you — the department states that doing so results in a negative decision.

Get your qualification assessed

  1. The employer submits the labour market impact assessment application online. The published service standard is 10 business days, met 80% of the time.In British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia the employer must first hold a provincial employer registration certificate, and its own processing time comes before this one.

Register and start working

  1. Once the assessment is positive, the employer sends you the decision letter and the signed employment contract, and you apply to IRCC for the work permit with both. The positive assessment is valid for up to six months.
  2. Apply online from outside Canada to qualify for the two-week service standard. Applying on paper, applying from inside Canada, or filing an incomplete application removes you from it — as does applying for an open permit, which is not eligible.IRCC states it aims to process eligible and complete applications within two weeks, met 80% of the time. Accompanying family members included in the application benefit from the same faster handling.

Cost and time

What it costs,
and how long the authority says it takes.

Fees

Labour market impact assessment
CAD1,000.00 per position, paid by the employer — it may not be charged to or recovered from the worker
Work permit
CAD155.00 per person
Biometrics
CAD85.00 per person, CAD170.00 maximum per family applying together

Timeframes

Labour market impact assessment
10 business days, met 80% of the time
Work permit decision
2 weeks, met 80% of the time, for eligible and complete applications filed online from abroad
Validity of a positive assessment
Up to 6 months from issue
Employment duration an employer may request on a high-wage position
Up to 3 years

Published processing times, not a prediction about your case.

Both halves together

Guides that use this permit.

Each one takes a profession into Canada and runs the recognition branch and the authorisation branch side by side, including what your country of qualification adds.

Evidence

Every claim on this page, and where it came from.

5 official pages, each with the jurisdiction it speaks for and the date a human last opened it. The oldest is 2026-09-01, and that is the date this page is only as fresh as.

Is this the right permit for you?

That depends on where you qualified.

The planner compares every route Canada opens to your country of qualification, and adds the recognition branch when your profession has one.

Check my path →All Canada permits