Professional / Tech

The list of professionals depends on the country of citizenship and the applicable trade agreement. Free Trade Agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (with Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam) and the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) provide in certain limited circumstances for easier work permit applications for qualifying professionals.

Generally, a Canadian job offer in a qualifying occupation is required for the work permit application. These agreements allow the work permit applicant to be exempt from the Labour Market Impact Assessment requirement.

Canada encourages faster processing of work permits for certain technology occupations like computer and information systems managers, computer engineers, mathematicians and statisticians, information systems analysts and consultants, database analysts and data administrators, software engineers and designers, computer programmers and interactive media developers, computer network technicians, web designers and developers.

Employers in Canada wanting to hire such tech workers can obtain Labour Market Impact Assessment approvals within 10 business days, with work permits then also decided within 10 business days.