IRCC clarifies work permit rules for RCIP and FCIP applicants
Canada’s immigration department has clarified the rules around the issuance of special work permits to permanent residence applicants under the Rural Community Immigration Pilot (RCIP) and Francophone Community Immigration Pilot (FCIP).
Foreign nationals who have submitted a complete application for permanent residence under the FCIP or RCIP may be eligible for a work permit that can be issued for up to two years.
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To qualify for this work permit, an RCIP or FCIP applicant must have an eligible offer of employment and their application for permanent residence must have passed the completeness check.
Work permits issued in this way are exempt from the requirement for a labour market impact assessment (LMIA).
Their family members included on their application for permanent residence may also be eligible for LMIA-exempt work permits.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) published updated instructions to officers on its website on February 24, 2026.
The instructions require officers to consider the following pieces of evidence in processing the foreign national’s work permit application:
- The acknowledgement of receipt (AOR) for the permanent residence application.
- The applicant’s recommendation from the relevant designated economic development organization.
- An LMIA-exempt offer of employment submitted through IRCC’s Employer Portal.
- Evidence that the applicant is qualified for the job.
The information on the offer of employment for the work permit application should match the employment info on the permanent residence application.
The instructions to officers clarify that the community recommendation form submitted for the permanent residence application, IMM 0247 or IMM 0251, which is typically valid only for 6 months from its date of issuance, need not be valid at the time of the work permit application, so long as it has not been revoked.
According to the instructions, officials are to encourage all applicants for this work permit to submit online under the administrative code C15, despite the fact that visa-exempt foreign nationals are allowed to submit such applications at the port of entry.
As the C15 work permit is restricted to the employer and job offer of the permanent residence application, RCIP and FCIP applicants are not eligible for bridging open work permits (BOWPs). Should this initial work permit be set expire prior to their receipt of PR, applicants may apply to extend this work permit.
Work permits issued to accompanying family members are open work permits, subject to a restriction to the principle applicant’s region of employment, and are issued under administrative code C17.
LMIA-exempt work permits, which are issued under Canada's International Mobility Program (IMP) are quicker and less cumbersome to obtain than work permits which require LMIAs, which are issued through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP).
The RCIP and FCIP are employer-driven federal immigration pilot programs, under which eligible foreign nationals can apply directly to IRCC for permanent residence.
To qualify, a foreign national must have a qualifying job offer from a designated employer within a participating region, in addition to meeting other requirements. Both the employer and the job offer must be approved by the local economic development organization.
The pilots launched in 2025 and are set to run until 2030.
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