IRCC updates rules for LMIA-exempt work permits under reciprocal employment

A class of labour-market-impact-assessment (LMIA)-exempt work permits is now being issued under revised rules.

Work permits issued on the basis of reciprocal employment through the International Mobility Program are now subject to revised instructions to officers, under the new title "Reciprocal employment general guidelines [R205(b) – C20] – Canadian interests – International Mobility Program."

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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) published the updated instructions on its website on February 20, 2026.

The new instructions clarify that in assessing whether the necessary reciprocity exists, officers should consider the opportunities for “Canadian citizens or permanent residents or Canada” “in the country where the worker is coming from,” making it clear that the reciprocity applies to permanent residents (not only to Canadian citizens), and that the reciprocity must exist in the country from which the specific worker is coming (rather than simply in any country abroad).

The old version of the instructions used the less-specific language “when Canadians have similar reciprocal opportunities abroad.”

The new instructions also instruct offers to consider whether the applicant's job offer serves to “create or maintain reciprocal employment,” making it clearer that the maintenance of existing positions abroad can count toward the establishment of reciprocity for foreign nationals seeking entry to Canada on new work permit applications.

The revised instructions also include an entirely new section for officers on the entry of notes into the Global Case Management System (GCMS), which has several provisions that applicants and their employers may wish to keep in mind:

• The destination province entered by the applicant should match the address of employment in the job offer.
• The city of destination entered by the applicant should match the address of employment in the job offer.
• The NOC code of the job must be specified on the offer of employment.

The revised instructions also remind officers that in the case of foreign nationals who are exempt from the travel document requirement, such as US citizens, the work permit should be issued for the full duration of the offer of employment, even if the applicant's passport would expire before that date.

Formal agreements do not need to be in place for the issuance of this kind of work permit.

Canadian employers, including educational institutions, can bring in foreign workers on this permit so long as they can demonstrate that reciprocal opportunities exist, and the worker meets Canada’s general entry requirements.

The instructions do not apply to work permits issued through the International Experience Canada program, although they do apply to permits issued under cultural agreements with Belgium, Brazil, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, France, and China.

Like the previous instructions, the new version suggests to officers that in the case of organizations with less history of reciprocity, fewer work permits ought initially to be issued, while in the case of organizations with longer histories of reciprocity, such as over the course of several years, it is acceptable to issue a lager number of work permits and to grant a greater degree of flexibility in the determination of reciprocity (for example, by assessing reciprocity over the course of an entire five-year period).

Also like the previous instructions, the document reminds officers that in the case of a refusal, they can instruct the applicant to have their employer obtain a labour market impact assessment (LMIA), and then submit a new work permit application for an LMIA-based work permit through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP).

The previous version of this document was titled “International Mobility Program (IMP): Canadian interests – Reciprocal employment general guidelines R205(b), C20.”

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