Canada has a variety of labor permit and permanent residency options to support the hiring of foreign talent in tech.
Canadian tech employers still face labour shortages, because the tech sector continues to grow despite the pandemic. a way to support gaps within the labour market is to hire talent from abroad.
The shortage of qualified staff in Canada was the crux of the Council of Canadian Innovators‘ recent involve the federal government to pilot a new visa that might permit tech staff to come back to Canada without employment offer.
Recognizing the importance of the tech sector to the economy, federal and provincial governments offer a bunch of choices to employers seeking to recruit tech talent. Here are some options your company will explore following.
Global Talent Stream
The Global Talent Stream is meant to process eightieth of applications in two weeks or less. Canadian employers will use it to onboard foreign workers at once. so as to require advantage of this fast-track official document, employers should fall under category A or B.
Category A is for corporations that have gotten approval from a referral partner. These referral partners are oftentimes native, governmental or semi-governmental agencies that are mandated to support native economies.
Category B is for employers who are trying to find sure skilled staff whose occupations is found on the global Talent Occupations List. some of the eligible occupations include computer engineers, software engineers and designers, further as information systems analysts and consultants.
Employers in each classes are needed to fulfill conditions regarding the payment of skilled staff. Foreign staff employed through the GTS should be paid at the prevailing wage or higher.
The prevailing wage is that the highest of either:
the median wage for the occupation on the government of Canada’s Job Bank;
the wage within the range an employer pays current workers within the same position at constant location, with the same skills and experience; or
the pay floor as defined within the global Talent occupations list (if applicable).
CUSMA
The Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement has provisions that facilitate talent quality between the 3 countries. There are 2 classes that are relevant to tech workers: Professionals and Intra-Company Transfers (ICT).
CUSMA identifies sixty three occupations that qualify below the Professionals class. computer systems analysts are among these occupations.
ICTs are employees that are moving locations among their multinational company to a branch in Canada. there’s no list of that occupations qualify or are excluded. Generally, an intra-company transferee could be a one who has worked for the corporate for a minimum of one year and has either a management role or specialised knowledge.
Intra-Company Transfer (non CUSMA)
It is doable to form an ICT from a country other than Mexico or the united states. for instance, the free trade agreement between the european Union and Canada (CETA) has provisions for ICTs, as will the agreement with the united kingdom.
Employers don’t have to be compelled to do a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) for workers returning to Canada through associate ICT. LMIAs exist to indicate the federal government that the hiring of a distant employee can have a positive or neutral impact on the labour market. It will take time and money to complete an LMIA, that is why employers attempt to avoid them.
Pathways to permanent residency
When foreign staff get permanent residency status they’re ready to work in Canada while not having to renew any official document or LMIA. Some pathways to permanent residency need job offers, however, it’s conjointly doable for tech talent to urge permanent residence on their own.
There are variety of immigration pathways open to skilled staff, and a few are specifically tailored for tech staff.
Express Entry
Express Entry is an immigration pathway for skilled staff. it’s an online application management system for a few of Canada’s main immigration programs. tech staff, specifically, will come back to Canada through 2 of those programs: the Federal skilled worker Program (FSW), and also the Canadian experience class (CEC). The Federal skilled Trades Program (FSTP) is meant for tradespeople.
Express Entry could be a points-based system wherever eligible candidates get a score on the comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), which awards points to candidates for factors like education, language, and work experience among others. regarding each time period, Canada issues invitations to apply (ITAs) to the highest-scoring candidates. those that receive ITAs are ready to apply for permanent residence.
According to the express Entry Year-End Report 2020, occupations in technology dominated among candidates who were invited to apply for permanent residence.
Express Entry draws for FSWP and CEC candidates are briefly paused, because of the backlog in applications created throughout the pandemic. Immigration Minister Sean Fraser has said that express Entry draws for these candidates can resume in July.
So far this year, Canada has solely invited these candidates if they need a nomination from a Provincial nominee Program (PNP). tech workers who are eligible for express Entry can also be eligible to get nominated through a PNP.
Provincial immigration for tech staff
Canadian provinces are ready to support immigration applications for permanent residency. Quebec operates its own immigration system. Most different provinces and territories (except for Nunavut) have Provincial nominee Programs that permit them to nominate candidates through the express Entry system or through their own base programs.
The following are simply a couple of select provincial programs obtainable to tech staff. There are quite 100 economic-class immigration streams. Technology professionals could also be eligible for additional programs that don’t seem to be specific to tech staff.
Alberta Accelerated tech Pathway
Alberta’s Accelerated tech Pathway offers associate accelerated provincial nomination option to eligible express Entry candidates. The Canadian province Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) launched this stream in Jan 2022.
In order to get the expedited process under this pathway, candidates have to be compelled to meet the eligibility criteria for the Alberta express Entry Stream. they have to either be presently operating in Canadian province or have a job offer in one among twenty three eligible occupations. Some examples of these occupations include graphic designers and illustrators, mechanical engineers, and user support technicians.
Express Entry candidates can apply for this program on-line to the Alberta immigrant nominee Program (AINP).
British Columbia tech
The British Columbia Provincial nominee Program (BC PNP) offers a priority pathway referred to as the BC tech stream obtainable to certain tech staff. This PNP targets candidates who have job offers in one among 29 tech occupations.
To be invited in a BC tech draw, candidates should be eligible for one of BC’s immigration programs and have a job offer of at least one year.
Eligible candidates get invited to use for a provincial nomination from the BC PNP through weekly tech draws. BC school candidates get many advantages like data processing, and a special process officer.
Ontario tech draws
Ontario conducts tech draws for tech staff who are eligible for the Human Capital Priorities (HCP) stream.
To get invited, candidates have to be compelled to be eligible for either the Federal skilled worker Program or the Canadian experience class. They conjointly have to be compelled to have work expertise in concert of the subsequent six tech occupations:
software engineers and designers;
computer programmers and interactive media developers;
computer engineers;
web designers and developers;
database analysts and data administrators; and
computer and information systems managers.
Quebec Immigration Program for staff in AI, data Technology, and Visual Effects Sectors
Quebec launched this immigration pilot in April 2021 in an effort to grow its tech sector. The pilot has 2 streams:
Artificial intelligence (AI)
Within this stream are 2 sub-streams: one for people that graduated from a Quebec college or university, and one for workers trained abroad. The Quebec sub-graduate stream needs candidates to own expertise and employment offer. The foreign staff sub-stream doesn’t need employment offer, in some cases. each demand that candidates have relevant education that’s comparable to a Quebec bachelor’s degree at the least.
Information technology (IT) and visual effects
Tech workers applying for this program must have worked for at least 2 out of the last 5 years in one among ten occupations. Candidates conjointly have to be compelled to have associate current job or new job supply in their field and prove they need a minimum of the equivalent of a Quebec technical studies diploma or bachelor’s degree.
Both streams have 2 more divisions. One is for francophones, and one for non-francophones. someone who applies under the francophone category should show that they need an advanced intermediate knowledge of French. The non-francophone stream doesn’t have such a demand.
Saskatchewan tech Talent Pathway
The Saskatchewan immigrant nominee Program (SINP) recently launched a replacement tech pathway for future Canadian immigrants.
To be eligible, candidates to Saskatchewan’s tech Talent Pathway should have an employer-specific SINP Job Approval Letter for an eligible technology sector occupation. they have a minimum of one year of labor expertise in this occupation among the past 5 years, or six months of labor expertise within the province.
They also have to be compelled to have a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) five if they’re operating in Canadian province. A CLB level seven is needed if they’re applying for express Entry.
Candidates need to have post-secondary education, and if applicable, be eligible for Saskatchewan professional licensing.