Canadian companies can bring high wage temporary foreign employees into Canada with 10 day priority processing, one of the fastest immigration processing times in the world. 10 day priority processing is an immigration option used very frequently by Canadian tech companies that want to quickly hire highly-skilled international workers. Hiring highly qualified, educated and experienced foreign talent is critical for Canada's economic recovery. The government welcomes foreign workers and has worked to introduce new programs and make current programs more efficient to help alleviate the labour shortage.
In April, the Workforce Solutions Road Map made updates to Canada's Global Talent Stream to make it easier for businesses to bring temporary foreign workers to Canada:
- The maximum duration of employment for High-Wage and Global Talent Streams workers was extended from 2 years to 3 years. This extension will help workers access pathways to qualify for permanent residency, enabling them to contribute to the Canadian workforce long term.
- According to Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC):
"The employment duration must align with the employer’s reasonable employment needs. (High-wage positions include the Global Talent Stream, High-wage Stream including caregiver positions, Agricultural Stream and Express Entry). The duration may be issued for longer in exceptional circumstances whereby the employer provides an adequate rationale."
2 Streams for 10 Day Priority Processing of High Wage Earner Temporary Foreign Workers
1. Temporary Foreign Worker Stream LMIA for High Wage Positions
A job that requires a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) to determine if the hiring of a temporary foreign worker will have a positive or negative impact on the Canadian labour market. A high wage occupation for a position that pays in the top 10% of local Canadian wages can qualify for expedited priority processing in 10 days or less. These jobs are typically highly skilled, professional jobs; such as:
- top-level managerial jobs
- senior executives
- physicians
The LMIA application can be submitted via the online portal up to 6 months prior to the expected job start date.
ESDC guarantees 10 day priority processing for 3 categories:
- Occupations in high demand
- Work length of 120 days or less
- High-paying jobs that aren't in the top ten percent
The High Wage LMIA stream is based on the median wage where the job will be located, as determined by Statistics Canada.
2. Global Talent Tech Stream for High Wage Positions
Canadian companies are recruiting foreign tech workers with unique and specialized skills for highly paid positions to build the economy. Processed through the Global Talent Stream, applications that qualify for expedited service have a service commitment of 10 business days that IRCC commits to meeting at a minimum of 80% of the time. The 10-day service commitment date starts on the business day after the application has been received.
Expedited service is not a guarantee that your high wage Temporary Foreign Worker Program application will receive priority treatment or approval. Applications that are incomplete, confusing or in any way questionable will not be expedited, and in fact, may be delayed. ESDC takes non-compliance and misleading information on requests for priority processing of high wage positions very seriously.
The 10 day priority processing time applies to foreign workers who don't need visas such as Americans or western Europeans.
Learn More: How To Expedite Hiring High Wage Employees
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Does your business need 10 day priority processing for your company? An experienced Canadian or U.S. immigration lawyer can save you time and stress - and prevent costly mistakes and missed deadlines. With 50+ years of immigration experience, the team at Ackah Business Immigration Law can identify and resolve potential problems BEFORE they happen.
Contact Ackah Law today to discuss your situation at 403-452‑9515 or email us at contact@ackahlaw.com.
