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Pathway guide

Compliance Automation

When you hire a foreign worker on an employer-specific work permit, conditions apply to you for the whole permit period, and inspectors can check them for 6 years. This guide explains those duties under the LMIA (Temporary Foreign Worker) and LMIA-exempt (International Mobility) programs, what an inspection involves, the penalties, and what to track for each worker.

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Who it’s for

  • Employers with workers on LMIA-based or LMIA-exempt employer-specific work permits
  • HR teams that need one place to track permit, passport and SIN expiry dates
  • Employers planning to change a foreign worker's duties, pay, hours, location or employing company
  • Employers that received an inspection letter or notice from IRCC or Service Canada

What it asks for

  • Keep the same occupation, and pay and conditions at least as good as the offer or LMIA, for the whole permit
  • Get a new permit (and a new LMIA or offer) before substantial job changes or a change of employer
  • Stay active in the business and follow provincial employment and recruitment laws, including registration
  • Sign an employment agreement that matches the offer, give the rights guide by day one and keep it available in English and French
  • Never charge workers recruitment fees, directly or through recruiters
  • Prevent abuse and reprisals, and help injured or ill workers reach health care
  • Provide private emergency health insurance (LMIA workers) and workers' compensation coverage
  • Keep records for 6 years and be able to show your offer information was accurate
  • Track permit, passport and SIN expiry; workers must apply before their permit expires to keep working
  • LMIA workers: yearly prevailing wage review, employment on payroll and the commitments in your LMIAs
  • Cooperate with inspections, meet notice deadlines, and know the penalties, justifications and disclosure option

What the employer does

  • List every foreign worker with their program (LMIA or LMIA-exempt), permit type, employer, occupation (NOC), work location, wage, hours, and permit, passport and SIN expiry dates.
  • Before each start or renewal: sign the employment agreement (before the worker applies for an LMIA-exempt permit; by the first day for an LMIA permit), give the rights guide by day one, and set up workers' compensation and, for LMIA workers, private health insurance.
  • Ask for the worker's SIN within 3 days of the start date and keep copies of the permit and passport in their file.
  • Before changing duties, pay, hours, location, benefits or the employing company, check whether a new permit, LMIA or offer is needed, and wait for it.
  • Start renewals early: apply for a new LMIA, or submit a new Employer Portal offer and pay the compliance fee unless exempt, so the worker can apply before the permit expires; keep their WP-EXT letter.
  • Every year: review LMIA workers' wages against Job Bank by January 1, refresh abuse-prevention training, check the rights guide is posted in English and French, and audit your records.
  • Keep each worker's records for 6 years from their first day of work.
  • If you find a problem, fix it, compensate affected workers and get advice on a voluntary disclosure before any inspection.
  • If inspected: name one contact, send the listed documents with SINs removed, attend when asked, and answer any notice of preliminary finding by its deadline.

Documents you’ll usually need

  • Offer of employment from the Employer Portal, or the LMIA decision letter and annexes
  • Employment agreement signed by both parties, in the worker's chosen official language
  • Copy of each work permit with its conditions, the passport expiry date, and any WP-EXT letter or proof of an extension application
  • Job description, time sheets, payroll records, pay stubs and T4s
  • Dated proof the rights guide was given, and where it is posted
  • Private health insurance policy and proof of payment (LMIA workers), and a workers' compensation clearance letter
  • Provincial employer registration certificate, recruiter agreements and licences, and written no-fee confirmations
  • Anti-abuse and harassment policy, reporting procedure, training records and complaint files
  • Business licence, commercial lease, T2 financial statements and bank records showing an active business
  • Records of every change to duties, pay, hours or location, with any justification and compensation
  • For LMIA employers: recruitment and advertising records, transition plan records and yearly wage reviews

Fees and timing

  • Inspections can review how workers were treated for up to 6 years after a worker starts.
    Official source
  • Written submissions on a notice of preliminary finding: within 30 days after it is deemed received, which is 10 days after it is sent.
    Official source
  • A penalty must be paid within 30 days after the final notice is deemed received, unless a payment agreement is reached in that time.
    Official source
  • Penalties range from $500 to $100,000 per violation, up to $1 million over 1 year; bans last 1, 2, 5 or 10 years, or are permanent.
    Official source
  • Employer compliance fee for an LMIA-exempt offer: $230 unless exempt; a renewal needs a new offer.
    Official source
  • LMIA wage increases above the highest of 2%, the prevailing wage, or the previous year's CPI inflation rate (2.1% for 2026) are material changes.
    Official source
  • Prevailing wage review for LMIA workers: every year, by January 1.
    Official source
  • A worker whose job conditions are changing should apply at least 30 days before their permit expires.
    Official source
  • Ask for each new employee's SIN within 3 days after their employment begins.
    Official source
Watch out for
  • Do not let a worker take on duties in a different occupation, accept a pay cut or fewer hours, move to a location the permit does not allow, or work for a related company until the new permit is issued.
  • Each worker affected, and each of occupation, wages and working conditions, counts as a separate violation, so a small payroll error can multiply; fix it and compensate quickly.
  • A worker on maintained status who travels outside Canada cannot work on return until the new permit is approved.
  • A permit can't be extended past the passport's expiry date, so check passports early.
  • You are responsible for fees your recruiters charge workers: get written no-fee confirmations and check provincial recruiter licensing.
  • Warnings are not published but count against you if there is a later violation, and violations since December 1, 2015 never expire for points.
  • New on September 18, 2026: ESDC says LMIA workers cannot be classified or reclassified as independent contractors.
  • IRCC plans to make the changing-employers public policy permanent and to bring employers of workers who start before their new permit into the compliance regime; pre-publication is targeted for Winter 2027, so it is not in force yet.
  • ESDC reported 1,488 TFW Program inspections from April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026: 12% of inspected employers were non-compliant, penalties topped $10.2 million and 30 employers were banned.
  • IRCC's employer page counts the 6-year record period from the permit's issue date, while the regulation counts from the first day of work; keep records until 6 years after the later date.
  • Provincial health insurance waiting periods differ, so LMIA workers may need employer-paid private coverage when they first arrive.
  • Proposed change: IRCC plans to move International Mobility Program employer inspections to ESDC (forward regulatory plan, April 2026); the amendments are not in force yet, so IRCC still inspects for now.

Official pages

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Checked against official sources on October 16, 2026. The employer assessment checks your answers against these requirements, and a lawyer reviews anything unusual.