Mobilité Francophone programme

The Mobilité Francophone programme aims to make it simpler for Canadian employers outside Quebec to recruit French-speaking skilled workers.

Overview

Recruiting such workers can bring a number of advantages. For example, the ability to serve customers in both official languages can help a business tap into new markets at home and abroad.

This stream falls under theInternational Mobility Programme (IMP), which allows Canadian employers to hire foreign nationals without needing anLabour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). Employers therefore do not have to demonstrate efforts to recruit or train Canadian citizens or permanent residents. In addition, the CAD $1,000 LMIA application fee does not apply under Mobilité Francophone.

UnlikeInternational Experience Canada (IEC)– another International Mobility Programme stream that both employers and workers may be familiar with – the eligibility requirements for Mobilité Francophone include no restriction based on the worker’s nationality or age. Citizens of any country and of any age may be eligible to work in Canada under Mobilité Francophone.

Applicant eligibility

Under Mobilité Francophone, the following conditions must be met:

• The applicant will live and work outside the province of Quebec.
• The applicant uses French as a regular, everyday language.
• Assessment of an applicant’s language ability is at the discretion of the visa processing officer.
• If it is not clear from the original application that the applicant has the required level of French, theTest d’évaluation de français (TEF)may be requested. In that case, a result ofCanadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 7 or higher is the threshold the applicant must meet.

Recruiting French-speaking or bilingual workers

Canadian employers interested in recruiting through Mobilité Francophone should note the following:

• The employer must submit the job offer before the work permit application is made. Job offers made under the International Mobility Programme are submitted through theemployer portal.
• The job offer made to the foreign worker must be for a skilled position. Canada’sNational Occupational Classification (NOC)system, which classifies the various occupations, lists skilled work at level 0, A or B.
  • Skill level 0: management jobs.
  • Skill level A: professional jobs. Workers generally need a university degree to be hired for these roles.
  • Skill level B: technical jobs and skilled trades. Workers generally need a college diploma or apprenticeship training to be hired for these roles.
• The job offer is not required to specify French-language ability in the job description. The worker must, however, have French-language ability (see the section above for further details).
• An employer compliance fee of CAD $230 is payable for each job offer made through the employer portal. Once this fee has been paid, the job offer number can be passed to the applicant (the foreign worker), who will apply for the work permit.
• A visa officer may issue an LMIA-exempt work permit valid for the duration of the job offer, or until the travel document expires, whichever comes first.
• Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)aims to maintain fast processing standards. For example, processing time at the Paris visa office is around 1 month.

Accompanying family members

Foreign workers may bring accompanying family members to Canada. If the job offer is for six months or longer, the worker’s spouse or common-law partner, if any, may apply for anopen work permit.

Holders of an open work permit may work for any Canadian employer, without needing a confirmed job offer in advance. An open work permit is not tied to a specific job.

In addition, if the job offer is for six months or longer, a study permit application may be made for any accompanying school-age children. No letter of acceptance is needed to apply for a study permit in this case.

Extensions

Extensions of work permits issued under the Mobilité Francophone stream may be submitted by post to the Case Processing Centre or online to the Operations Support Centre. Applicants holding a valid work permit under the discontinued exemption “Significant benefit – French speakers intending to work outside Quebec” may apply to extend their work permit through Mobilité Francophone.

The original criteria (set out above) must still be met, and the applicant must continue to be employed in an occupation at National Occupational Classification (NOC) level 0, A or B outside Quebec.