Under the International Mobility Program, an open work permit enables a person to work for any employer for a specified period. An open restricted permit may restrict the occupation or location but not the employer.

An open work permit can be issued to a foreign national only under one of the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) exemptions.

A foreign national may apply for an open work permit outside Canada, at a port of entry or after arrival to Canada, as per program requirements.

Types of open work permits

There are two types of open work permits:

- unrestricted (allowing foreign nationals to work in any occupation and location)
- restricted (restricting the occupation or the location)

Open work permits may be issued with the following:

- occupational restrictions, depending on the applicant’s medical status.
- location restrictions, depending on the category (such as a bridging open work permit under the provincial nominee class)

Open employer and unrestricted occupation work permit coding

Officers should code the unrestricted occupation open work permits in the Global Case Management System (GCMS) as per the following:

Employer name: unspecified or unknown

Location: unspecified or unknown

Occupation: NOC 9999 (no other code should be used)

Medical conditions: the permit can be issued to any eligible applicant who has passed a medical examination for immigration purposes with a result of M1, M2 or M3 (medical examination passed).

Note: Medical surveillance must be imposed for persons assessed as M2/S2. Remarks on the permit should indicate “medical surveillance required”.

Open employer but occupation- or location- restriced work permit coding

Officers should code the open employer but occupation- or location-restricted work permits in GCMS as follows:

Employer name: unknown or unspecified

Location: restricted, as per the requirements of the LMIA exemption category (for instance, bridging work permits to provincial nominees are restricted to the province of nomination)

Occupation:

- restricted due to LMIA exemption requirements (the specific NOC code for the occupation
- restricted due to medical results (where a foreign national was assessed as M3 or M4 in their medical examination, an occupation restriction must be specified on the work permit because the person cannot work in jobs where the protection of the public health is required)

Interested candidates: Find out whether you qualify for Canada by completing our free on-line evaluation. We will provide you with our evaluation within 1-2 business days.

For more information, Contact us.