Introduction to Work Permits
The following information is current to March 24, 2026.
The following is legal information and not legal advice. If you need further information or need legal advice, please call our Intake Line at 416-441-1764 ext. 1.
This article is meant to be an introduction to Work Authorization in Canadian Immigration Law. It is not possible in the limited length of this article to provide all possible information about the rules and requirements relating to Work Permits. For further information or advice relating to your personal situation, please contact your local legal clinic or visit the IRCC website.
Most people who are not Permanent Residents or Citizens of Canada require a Work Permit (legal work authorization) to work in Canada. This includes most Temporary Residents, Protected Persons, and Refugee Claimants. Most people who are planning to stay and work temporarily in Canada are expected to apply for a Permit from outside of the country. There are limited circumstances (situations) when someone is allowed to apply while living in Canada. Along with eligibility related to where you can apply from, there are different ‘types’ of Work Permits – and each type has their own requirements and eligibility criteria.
Can I Apply for a Work Permit from Canada?
The below list includes some of the most common examples for when a person is allowed to apply for a Work Permit from inside Canada. This is not an exhaustive list, just the most common for our clients at DVCLS. For a complete list, please check the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) website.
You can apply from inside Canada if one of these applies:
- You already have a valid study or work permit (i.e. extension)
- Your spouse, common-law partner or parent has a valid study or work permit. (i.e. you’re an accompanying dependent family member)*
- You are applying for a Post-Graduation Work Permit*
- You are in Canada on a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) that is valid for more than 6 months
- You are in Canada and have submitted a PR application through a Family Sponsorship or H&C Process*
- You are a Refugee Claimant, a refused Claimant waiting to be removed, or you have an unenforceable removal order against you.
- You have been recognized as a Convention refugee or Protected Person by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB).
*NOTE: there may be other requirements or timelines that need to be met before you can apply for a Work Permit. This list is only to show, in general, who is allowed to apply from within Canada.
Types of Work Permits
Closed Work Permit
This type of Permit is also known as an ‘Employer Specific’ Permit. Once issued, this Work Permit specifies the name of the employer a person can work for, how long they can work for that person (before needing to get a new permit), and sometimes the location of where a person can work. With this type of Permit, a person can only work for the employer listed and, if applicable, at the location/address listed. They are not allowed to work anywhere else.
Usually, for this type of Work Permit a person is required to have a valid job offer from a potential employer, before they can apply. They will also usually need that employer to acquire a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) from the Government before the Work Permit Application is made.
A LMIA is a document that the employer gets that will show that there is a need for a foreign worker to fill the offered job, and that the foreign worker being employed will not result in the job being taken from a Canadian Citizen or Permanent Resident who could have done it. More information: What is a Labour Market Impact Assessment?
Open Work Permit
An Open Work Permit (OWP) allows a person to work for any employer, so long as they are not listed as an ineligible employer with IRCC.
Open Work Permits are mostly only available to people who can apply for a Permit from within Canada. People who are Refugee Claimants, Protected Persons, or PR Applicants in Canada will usually have an Open Work Permit. Most Open Work Permits are ‘general’ – they can used for one or multiple employers, they can be renewed, and they usually do not provide Temporary Resident Status. Then, some Open Work Permits fall into their own ‘special’ category, with other restrictions or eligibility criteria.
An example of a ‘special’ OWP is a Post Graduation Work Permit (PGWP). It is an Open Work Permit because it does not list a specific employer someone must work for. But, unlike a general OWP, it is only for recent graduates from Canadian education programs and has specific eligibility criteria related to what a person studied, how long they studied for, what their English or French language capabilities are, etc. Unlike a general Open Work Permit, it cannot be renewed. Find more information on the IRCC website.