International Mobility Program Work Permits

The International Mobility Program (IMP) is one of two temporary work permit programs in Canada.  This program provides work authorization without the requirement of a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) which requires employers to verify that there is a need for a temporary foreign worker and that no Canadian or permanent residents are available to do the job. 

Those excluded from an LMIA that fall under the International Mobility Program IMP do so when there are specific benefits or advantages for Canada and include:

  • People working in Canada temporarily under free trade agreements, such as NAFTA
  • Spouses of highly-skilled foreign workers
  • International students who graduated from a school in Canada
  • People taking part in International Experience Canada, a reciprocal youth exchange program
  • Some applicants for permanent residence who are waiting for an assessment

The dashboard of graphs and charts below show the number of work permits authorized under the IMP stream since 2015 by skill level, IMP program and program category, and by province or territory.