Work Permits for Information Technology Professionals

Immi Sikand

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The Facilitated Processing for Information Technology (IT) workers was established several years ago to address the need of employers to fill critical labour shortages in the software industry. The program was developed based on the collaboration between Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) and Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC, now HRSDC) to identify software professionals’ skills in high demand in the Canadian labour market. This resulted in a “pilot” project which permits certain foreign national software professionals to apply for a work permit directly at a Canadian visa post abroad. Normally, an employer must apply for and be granted a positive labour market opinion (LMO) confirmation from HRSDC to support a work permit application for a foreign national. The IT workers program eliminates the requirement for an LMO, as HRSDC and CIC have replaced it with a “national confirmation letter” which states that certain software positions cannot be filled by Canadian citizens or permanent residents and have determined that to fill these positions with foreign workers will not have a negative impact on Canadian job seekers and workers.

Although the program description has not been updated since 2002, the IT workers program remains an important tool for expedited processing. Perhaps the largest source country for Information Technology workers since the inception of this program is India. The evolution of the software industry in India has been staggering over the past 10 years and IT workers trained in India

The pilot project replaces the job specific LMO requirement by a national validation letter for the following software positions:

• Management Information Systems Software Designer
• Telecommunications Software Designer
• Embedded Systems Software Designer
• Senior Animation Effects Editor
• Multimedia Software Designer
• Software Developer - Services
• Software Products Developer
• Application Developer

There are specific job descriptions for the above occupations and to be eligible for the program, foreign workers and their prospective employment must fit one of the job descriptions, including the listed responsibilities, education, language, years of experience, salary and experience in specific technology. The job descriptions, like the program, are fairly outdated as they have not been updated since 2002. However, those familiar with the technology and software can easily identify the current technology associated with the former requirements.

Due to the large number of foreign worker applicants under this category in India, the Canadian High Commission in Delhi has specific requirements for these applicants which assist in expedited processing. The application can be finalized within a week without an interview, although the medical examination requirement can add several weeks to the process.

The IT workers facilitated processing program is a useful tool for employers and foreign workers. Presently, there are no other occupations with a similar national confirmation. However given the current labour market shortage Canadian employers are facing, a national confirmation for other high demand occupations would certainly be an effective way to address the issue.