How to hire a French-speaking or bilingual foreign worker to work in Canada outside Quebec
Step 1. Find a candidate and make sure they’re eligible
Find out what options you have to find a French-speaking or bilingual worker.
Candidates must be eligible to apply for a Francophone Mobility work permit. Make sure you know the requirements before hiring.
If the candidate is applying for the work permit on or after June 15, 2023
To be eligible, the candidate must
- meet the general eligibility requirements for a work permit
- choose to live and work in 1 of the 9 Canadian provinces or 3 territories outside Quebec
- be able to prove they can speak and listen in French at an intermediate level
- This would be equivalent to a niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC) level 5 or higher.
- have an offer of employment for a job that’s classified under any Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities category of the National Occupational Classification (NOC) system except if the offer of employment is for a job in a primary agriculture occupation under TEER 4 and 5
If the candidate applied for the work permit before June 15, 2023
To be eligible, the worker must have
- met the general eligibility requirements for a work permit
- chosen to live and work in 1 of the 9 Canadian provinces or 3 territories outside Quebec
- been able to satisfy a processing officer that they could score a minimum of 7 on the niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC) test
- had an offer of employment for a job that’s classified under a TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 category of the NOC
Step 2. Submit an offer of employment
If the French-speaking or bilingual foreign candidate you want to hire meets the eligibility requirements above, you can hire them without an LMIA. To do this, you must
- sign in or create an account in the Employer Portal
- submit an offer of employment through the Employer Portal using LMIA exemption code C16 for Mobilité Francophone
- pay a $230 employer compliance fee
Step 3. Provide your candidate with the information they need to apply
Once you submit an offer of employment, you need to provide your candidate with
- their offer of employment number: a 7-digit number they will require for their application
- the signed offer of employment
Once you complete the steps above, the candidate can apply for their work permit. Make sure they submit their work permit application through Francophone Mobility.
Find out more about hiring without an LMIA.
Supporting your worker’s permanent residence
Learn about how you can help the hired foreign worker stay in Canada permanently.
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