Hire French-speaking or bilingual workers outside Quebec
Video: Francophone Mobility: Advantages for employers
About the process
There are options to make hiring French-speaking or bilingual workers outside Quebec easier. Hiring a French-speaking or a bilingual candidate can benefit you by
- allowing you to serve clients in both official languages
- allowing you to hire without a labour market impact assessment (LMIA) through Francophone Mobility
- providing opportunities for you to tap into new markets or international networks
- allowing you to receive support from the Francophone community, such as
- providing access to our outreach officers located across Canada
How to hire a French-speaking or bilingual foreign worker outside Quebec
Step 1: Find out if you need a labour market impact assessment
LMIA exemption for TEER 4 and 5 workers
You’re temporarily exempt from needing a LMIA to hire a French-speaking or bilingual worker outside Quebec who is classified under Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities (TEER) categories 4 and 5 of the National Occupational Classification (NOC) with the exception of primary agriculture occupations.
This pilot project begins on June 15, 2023, and will be valid for an initial period of 2 years.
You can find out if you need to get an LMIA by reviewing the
If an exemption code applies to your situation, you must include it in your offer of employment.
Step 2: Choose the right process
Hiring when you don’t need an LMIA
If the French-speaking or bilingual worker you want to hire meets the eligibility requirements, you can hire them without an LMIA.
To do this, you must
- submit an offer of employment through the Employer Portal using LMIA exemption code C16 for Mobilité Francophone
- pay a $230 employer compliance fee
- provide your worker with their offer of employment number: a 7digit number they will require for their application
Find out more about hiring without an LMIA.
Once you’ve completed the steps above, the worker can apply for their work permit.
Other options to hire French-speaking or bilingual workers
Contact the Canadian visa office in Paris to recruit foreign candidates
If you have a job opening and would like to recruit a foreign worker temporarily or permanently from a Francophone country, you can send your job offer to our visa office in Paris. Include detailed information such as:
- job title;
- duties;
- expected start and end dates;
- salary and benefits.
Many countries have public employment services that specialize in international recruitment to help their citizens find work abroad. Our staff at the visa office can refer you to the services that will best meet your needs. These local government services can help you find candidates and support you through the recruitment process, free of charge.
Through these services, you can recruit candidates from a number of countries, including France, Belgium, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Mauritius, Mexico and more.
These services are available year-round and free of charge to all Canadian employers with job offers outside Quebec.
The Destination Canada Mobility Forum
The Destination Canada Mobility Forum 2023 will take place
- in Paris, France, from November 18 to 19
- in Rabat, Morocco, from November 22 to 24
- online, from December 4 to 6
The event connects Canadian employers with skilled French-speaking candidates in a variety of fields, such as
- information technology
- multimedia
- marketing and communications
- finance
- hospitality
- culinary and food industries
- translation
- aeronautics and avionics
- construction
More information about how Canadian employers can post their job offers will be available when registration opens in September 2023.
Employers’ roadmap
This roadmap is a guide for employers at small to medium-sized enterprises who are interested in hiring foreign workers.
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