Work Permits Update — October 1, 2026

What You Should Do

• -If you are an employer planning to hire through the High-Wage or Permanent Resident LMIA streams, submit your application immediately — processing takes 90 and 156 business days respectively as of August 2026. Apply up to 6 months before the expected job start date via LMIA Online at canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/foreign-workers.
• -If you applied under the 2021 TR-to-PR pathway and are still awaiting a PR decision, apply for your Open Work Permit before December 31, 2026 at canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/tr-pr-pathway/open-work-permit.html. Confirm you meet all 5 eligibility requirements, including Canadian residency and having received an IRCC email confirming your PR application submission.
• -If you are an employer hiring through the Low-Wage or Agricultural LMIA streams, note that advertising requirements (14 days to 8 weeks) must be completed before submitting your application and are not counted in the published processing times. Factor this into your hiring timeline.
• -Check the updated hourly wage thresholds effective July 17, 2026, which affect High-Wage vs. Low-Wage stream classification. Visit canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/foreign-workers.html to confirm which stream applies to your position.