Significant benefit work permit (or C10) is an LMIA-exempt work permit that is generally available to the foreign nationals who can demonstrate that their work in Canada will bring significant economic, cultural or social benefit or opportunities to Canadians. This work permit category is not frequently used. As a matter of fact, it is meant to be rarely used.
All work permits fall under one of the following categories:
Most employers and foreign workers prefer the latter because LMIA-based work permits are more complex, expensive and place quite a bit of burden on the employers. Significant benefit work permit is one of the LMIA-exempt work permit categories.
Criteria:
When applying for a significant benefit work permit, immigration officer(s) will want to know the following:
- Why does the Canadian employer need the foreign national to work in Canada?
- How will the foreign national contribute to the employer’s economic benefit (either in a job growth number or a specific dollar value in profit)?
- How crucial is the foreign national to the Canadian employer?
- What will happen to the employer’s profits if the foreign national is not available to work?
- Will the employer lose business if the foreign worker cannot work?
- Why cannot the employer hire the foreign worker through the LMIA (Labour Market Impact Assessment) process?
- Will the foreign national’s job have a neutral or positive impact on the labour market?
Application process:
The application process is the same as for the other LMIA-exempt work permit categories. The employer will have to submit an offer of employment through the Employer Portal, provide a letter of support and other documentation evidencing the foreign worker’s benefit to the employer and labour market.
Bearing in mind that this work permit category is not that common, it may not be prudent to apply at the border without, at the very least, a positive opinion from the International Mobility Workers Unit.
In case of complex applications, it is possible to ask the Immigration Canada’s entity called International Mobility Workers Unit for an opinion on the work permit application. They usually issue opinions within 2-3 weeks. If the Unit pre-approves the application, that should signal to the border officers that the work permit should be approved. Unfortunately, the border officers can still refuse the application despite the pre-approval from the International Mobility Workers Unit. Moreover, it is possible to apply for the Unit’s opinion only if the foreign national is outside of Canada and if the foreign national comes from a visa-exempt country.