Canada's immigration department has updated its instructions, barring officers from summarily refusing work permit applications based on dubious job offers. Officers must now issue a procedural fairness letter, giving applicants an opportunity to address concerns. This change aims to enhance fairness in the employer-specific work permit application process.

Canada's immigration department has barred officers from summarily refusing work permit applications that rely on dubious job offers. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, or IRCC, published updated instructions on its website on September 17, 2026. These instructions require officers to give applicants the opportunity to address any concerns about the genuineness of a job offer.

IRCC published updated instructions on September 17, 2026, titled 'Assessing the genuineness of the offer of employment on a work permit application'. If an officer has doubts about a job offer supporting an employer-specific work permit application, they must now issue a procedural fairness letter, or PFL, and place the file on hold.

This is a change from the previous version, which allowed officers to request further information or documents directly from the employer, or to refuse the work permit. The updated instructions include a new section, 'Concerns with the genuineness of the offer', which directs officers on how to issue the PFL.

The PFL must include the specific concerns relating to the genuineness of the offer and notify the applicant that the employer must respond directly to IRCC with required documentary evidence. The employer must respond within 15 days or the applicable office standard. Officers are directed to schedule a review of the application after an additional 30 days beyond the employer deadline.

The updated instructions were published by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, or IRCC, on September 17, 2026. The instructions are titled 'Assessing the genuineness of the offer of employment on a work permit application'. The new process involves issuing a procedural fairness letter, or PFL.

Employers are given 15 days or the applicable office standard to respond, followed by an additional 30 days for review. These instructions apply to all employer-specific work permits, including some Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA)-exempt work permits through the International Mobility Program, or IMP, and all work permits through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, or TFWP.

The job offer requirement is found in section 200(5) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, or IRPR. The instructions also include a reminder of the flagpoling ban affecting many work permit applications since December 2024.

The previous version of the instructions allowed officers to request further information or documents directly from the employer, or to refuse the work permit without specific directions for issuing a procedural fairness letter. The earlier version did not provide the detailed guidance now included for addressing concerns about job offer genuineness. The job offer requirement, which is the focus of these instructions, is outlined in section 200(5) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations.

The updated instructions mean that applicants for employer-specific work permits will now have an opportunity to address concerns about the genuineness of their job offers, potentially preventing summary refusals. The instructions specify that an employment contract is not required for job offers submitted through the employer portal, but an officer may review one if submitted.

An exception is made for live-in caregivers regarding the requirement for the employer to demonstrate active engagement in the business. The requirement for the employer to have a physical location in Canada where the worker will work has been dropped. A more holistic approach is emphasized for assessing whether an employer is actively engaged in the business.

It is clarified that there is no issue with work permits being issued to foreign nationals hired to work for employers with home-based businesses. The process for officers to seek more information when a Canadian employer has contracted services from a foreign company is clarified. Businesses with no employees that serve simply to facilitate the entry of foreign nationals into Canada do not qualify as an operating business.

All directions related to referring applications to the Case Management Branch have been removed. The updated version clarifies procedural differences for International Mobility Program versus Temporary Foreign Worker Program work permits consistently across the document. Immigration officers remain accountable for ensuring the genuineness of the job offer, including in Temporary Foreign Worker Program cases which involve reviewing and validating work done by Employment and Social Development Canada officers.

Officers will now follow the updated instructions, which require them to issue a procedural fairness letter when they have doubts about a job offer. The employer must respond to the concerns within 15 days or the applicable office standard. Officers are directed to schedule a review of the application after an additional 30 days beyond the employer deadline to allow time for the employer's response to be attached.

Canada's immigration department has implemented significant changes to its work permit application process, preventing summary refusals based on dubious job offers. The new instructions require officers to issue a procedural fairness letter, providing applicants and employers an opportunity to address concerns. This procedural shift aims to ensure greater fairness and transparency in the assessment of employer-specific work permits.