FRANCOPHONE MOBILITY PROGRAM
Work Permit For French Speakers
If you speak French and want to apply for a job that involves speaking French in a province other than Quebec then the Francophone Mobility Program is for you.
Usually, when foreign workers come to work to Canada, their prospective employers must file a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) application.
LMIAs are issued by Employment and Social Development Canada. In general, the purpose of LMIA is to ensure that hiring a foreign worker will not affect the Canadian employment market adversely.
Not everyone can qualify for an LMIA, and there is cost to it – LMIA application fee is $ 1,000. There are cases, though, when an LMIA is not required from a temporary worker.
As one example, you don’t need an LMIA if you have a Francophone Mobility Program. This permit is issued only if you are hired for a job requiring the knowledge of French outside the province of Quebec.
Francophone MobilityProgram, also known as Mobilité Francophone, was launched on the 1st of June 2016 with a purpose of promoting the use of French language outside Quebec and promote francophone immigration in francophone minority communities.
The program targets French-speaking foreign workers who fall under National Occupational Classification (NOC) 0, A, or B occupations. Skill level 0 is Management jobs; level A – Professional jobs; level B – Technical jobs and skilled trades.
So, typically, you would need to graduate from a college/university, or complete apprenticeship courses to be able to apply.
As part of the application process, you might be asked to take an assessment of French to prove your proficiency. If it is not clear, you might be additionally required to take Test d’Evaluation Du Français (TEF) with a result of 7 or higher on Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) system.
A nice bonus of Francophone Mobility Program is that you can bring your family along! If your offer of employment exceeds six months, your spouse or common-law partner may apply for a Work Permit without a confirmed job offer. Moreover, your school-age children may apply for a Study Permit without a letter of admission!
In the past, one of the challenging parts to this Work Permit was the requirement to be recruited through a “francophone immigration promotional event coordinated between the federal government and francophone minority communities.”
However, in September 2017 this requirement was lifted. It is still encouraged to seek a francophone immigration promotional event, but no longer obligatory.
Why would Canada encourage francophone immigration to provinces other than Quebec? Well, for one, it strengthens the multicultural aspect of Canadian society, and it also respects the country’s bilingual characteristic.
We can represent your interests
At Jane Katkova & Associates – Canadian Immigration, Global Mobility Experts, we have more than 20 years of experience in bringing people to Canada under immigration programs of all kinds, including services to temporary workers.
Canadian Immigration Experts
At Jane Katkova & Associates – Canadian Immigration, Global Mobility Experts we are Immigration consultants. For assistance with the Francophone Mobility Program contact our office: call us at (416) 661-4487, or email us at support@katkova.com.
