Work permits
Most Canadian work permits are TFWP, where the employer needs an LMIA, or IMP, where they do not. An LMIA is not a permit. A positive LMIA does not guarantee IRCC will issue one.
Start with the LMIA question. Then open the matching child page. Work without a permit is a third, smaller list. It is not a third work-permit program.
Official pages are named below. Judgment is labelled. This page does not invent codes, fees, or times. It does not collect a UCI, a CRA business number, an LMIA number, or an employee name.
TFWP
The employer needs a Labour Market Impact Assessment. ESDC issues the opinion. IRCC still decides the permit.
IMP
The employer does not need an LMIA. Search every current exemption code from the 10 Aug 2026 PDI.
Work without a permit
R186 plus two public policies. This is not a work permit.
An LMIA is not a work permit
IRCC's find-need page says a labour market impact assessment asks whether hiring a temporary foreign worker will help or hurt Canada's labour market. ESDC issues that opinion. IRCC decides the person. Stream, wage, and the $1,000 employer-paid fee live on the LMIA guide.
Open versus employer-specific
Official language is employer-specific, not "closed." IRCC's type page lists two permit types: employer-specific and open. That split is about the permit, not a third program beside TFWP and IMP.
Maintained status, BOWP, PGWP
- Official language is maintained status, not implied status. If IRCC receives an extension before expiry, the expired-permit page is the starting point. The longer card is /glossary/maintained-status.
- A bridging open work permit is an open permit for some permanent residence applicants. Submitting an Express Entry profile is not applying for permanent residence. Official page: BOWP. Card: /glossary/bowp.
- A post-graduation work permit is an open permit for some graduates. It is not permanent residence and it is not a BOWP. Official page: PGWP. Card: /glossary/pgwp.
Wage and NOC confirm a job. They do not pick the program. Use /wages, /noc, and How to assess your NOC. Ontario Workforce Priority is /oinp.
Official sources, last checked 25 Aug 2026
Named government pages only. Live-fetched 2026-08-25. Each row stamps HTTP status and the printed dateModified, or says the date was not printed.
Source: IRCC: Hire a temporary foreign worker · HTTP 200 · official page Mar 13, 2026 · checked Aug 25, 2026 · HTTP 200. Landing for hire with an LMIA versus hire without an LMIA. Hire without is IMP.
Source: IRCC: Find out if you need a labour market impact assessment · HTTP 200 · official page Apr 23, 2026 · checked Aug 25, 2026 · HTTP 200. Chooses the door. A positive LMIA is a labour-market finding. The employer still sends the worker to IRCC for the permit.
Source: ESDC: Hire a temporary foreign worker with a Labour Market Impact Assessment · HTTP 200 · official page Jul 10, 2026 · checked Aug 25, 2026 · HTTP 200. TFWP employer landing. Stream detail stays on /lmia.
Source: IRCC: Hire through the International Mobility Program · HTTP 200 · official page May 5, 2026 · checked Aug 25, 2026 · HTTP 200. LMIA-exempt hire-without-LMIA door. Employer compliance fee from $230, unless exempted. Group of 3 entertainers or more: $690.
Source: IRCC PDI: LMIA exemption codes, International Mobility Program · HTTP 200 · official page Aug 10, 2026 · checked Aug 25, 2026 · HTTP 200. Printed dateModified 2026-08-10. Completeness follows this PDI. A code is not a strategy. Meeting a code still leaves the work-permit decision with IRCC.
Source: IRCC PDI: Work without a permit list [R186 and public policies] · HTTP 200 · official page Apr 27, 2026 · checked Aug 25, 2026 · HTTP 200. R186(a) through R186(x) plus two public policies. This is not a work permit.
Source: IRCC: Find out what type of work permit you need · HTTP 200 · official page May 25, 2026 · checked Aug 25, 2026 · HTTP 200. Two types: employer-specific or open. /permit/temporary/work-permit-types.html redirected here on fetch.
Source: IRCC: Employer-specific work permits · HTTP 200 · official page Mar 31, 2026 · checked Aug 25, 2026 · HTTP 200. Job offer required. Employer may need an LMIA. Guessed /permit/temporary/employer-specific.html 404d.
Source: IRCC: Open work permits · HTTP 200 · official page Mar 31, 2026 · checked Aug 25, 2026 · HTTP 200. No job offer. Employer does not need an LMIA or an Employer Portal offer. Guessed /permit/temporary/open-work-permit.html 404d.
Source: IRCC: What to do if your work permit expires · HTTP 200 · official page Jul 17, 2026 · checked Aug 25, 2026 · HTTP 200. Uses maintained status, not implied status. Same employer, job, and location on an employer-specific permit.
Source: IRCC: Bridging open work permit for permanent residence applicants · HTTP 200 · official page Jun 23, 2026 · checked Aug 25, 2026 · HTTP 200. Express Entry card does not print a two-week wait. Submitting a profile is not applying for permanent residence.
Source: IRCC: Post-graduation work permit · HTTP 200 · official page Mar 9, 2026 · checked Aug 25, 2026
Source: IRCC: Work in Canada temporarily · HTTP 200 · official page Jun 1, 2026 · checked Aug 25, 2026 · HTTP 200. Worker-facing landing. /work-canada/permit.html and /work-canada/work-permit.html redirected here on fetch.