McGill.CA / Academic Affairs / Personnes / Recruitment Procedures

Recruitment: Immigration

Foreign citizens who are being recruited to McGill require a valid work permit issued by Citizenship & Immigration Canada in order to be able to work legally in Canada.

Please consult the Academic Personnel Office for University Policies and Regulations governing the Hiring and Immigration process for professors.

INTERNATIONAL MOBILITY PROGRAM (IMP): An on-line application has been implemented for employers hiring foreign nationals who are LMIA exempt.  In order to hire a temporary foreign worker through the IMP you must

  • pay the employer compliance fee of $230; and
  • submit an offer of employment form through the Employer Portal.

Certain AEC administrators are assigned as branch users to complete the online Offer of Employment for LMIA exempt workers.   To request that an administrator be set up as a branch user (limit of 2 branch users per AEC), you may contact veronica.nahorniak [at] mcgill.ca (Veronica Nahorniak).

General instructions for filling out the Employer Portal are found on SharePoint.   

 First-Time Applicants

 

  1. Obtaining the Temporary Work Authorization is a two step process. First, the Chair's Office, in collaboration with candidate, must complete the paperwork to obtain a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) and Certificate of Acceptance (CAQ). Once those are issued, the candidate must apply for their work permit.
  2. The Chair's office, with the help of the applicant,  prepares the complete Immigration dossier.  
    • CHECKLIST: Checklist for Initial Work Permit - for Tenure-track appointments
    • LMIA APPLICATION FORM: (Use the link in the Forms and Links tab for the most current version of the LMIA Form.)
  3. The completed Immigration Dossier should be mailed to the Academic Affairs Office at 3605 de la Montagne.  NOTE: Immigration dossiers are being received by email during the time that we are working remotely.
  4. Candidates and Departments will be notified when the CAQ and the LMIA are received. The candidate will then need to apply for their work permit through Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
  5. The work permit may be issued for a maximum of 3 years (unless the individual's appointment is for a shorter duration), but the length of the permit is determined at the discretion of the Citizenship and Immigration Officer issuing the work permit at the border crossing or airport.

Once the work permit is obtained, the Chair's office needs to submit a copy of the work permit to the immigprof.med [at] mcgill.ca (Immigration Administrator).

Medical Doctors (MDs)

Physicians being recruited by a McGill Department Chair's office who are foreign citizens require a valid work permit issued by Citizenship & Immigration Canada in order to be able to work legally in Canada and hold a license.  Physicians will need to be sworn in for a practice permit.


For MD’s a medical examination is required in order to obtain a Work permit. A list of designated doctors is provided to the applicant once he has opened a file with the Canadian Visa Office or the list can be obtained on the web at: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/medical/index.asp .

The complete process of obtaining a work permit for an MD can take 8-10 months but delays can result if an appointment for a medical examination is not scheduled early.

 

Individuals who do not require an LMIA and CAQ for their work permit application will require their employer to provide an ID number to them.  This is done via the Employer Portal.  An Employer Compliance fee must be paid by the hiring unit in most cases. 

This applies to first-time applications and to renewals. 

 

Visiting Professors/Scholars
 

Visiting Professors/Scholars are those who are invited for a period of not more than 2 academic years AND who retain their former position at their home institution. They must have a letter from the home institution confirming their employment and return to work.  They will require an ID number and Employer Compliance fee receipt (via the Employer Portal).

A Letter of Invitation from the hiring department must state the title of the position, salary offered, effective date of appointment and duration of appointment. Please use our template for the Invitation letter as a guide.

The applicant is required to apply to a Consulate with their offer from McGill. The candidate will also be required to produce proof of citizenship, and credentials (original diplomas). The Consulate will produce the Temporary work permit. A letter from the candidate's home university stating that the candidate will be returning to a job is also required. Quebec does not issue a CAQ at the Consular offices for these categories and if one is requested, which happens frequently, the Consular Office should be asked to contact their policy division or the Academic Affairs Office.

Please note:

If hiring a clinician Visiting Professor, or Visiting Scholar please verify the licensing requirements/restrictions at: https://www.mcgill.ca/medhealthsci-academic/recruitment/md/licensure

Work Permit Renewal Applications


The process for renewing a temporary work permit needs to start at least 9 months before the end date of the work permit.

NOTE: Individuals who do not require an LMIA and CAQ for their work permit application will require their employer to provide an ID number to them.  This is done via the Employer Portal.  An Employer Compliance fee must be paid by the hiring unit in most cases. 

Note: Individuals who have obtained a Certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ) under the Skilled Worker class do not require a CAQ and LMIA and can apply directly for their work permit (maximum 2 year work permit).  They will first require an ID number and Employer Compliance fee receipt (via the Employer Portal).

Process for renewing temporary work permit:

  1. The Department must advertise the position according to University requirements.
     
  2. Please read below to make sure you are including all the necessary documents as there are some additional items that were not required in the initial application.
    • CHECKLIST:  Checklist for Renewal of Work Permit - renewals also require a copy of the current work permit and proof of salary (T4 or 3 recent pay stubs). For Tenure-track reappointments you do not need to re-advertise the position; therefore you do not have to include copies of ads or selection committee report in the renewal package. 
    • LMIA APPLICATION FORM: (Use the link in the Forms and Links tab for the most current version of the LMIA Form.)
      The completed Immigration Dossier should be mailed to the Academic Affairs Office at 3605 de la Montagne.
       
  3. Candidates and Departments will be notified when the CAQ and the LMIA are received. The candidate will then need to apply for their work permit through Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
     
  4. Once the work permit is obtained, the Chair's office needs to submit a copy of the work permit to the immigprof.med [at] mcgill.ca (Immigration Administrator).

Permanent Residency


The Permanent Residency process requires first obtaining a Certificate of Selection (CSQ) from Quebec Immigration and then applying to the federal government. Please consult the Canadian Immigration web page for the required documents and for information regarding the fees.

If a permanent job validation is being sought, please consult the Academic Personnel Office web page for instructions:

The other documents can be sent to you on request.

For more information see Academic Personnel website

Links to Forms

 

Forms

Note: Links to these forms are found on the related Government websites:

TEMPORARY EMPLOYMENT

Application for a labour market impact assessment- Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC):

Application forms for Quebec Immigration: to be completed by candidate, either in English or in French, and forwarded to AEC

(temporary employment)

Autodeclaration employer: to be completed by AEC and included in all CAQ applications sent to Quebec Immigration:

Internal forms:

Work permit process:
 

Canada Immigration

Quebec Immigration
 

PERMANENT RESIDENCY

Permanent residency process:

Permanent Job Validation form:

Employment and Social Development Canada (hiring academics)

Quebec Immigration

 

 

For further details, please contact:

Academic Affairs Office
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
Tel.: 514-398-4668
Fax: 514-398-4423
Email

 

Tags: 
foreign
Immigration
permanent resident
recruiting
temporary
Back to top