Reciprocal Employment Work Permit (C20)

To be eligible for the reciprocity category under administrative code C20, the applicant must have an offer of employment that would create or maintain reciprocal employment of Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada in other countries.

The employer should indicate how reciprocity exists in the offer of employment, and the applicant should provide evidence of how they meet the requirements of this category in the work permit application. The reciprocity does not have to be directly between two countries. For example, a multinational company can show that they create or maintain similar opportunities for Canadians at different offices around the world.

It is not necessary that there be exact reciprocity (that is, a one-for-one exchange), but the general order of magnitude of exchanges should be reasonably similar on an annual basis. In assessing reciprocity, one would consider the relative number and percentage.

In assessing reciprocity, officers can consider not only the number of individuals working in Canada and abroad, but also employment duration and job level.

Note that other qualifications, such as licensing and medical requirements (if applicable), must still be met.

Foreign nationals who are eligible for processing under administrative code C20 are subject to all other eligibility and admissibility requirements under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (including section A39†laws-lois.justice.gc.ca ) and the IRPR.

### Review of the offer of employment for employer-specific work permits

Employers should have selected C20. Ensure that the administrative code matches the description in “Requirements Exemptions Met.

Evidence of reciprocal employment is required so that the officer can determine eligibility. Officers should be satisfied that they have the information they need to make an assessment. This could be indicated in: * the exchange agreement between the Canadian or permanent resident of Canada and the foreign parties; * a letter from the receiving Canadian institution; * the offer of employment (if it provides evidence of reciprocity); or * for cultural agreements, a letter from the appropriate governing body included in the application.

Note that work permit applications made under International Experience Canada, a reciprocity program, should be assessed separately under R204(d) (see International Experience Canada ).

If evidence of reciprocity is not submitted to the satisfaction of the officer, the work permit may be refused, or the applicant may be notified that an LMIA must be obtained for further consideration of a work permit.

Full- or part-time paid coaches and trainers, and professional or semi-professional athletes working for Canadian-based teams require work permits. Given the international mobility in this field, they may be eligible for exemption from a labour market impact assessment (LMIA) pursuant to paragraph R205(b), C20 (now C26), if they can prove that reciprocity exists for the particular occupation in their home country. A full-time coach is a worker who earns significant income from coaching, enough to support themselves. A part-time coach earns a significant portion towards supporting themselves in Canada. Professional Canadian teams, for which foreign athletes would require a work permit, include, but are not limited to, those in * the National and American Hockey Leagues * the Canadian Football League * Major League Baseball and its affiliates at the A, AA and AAA levels * the National Basketball Association * the Canadian Soccer League * Major League Soccer ### Cultural agreements * Persons entering Canada to take employment under the terms of cultural agreements between Canada and the following countries: Belgium†www.treaty-accord.gc.ca , Brazil†www.treaty-accord.gc.ca , Germany†www.treaty-accord.gc.ca , Italy†www.treaty-accord.gc.ca , Japan†www.treaty-accord.gc.ca and Mexico†www.treaty-accord.gc.ca . * Cultural agreement between the governments of Canada and France†www.treaty-accord.gc.ca Temporary employment is allowed under the cultural agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of France, or under the terms of any educational, cultural, scientific, technical or artistic agreement made between France and a province of Canada within the framework of that agreement, provided that the applicants submit a letter of acceptance from the appropriate governing body to the officer. * Cultural exchange between the Government of Canada and the People’s Republic of China†www.treaty-accord.gc.ca Under the terms of the cultural exchange program relating to the arts, archives, libraries, journalism, radio, television, film, literature, translation, architecture, social sciences and sports.

including the name in the “Employer” field on the work permit imposes the condition that the temporary worker is authorized to work only for that specific employer

Worker conditions: The temporary worker may work only in the occupation specified on the work permit.

Duration | Officers may issue an LMIA-exempt work permit that is valid for the duration of the offer of employment or until the expiry of the travel document, whichever is earlier. If the foreign national is exempt from the travel document requirement (for example, they are a United States citizen), the work permit should be issued for the full duration of the offer of employment. Refer to Validity period for work permits .

## Family members Family members of high-skilled workers are eligible to apply for an open work permit under subparagraph R205(c)(ii). Refer to * Spouses or common-law partners of foreign nationals authorized to work in high-skilled occupations TEER 0 or 1, or select occupations TEER 2 or 3 – [R205(c)(ii) – C41] – Canadian interest – International Mobility Program (IMP)

Applicants may be eligible for an employer-specific work permit renewal if they receive an offer of employment and if they meet the eligibility requirements of this category.

Section R201 allows foreign nationals to apply for a renewal of their work permit only if the application is made before their present work permit expires.

If submitted before the expiry of their present work permit, this combined application has 3 effects: 1. Should a decision not be made on the “application” under section R181 before the expiration of their present status, the foreign national will be allowed to remain by operation of law (implied status) under subsection R183(5). 2. The application for renewal under section R201 triggers the ability for the foreign national to “work without a permit” under paragraph R186(u), unless they leave Canada. 3. Any conditions imposed on the initial work permit carry over into the implied status period under subsection R183(6). For example, if a person held an open work permit, they may continue working for any employer until the new work permit is issued or the application is refused.

Once the original work permit expires, the foreign national cannot submit another application under section R201, because they no longer have a valid work permit. Therefore, they cannot trigger the requirements of paragraph R186(u) if they are submitting an application for restoration with a work permit application.

The authorized period of stay may be longer than the authorized period of work