The obligations that continue long after the worker starts.
Hiring a foreign worker creates continuing legal obligations, and this is the part employers most often overlook because it has no deadline attached to it. The commitments made in the job offer — wages, working conditions, occupation, location — are enforceable, and the employer must keep them substantially as offered.
Employers are subject to inspection, and an inspection can occur years after the hire, including after the worker has moved on. Records must be retained for a period set in regulation, which means the paperwork assembled during recruitment is not disposable once the permit is issued.
Consequences for non-compliance are real and public. They range from warnings through monetary penalties to a period of ineligibility to hire foreign workers, and employers found ineligible appear on a published list. That list is also why an open work permit holder cannot work for such an employer — the consequence reaches workers who had nothing to do with the original breach.
| Obligations begin | At the job offer, and continue after the hire |
|---|---|
| Inspections | Can occur years later, including after the worker leaves |
| Record retention | For a period set in regulation |
| Consequences | Warnings, monetary penalties, ineligibility to hire |
| Ineligible employers | Published on a public list |
What an application on this route usually involves. Not a checklist that guarantees anything — IRCC sets the requirements, and they change.
Whether it fits you is what a consultation is for. This page cannot answer that and does not try to.
The file is exactly what an inspection asks for, and inspections come long after everyone has moved on.
The offer is enforceable. Drift between what was offered and what is provided is the most common finding.
LMIA-exempt hires under the International Mobility Program still carry compliance obligations.
Inspections have response deadlines. Not knowing who holds the records is how a compliant employer fails an inspection.
For a period set in regulation, running for years after the employment. Discarding the recruitment file once the permit is issued is a common and avoidable exposure.
Inspections can be random as well as triggered by a complaint or a risk indicator. There is no safe assumption that a quiet hire will never be examined.
Genuine changes happen — but they need to be documented and, where required, addressed properly rather than left as an unexplained gap between what was offered and what was provided.
Consequences range from warnings to monetary penalties and a period of ineligibility to hire foreign workers, with ineligible employers named publicly.
That is the one question this page cannot answer. Start with the free assessment, then bring your situation to a consultation with the RCIC-IRB.
Start Your AssessmentBook a paid consultationThis page is general information. It is not an assessment of your eligibility, and nothing on it is immigration advice for consideration. Employer Compliance matters at ZIMMR are advised on directly by Irshad Osman, RCIC-IRB.
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