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Canada employer compliance: hiring foreign workers
This guide outlines the rules and conditions Canadian employers must follow when hiring temporary foreign workers.
MIGRAGENT wrote this from 31 requirements on the official page, each checked against the government's own wording. Updated 2026-10-02. Source: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/work-canada/employers-non-compliant.html
Who can employ foreign workers
You must be actively engaged in the business the foreign national was hired to work for, unless you are hiring a live-in caregiver.[1]
If you hire a live-in caregiver, you must have the money to pay their agreed wages. The caregiver must live in a private home in Canada and provide unsupervised care for a child, senior, or disabled person.[2][3]
What you must provide
You must comply with federal, provincial, or territorial laws for hiring and recruiting in the place where the foreign national worked. You must also put in enough effort to make sure the workplace is free of physical, sexual, psychological, and financial abuse, as well as reprisal.[4][5]
You must provide the worker with information on their rights in Canada in their chosen official language on or before their first day of work. You must also make information on their rights available in both official languages.[6][7]
You must put enough effort into providing access to health care services if the worker is injured or becomes ill at the workplace. You must also obtain and pay for private health insurance covering emergency medical care if the worker is not covered by provincial health insurance.[8][9]
Wages and recruitment fees
You must ensure the pay and working conditions match or are better than what was listed on the offer of employment. The job must also be the same as what was listed on the offer.[10]
You must not charge the foreign worker any fees related to their hiring, except for application processing fees. You must also ensure that no one else involved in the hiring or recruitment process charges them fees, excluding application processing fees.[11][12]
Housing and quarantine rules
If you hire a live-in caregiver, you must provide them with a private and furnished living space in the home. If you hire seasonal agricultural workers under an international agreement, you must provide adequate accommodations.[13][14]
You must not stop the worker from complying with provincial public health laws. You must also not stop them from complying with orders or regulations under the Emergencies Act or the Quarantine Act.[15][16]
You must provide wages that are substantially the same as those in the offer of employment while the worker isolates or quarantines upon entering Canada.[17]
During quarantine, you must provide accommodations separate from people not in quarantine. These accommodations must let the worker stay at least 2 metres away from others. You must provide cleaning products so they can clean and disinfect the space regularly.[18][19]
If a worker shows signs or symptoms of COVID-19, you must provide accommodations with a private bedroom and bathroom for their sole use while they isolate.[20]
Benefits to Canadians and training
You must put in enough effort to hire or train Canadian citizens or permanent residents as agreed.[21][22]
Your hiring of a foreign worker must create new jobs or job stability for Canadian citizens or permanent residents. It must also result in Canadian citizens or permanent residents gaining new or improved skills and knowledge.[23][24]
Documents and inspections
You must keep documents showing you met the conditions of employing a foreign national. You must keep these documents for 6 years, starting on the worker's first day of work.[25][26]
You must be able to show that the job description on the Labour Market Impact Assessment application was true for 6 years from the first day of work. You must also show that the information in the offer of employment was true for those 6 years.[27][28]
If there is an inspection, you must show up and help or give information to the inspector. You must show up for meetings with the inspector to answer questions and provide any documents they ask for.[29][30][31]
Checklist
- Provide the worker with information on their rights in Canada on or before their first day of work.[6]
- Keep all employment and compliance documents for 6 years starting from the worker's first day of work.[25][26]
- Ensure the worker is not charged any recruitment or hiring fees.[11][12]
- Provide private health insurance for emergency medical care if the worker lacks provincial coverage.[9]
Questions people ask
Can I charge a foreign worker for recruitment fees?
No. You must not charge the foreign worker any fees related to their hiring, and you must ensure no one else involved in the recruitment process charges them fees. This does not include application processing fees.[11][12]
How long do I need to keep employment records?
You must keep documents showing you met the employment conditions for 6 years, starting on the first day the foreign national worked for you.[25][26]
What are the housing requirements for a live-in caregiver?
You must provide the live-in caregiver with a private and furnished living space inside the home.[13]
Do I have to pay a worker while they are in quarantine?
Yes. You must provide wages that are substantially the same as those in the offer of employment during the period the worker is required to isolate or quarantine upon entering Canada.[17]
What happens if an inspector asks for documents?
You must show up for meetings with the inspector, answer their questions, and provide any documents they ask for.[30][31]
Who pays for the worker's emergency medical care?
You must obtain and pay for private health insurance that covers emergency medical care if the worker is not yet covered by provincial health insurance.[9]
This explains what one official page says. It is not legal advice, and the page itself is the authority. Rules change; the wire reports it when they do.