The Global Talent Stream (GTS)
If you are a skilled worker eligible for the GTS program, expect IRCC to process your application for a Canadian visa and work permit within 14 days.
Canada launched the program on 11 September 2017, with the province of Quebec launching its own version of the program in September of the same year. The Global Talent Stream form part of the TFWP (Temporary Foreign Worker Program)
Canada’s government intends to use the GTS program to assist high-growth businesses in urgently importing the skills they need. The Federal government has had processing time for visa applications for this program reduced from the usual 180 days to roughly10 days.
The GTS occupation list
NOC | Occupation |
0213 | Computer and information systems managers |
2147 | Computer engineers, except for designers and software engineers |
2161 [a subset] | Mathematicians and statisticians |
2171 | Consultants and information systems analyst |
2172 | Data administrators and a database analyst |
2173 | Software engineers and designers |
2174 | interactive Media developers and computer programmers |
2175 | Web developers and designers |
2281 | Computer network technicians |
2283 | Information systems testing technicians |
5131 [a subset] | Artistic directors, technical and creative producers [visual effects and video game] |
5241[a subset] | Digital media and design |
Wages for D GTS
Canadian employers using foreign talent must fulfil conditions relating to the remuneration of skilled foreign workers. If a company in Canada has hired a foreigner through the Global Talent Stream, they must pay the worker at the prevailing or higher pay rate.
Employers should offer temporary foreign workers wages similar to what Canadian PRs and citizens hired for the same work and job location and with the same skills and experience get.
The government defines the prevailing wage as the highest value of either:
- The least of a floor as stipulated in the list of Global Talent Occupations
- Median wages on the Canadian job bank
- A pay that falls within the company’s remuneration range that it pays its current workers for similar responsibilities and the job location and with similar experience, knowledge, and skills
The LMBP-Labor Market Benefits Plan
The ESDC (Employment and Social Development Canada) works with employers intending to bring skilled personnel into the country through the GTS program to develop an LMBP. The Labor Market Benefits Plan should stipulate how the Canadian Labor Market will benefit from foreign talent.
The LMBP isn’t a Labor Market Impact Assessment requirement. Moreover, it’s not a form of substantiation for the Canadian employer’s need to hire foreigners. According to ESD, an LMBP aims at helping the Canadian government and the employer identify and track the total impact of bringing in foreign talent into the country.
An employer can create an LMBP according to the number of vacancies they project to request annually. It helps avoid updating their Benefit Plans every time they need to apply for a new LMAO through the Global Talent Stream.
The Labour Market Benefits Plan must capture a commitment to both mandatory and complementary GTS benefits.
Mandatory Benefits: If you are an employer applying for a category (A) GTS Labor Market Impact Assessment, you must commit to creating employment opportunities for Canadian PRs or citizens. If you seek a category (B) GTS, you must commit to increasing skills and training investments for Canadian PRs and the citizens.
Complimentary Benefits: In addition to the mandatory benefits, Canadian employers looking to hire foreign talent through the GTS must also commit to at least two complementary services. Each benefit must have at least two supported activities (as will be seen later).
The GTS identifies complementary benefits as including but not limited to:
- Investment in skills and training
- Job creation
- Transferring knowledge and skills to Canadian PRs and citizens
- boosting company performance
Complementary benefits can be supported by activities such as:
- Employing more Canadian PRs or citizens
- Equipping current workers with new and better skills
- Crating paid co-op for local students
- Creating internships for local students
- Increasing investments and revenues
Work permit exemptions
IRCC has waived work permit requirements for some GTS categories. For example, you don’t need a work permit if you are:
- a highly skilled worker falling in the NOC skill level A or skill type O; however, you must be looking to work in Canada for either half a month in a half-a-year period or for a month in a full-year period
- a researcher working at a degree-granting academic institution and on a government-funded research program