If you employ a foreign worker in Canada, you have accepted a set of legal conditions written into the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, and you must be able to prove you met them for six years afterwards. An inspection can be a paper-based Employer Compliance Review or an on-site visit, and it may be triggered by a complaint, by past problems, or simply at random. If officials believe you fell short, you normally receive a notice of preliminary finding and a chance to respond with evidence before anything becomes final. That response window is often where the case is actually decided.
Key Takeaways
- Employer conditions live in IRPR ss. 209.2, 209.3 and 209.4, covering wages, working conditions, the occupation itself, an abuse-free workplace, and compliance with employment and recruitment law.
- Keep relevant records for six years. An inspection tests your documents far more than your intentions.
- Inspections may follow a suspicion of non-compliance, a past finding, or random selection.
- Consequences range from administrative monetary penalties up to $100,000 per violation, with an annual maximum of $1 million per employer, to bans of one, two, five or ten years, or permanent bans for the most serious violations. Verify current amounts on the IRCC/ESDC posting.
- Judicial review in the Federal Court is the route to challenge a final determination. There is no general administrative appeal.
What are an employer’s compliance obligations in 2026?
Every Canadian employer of a foreign national accepts conditions under the Regulations. Section 209.2 sets conditions for employers under the International Mobility Program, s. 209.3 sets conditions for employers who hired through a Labour Market Impact Assessment under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, and s. 209.4 sets conditions that apply to all employers.
Which conditions apply to every employer?
Four obligations sit at the core, regardless of which stream you used:
- Be genuine, and remain actively engaged in the business for which the job offer was made.
- Provide wages, working conditions and an occupation that are substantially the same as what was offered, and not less favourable than what was offered.
- Make reasonable efforts to provide a workplace free of abuse, meaning physical, sexual, psychological and financial abuse.
- Comply with the federal and provincial or territorial laws that govern employment and recruitment in the province where the worker works.
That third obligation catches employers off guard. “Reasonable efforts” is not a promise that nothing will ever go wrong. It asks what systems you can actually show: a written policy, a reporting route that does not run only through the alleged abuser, supervision, and a documented response when a concern is raised.
What extra obligations apply to LMIA-based employers?
TFWP employers carry additional duties added in recent years. You must give the worker a signed employment agreement, in the language of their choice, on or before their first day of work. You must provide the most recent IRCC and ESDC information on temporary foreign worker rights. You must not charge recruitment fees, and you must take reasonable steps to ensure that any recruiter you use does not charge them either. Reprisal against a worker who raises a concern is prohibited. TFWP employers must also generally obtain private health insurance covering emergency medical care, at no cost to the worker, for any period in which provincial coverage does not yet apply.
Employers who are still deciding which route to use may find our guide to hiring a foreign worker through an LMIA useful, while businesses using employer-specific exemptions can review the LMIA-exempt work permit categories. The compliance obligations follow you either way.
How long must records be kept?
Six years. Employers must be able to demonstrate the accuracy of the information they provided, and retain the relevant documents for six years. In practice that means payroll records, timesheets, the offer of employment and any amendments, the signed employment agreement, proof of insurance, recruiter contracts, and evidence that rights information was delivered.
What triggers an employer compliance inspection?
There are three doors into an inspection under IRPR ss. 209.5 onward: a reason to suspect that an employer is not complying, a history of past non-compliance, or random selection. The third one matters. A clean record and a small headcount do not make you exempt, and many employers first learn about the six-year rule when a document request lands.
What does an inspection look like, step by step?
An inspection is usually more structured than employers expect. A typical sequence runs like this:
- Notification. You receive contact from IRCC or ESDC opening an Employer Compliance Review or announcing a visit. Read it closely, because it defines the scope and the deadline.
- Document request. Inspectors ask for specific records: payroll, contracts, schedules, proof of the wage and occupation actually provided.
- Verification. The material you provide is compared against what was promised in the LMIA or the offer of employment submitted through the Employer Portal.
- Interviews. Inspectors may interview the employer, managers, and the foreign workers themselves, sometimes separately and sometimes without advance notice.
- On-site visit. Where the required authority exists, inspectors may enter the workplace to inspect conditions, housing where relevant, and records held on site.
- Notice of preliminary finding. If a problem appears, you are told what the apparent violation is and invited to respond with evidence. The notice sets the deadline.
- Your response. This is your real opportunity: correct the record, explain the context, provide documents, and raise any justification that applies.
- Final determination. Officials decide whether a violation occurred and, if so, what consequence follows.
Is there any recognized justification for non-compliance?
Yes, in defined circumstances. The Regulations recognize a list of justifications, and a finding of non-compliance may be excused where one applies. Examples include a change in law or in a collective agreement, a dramatic change in economic conditions that did not specifically target the foreign worker, an error made in good faith that the employer corrected and for which the worker was compensated, or circumstances beyond the employer’s control. These are read narrowly, and the burden of proving one sits with the employer, supported by documents rather than assertions.
What penalties can a non-compliant employer face?
The consequences are cumulative rather than alternative. They include administrative monetary penalties, bans on hiring foreign workers for one, two, five or ten years, or permanently for the most serious violations, publication of the employer’s name and the violation on the public list of non-compliant employers, revocation of previously issued LMIAs, and refusal to process future applications.
Under the AMPs framework, penalties are set by violation type and a points-based scale that weighs factors such as the employer’s history and the severity of the harm. Amounts can reach $100,000 per violation, with an annual maximum of $1 million per employer. Verify current amounts on the IRCC/ESDC posting before relying on any figure, as this area changes frequently.
For many businesses, the publication of the employer’s name is the sharper consequence. A monetary penalty can be budgeted. A public listing is read by clients, lenders and prospective hires.
How can an employer prepare before an inspection arrives?
Preparation is mostly bookkeeping, done early. Reconcile what was offered against what is actually being paid and performed, including overtime, deductions and any change in duties. Confirm the signed employment agreement exists in the worker’s chosen language. Keep proof that rights information was provided. Document your anti-abuse policy and any complaint you handled. Then store all of it in one place, organized by worker, for six years. A short internal audit each year is far cheaper than a preliminary finding, and our overview of employer immigration compliance in Canada sets out where most gaps appear.
Can a final determination be challenged?
Judicial review in the Federal Court is the route. There is no general administrative appeal from a final determination of non-compliance. Judicial review asks whether the decision was reasonable and whether the process was fair, not whether a different officer might have decided differently. Because the record before the court is largely the record you built during the inspection, the quality of your response to the preliminary finding matters enormously later.
Frequently asked questions
Does compliance apply to employers who never obtained an LMIA?
Yes. International Mobility Program employers are bound by IRPR s. 209.2, and s. 209.4 applies to all employers. LMIA-exempt does not mean inspection-exempt.
How long do I have to respond to a notice of preliminary finding?
The notice itself sets the deadline. Diarize it the day it arrives, and request any extension in writing before it expires rather than afterwards.
Can I change a worker’s wage or duties after the work permit is issued?
Changes are possible, but wages, working conditions and the occupation must remain substantially the same as what was offered and not less favourable. Significant changes should be assessed before they take effect.
Am I responsible for what a third-party recruiter did?
Under the TFWP obligations you must not charge recruitment fees and must take reasonable steps to ensure your recruiter does not charge them either. Written contractual terms and monitoring help demonstrate those steps.
How far back can an inspection reach?
The six-year retention obligation is the practical horizon. If you cannot produce records for a period under review, you may be unable to demonstrate the accuracy of what you reported.
The bottom line
Employer compliance in Canada is a documentation discipline, not a one-time filing. The conditions in IRPR ss. 209.2, 209.3 and 209.4 are stable in outline, but the surrounding policy, the required disclosures and the penalty amounts change frequently, so anything you read about 2026 should be checked against the current IRCC and ESDC postings before you act on it. If a notice has already arrived, treat the response deadline as the most important date in the file. Careful, well-documented answers at the preliminary stage can change the outcome in many cases, and they build the record that any later judicial review will rest on.
Disclaimer: This article is for general information only and is not legal advice. Immigration law and IRCC/ESDC policy change frequently, and every case turns on its own facts. Reading this article does not create a lawyer–client relationship. Obtain advice tailored to your situation before you act.
Talk to a Canadian immigration lawyer. BridgePoint Law advises individuals and businesses across Canada — and on Canada–US–China cross-border matters — on employer immigration compliance. Book a consultation with our team in Toronto and Kingston. We work in English, Mandarin, and Cantonese.
