Canada LMIA Exemption Codes: Key 2026 Directory

1. What an LMIA Exemption Code Means in 2026

An LMIA exemption code is an administrative identifier used by IRCC to connect a work-permit application to the legal and policy authority that allows the foreign national to work without a Labour Market Impact Assessment. The code is not itself the law. It is an administrative identifier associated with a specific immigration program, exemption group or policy. This distinction matters because two applicants can both be “LMIA-exempt” but have completely different eligibility requirements. For example: - C12 identifies the general Intra-Company Transferee group. - C16 identifies Francophone Mobility. - C43 is associated with the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program. - C21 is the IEC reciprocity group. - A75 is associated with specified economic-class permanent-residence transition work permits, including qualifying BOWP situations. - T36 is the current CUSMA Professional administrative code. - T13 is used for certain Canada-provincial/territorial agreement work permits, including qualifying provincial nominees. These codes cannot be selected simply because they “sound right.” The applicant must first qualify under the underlying program. The code also does not determine whether the work permit is open or employer-specific by itself in every situation. Some codes are normally associated with open work permits, while others are tied to a specific employer. For employer-specific LMIA-exempt offers, the Canadian employer will generally need to complete the IRCC Employer Portal submission and pay the employer compliance fee unless an exemption applies. Open work permits generally do not require a Canadian employer to submit a job offer through the Employer Portal. The current IMP framework contains many additional codes beyond the handful covered on this page. This directory therefore focuses on important and commonly encountered 2026 codes, rather than claiming to reproduce every internal IRCC code and historical code ever used. That distinction is essential for a page titled “complete list”: an exhaustive administrative-code database would require continuous maintenance as IRCC changes, retires or introduces codes and program instructions.

2. 2026 Directory of Major LMIA Exemption Codes

The following directory covers major LMIA-exempt codes that frequently appear in Canadian work-permit applications. The list should be read as a practical 2026 directory, not as a promise that these are every code maintained inside IRCC systems. ### C12 — Intra-Company Transferees C12 is the general significant-benefit LMIA exemption used for qualifying intra-company transferees. It can cover executives, senior managers and specialized-knowledge employees who are transferred from a qualifying foreign enterprise to a related Canadian enterprise. The general ICT route is employer-specific. ### C16 — Francophone Mobility C16 is used for the Mobilité francophone program. Eligible employers outside Quebec can hire qualifying French-speaking workers without an LMIA, subject to the current NCLC 5 speaking/listening and occupation requirements. ### C43 — Post-Graduation Work Permit C43 is associated with the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program. The PGWP is generally an open work permit, and no Canadian employer needs to submit the job offer before the graduate applies. Current PGWP eligibility has its own education, language, field-of-study and other requirements. The code should not be interpreted as a general graduate work authorization for every graduate. ### A75 — PR Transition / BOWP Group A75 is used in specified permanent-residence transition work-permit situations, including qualifying Bridging Open Work Permit applications. A75 should not be described as a universal code for everyone with a pending PR application. The applicant must satisfy the applicable BOWP or other qualifying economic-class transition rules. Current IRCC instructions can also impose special application procedures depending on the applicant's PR stream and location. ### C21 — International Experience Canada C21 identifies the IEC reciprocity group. It covers IEC participation categories such as Working Holiday, Young Professionals and International Co-op. The actual IEC category determines whether the resulting permit is open or employer-specific. ### T36 — CUSMA Professionals T36 is the current administrative code for qualifying CUSMA Professional work permits. It is a treaty-based LMIA exemption and should not be confused with C12 ICT cases. ### T13 — Canada-Provincial/Territorial Agreements T13 is used for certain Canada-provincial/territorial agreement LMIA exemptions, including qualifying provincial nominee work permits. The precise eligibility depends on the provincial/territorial support and the applicable program rules. ### C41 — Spouses of Skilled Workers C41 is associated with the family-member LMIA-exemption group for spouses/common-law partners of eligible skilled workers. The rules for new spouse open work permits changed materially in 2025 and continue to evolve. The current IRCC family-member eligibility page must be checked instead of treating C41 as an automatic spouse OWP code. ### C42 — Spouses of International Students C42 identifies the spouse-of-international-student LMIA-exemption group. Like C41, current eligibility is narrower than older blanket spouse-OWP rules. The family member must satisfy the current IRCC requirements based on the student's program and circumstances. ### A70 — Certain Permanent-Residence Applicant Open Work Permits A70 is used in specified in-Canada permanent-residence applicant open-work-permit situations, including certain spouse/common-law partner in-Canada PR-class cases. ### A71 — Certain Caregiver / PR-Transition Cases A71 is associated with specified permanent-residence transition work permits, including certain Live-in Caregiver and related PR-transition situations. ### C90/C91 — Legacy Caregiver Pilot Work Permits C90 and C91 are associated with specific legacy caregiver pilot work permits and family members. They should not be presented as a current generic caregiver open-work-permit code for new applicants because those caregiver pilots are closed to new applications. ### A72 — Vulnerable Workers A72 is associated with the open-work-permit framework for temporary foreign workers who are vulnerable and experiencing abuse or at risk of abuse in relation to employment in Canada. The worker must satisfy the vulnerable-worker program requirements.

3. Statutory Authority: R204, R205, Public Policy and Reciprocal Codes

LMIA exemption codes sit underneath different statutory or regulatory authorities. The authority matters because it tells the reader why an LMIA is not required. ### International or provincial/territorial agreements — R204 The R204 group covers work permits issued under certain international agreements and federal-provincial/territorial arrangements. Examples include: - CUSMA/FTA-related codes; - T13 for certain Canada-provincial/territorial agreements; - other international trade and non-trade agreements. These codes should not be confused with significant-benefit exemptions under R205. ### Significant Canadian benefit / interests — R205(a) C12 ICT and C16 Francophone Mobility are examples of programs associated with R205(a). The applicant must therefore satisfy the particular program's significant-benefit criteria and operational instructions. ### Reciprocal employment — R205(b) / C21 IEC is associated with the reciprocity category. IRCC's current 2026 IEC instructions identify IEC as R204(d) / C21 in its program-delivery terminology, reflecting the specific youth-mobility reciprocity framework. The practical point is that IEC is not a generic R204(a) work permit. ### Public policy and other humanitarian/social categories Other codes can arise under different regulations or public policies. These may include open-work-permit categories, vulnerable-worker programs, PR-transition categories and other special programs. This is why publishing only a code-and-permit-type list without the underlying authority can mislead readers. The same letter-number style can appear across very different regulatory groups. The first character and code number should therefore never be interpreted as a self-contained legal rule. The current IRCC operational code directory contains multiple exemption groups, including: - intra-company transferees; - post-graduation work permits; - IEC/youth exchange; - academic/research/medical; - spouses; - international and provincial/territorial agreements; - charitable/religious; - PR transition; and - other Canadian-interest categories. This page focuses on the codes most useful to a public-facing master guide while linking readers to IRCC's operational framework for the broader universe.

4. Employer Portal and $230 Compliance Fee Rules

The $230 employer compliance fee is not a universal fee for all LMIA-exempt work permits. It generally applies when a Canadian employer is making an employer-specific LMIA-exempt offer through the International Mobility Program and no exemption from the fee applies. The employer normally: 1. signs in to the IRCC Employer Portal; 2. selects the applicable LMIA exemption; 3. enters the worker and employment details; 4. pays the $230 compliance fee where required; 5. submits the offer; and 6. gives the worker the offer-of-employment number. This process applies to many employer-specific codes such as C12, C16 and T36. It does not normally apply to an applicant seeking an open work permit such as a PGWP or BOWP, because there is no Canadian employer making the underlying job offer. IEC is mixed: - Working Holiday does not require an employer Portal job offer; - Young Professionals does; - International Co-op does. The Employer Portal also creates a compliance obligation. Employers can be inspected and must maintain required records for the applicable retention period. IRCC and ESDC describe employer-compliance record retention in terms of 6 years, calculated under the applicable employer-compliance rules. The exact starting point and records covered should be taken from the current employer-compliance instructions, rather than simply stating that every business document must be kept for six years. The employer compliance fee and the worker's work-permit fee are also different: - employer compliance fee: generally $230 where applicable; - standard work-permit processing fee: generally $155; - open-work-permit holder fee: generally another $100 for applicable open permits. The existence of an exemption code does not automatically mean the employer pays $230. The Portal and fee-exemption rules must be checked for the actual transaction.

5. Open vs Employer-Specific Permits: Why the Code Matters

An important feature of LMIA exemption coding is that the same broad IMP framework can produce very different work-permit conditions. ### Employer-specific LMIA-exempt permits Examples include: - C12 ICT; - C16 Francophone Mobility; - T36 CUSMA Professionals; and - T13 provincial/territorial agreement work permits. These permits normally tie the worker to the employer and employment described in the authorization. Changing employer, occupation or certain material employment conditions can require a new work permit or a formal change-authority process. ### Open work permits Open permits include categories such as: - C43 PGWP; - qualifying A75 PR-transition/BOWP cases; - A72 vulnerable-worker permits; and - certain family-member work permits such as C41/C42 where current eligibility is satisfied. An open work permit generally allows work for most employers, subject to the conditions printed on the permit and any occupation restrictions. ### IEC is mixed IEC cannot be classified as only open or only closed. Working Holiday generally produces an open permit. Young Professionals and International Co-op generally produce employer-specific permits. This is why C21 is a program group rather than a guarantee of one permit type. The code should therefore be evaluated together with the applicant's actual category. The same principle applies to A75. A75 is associated with specified permanent-residence transition work permits, but not every person who has applied for PR qualifies. The applicant must satisfy the requirements of the relevant PR-transition work-permit program. The practical rule is: Never infer work-permit conditions from the code alone without reading the program-specific instructions.

6. Special 2026 Codes: C43, A75, C21, C41 and C42

Some codes deserve special treatment because their current rules are frequently oversimplified online. ### C43 — PGWP C43 is associated with the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program. The PGWP is an open work permit. The graduate does not need a Canadian employer to submit an LMIA-exempt job offer. However, the graduate must separately satisfy the current PGWP eligibility requirements, including applicable language and education/program requirements. Therefore, “C43 = any Canadian graduate gets an open permit” is inaccurate. ### A75 — PR transition / BOWP A75 appears in IRCC's economic-class permanent-residence transition framework, including qualifying BOWP cases. Eligibility depends on the specific PR stream, application status, location and other conditions. Current IRCC application instructions also identify A75 in certain cases where special application procedures apply. For example, some in-Canada Express Entry BOWP applicants are instructed to submit on paper rather than relying on the normal online flow. Therefore, A75 should not be marketed as a universal “PR application = open permit” code. ### C21 — IEC C21 belongs to the International Experience Canada reciprocity group. The participant category determines the work-permit structure: - Working Holiday = open; - Young Professionals = employer-specific; - International Co-op = employer-specific. The 2026 IEC season and police-certificate instructions are dynamic and should be linked directly to current IRCC pages. ### C41 — Skilled-worker spouse group C41 is associated with spouse/common-law partner open-work permits connected to eligible skilled workers. Current family-member rules changed in 2025 and include narrower occupational and validity requirements than the former broad spouse-OWP policy. ### C42 — International-student spouse group C42 is associated with spouse/common-law partner open-work permits for eligible international students. Again, current eligibility is narrower than historical versions of the policy. The student must satisfy the current program and study-level requirements. These codes demonstrate why a static “code = one simple definition” table is insufficient for 2026.

7. Complete 2026 Code-Selection Workflow and Common Errors

A reliable LMIA-exemption-code checker should never begin by searching for a code name alone. Use this sequence: Step 1 — Identify the immigration program. Examples: - ICT; - Francophone Mobility; - PGWP; - BOWP/PR transition; - IEC; - CUSMA; - provincial nomination; - spouse OWP; - vulnerable worker. Step 2 — Determine the legal authority or exemption group. The program may fall under an agreement, significant Canadian benefit, reciprocity, PR-transition, family-member or other category. Step 3 — Identify the administrative code. Only after the underlying program is identified should the code be selected. Step 4 — Determine permit structure. Establish whether the permit is open or employer-specific. Step 5 — Check Employer Portal requirements. Employer-specific IMP offers generally require the Employer Portal, but open permits generally do not. Step 6 — Check fees. Do not automatically charge: - $230 employer compliance fee; - $155 work-permit processing fee; or - $100 open-work-permit holder fee. Each fee attaches to a particular transaction. Step 7 — Check special filing instructions. Some categories have special paper or online application instructions. A75 is a good example. Step 8 — Review current IRCC program instructions. LMIA exemption codes and their underlying programs are not static. The code page should therefore be updated whenever IRCC changes the operational instructions. Common 2026 errors include: - calling the page a literal exhaustive list when it is only a key directory; - saying every LMIA-exempt employer pays $230; - calling IEC an R204(a) program; - calling C21 an open-work-permit code; - saying C43 applies to every graduate; - saying A75 applies to every PR applicant; - saying C42 guarantees a spouse OWP; - treating T36 as an ICT code; - saying all exemption codes create open work permits; - saying all exemption codes create employer-specific permits; - treating the code as the source of legal eligibility; and - ignoring current special application procedures. The most reliable 2026 architecture is therefore: Program → authority/group → administrative code → permit type → Employer Portal → fees → application procedure → final conditions.

Frequently Asked Questions