From: Employment and Social Development Canada

Due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, there are changes to this program.

The Global Talent Stream offers timely, responsive and predictable client-focused service to help you access highly-skilled global talent to expand your workforce here in Canada and to be competitive on a global scale. This Stream, which is a part of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, is designed for innovative firms in Canada that are referred to Employment and Social Development Canada by a designated referral partner and that need unique and specialized foreign nationals in order to scale-up and grow. It is also intended for firms in Canada that need to fill an in-demand highly-skilled position on the Global Talent Occupations List.

How to apply

Consult the Global Talent Stream’s Applicant Guide which provides details to assist you in completing your application.

The Global Talent Stream application package must include:

Complete, sign and send your application form along with all required documentation and the processing fee:

via the Data Gateway web portal (only available for Global Talent Stream applications) to get a Data Gateway account to submit your application, contact the Employer Contact Centre at 1-800-367-5693



Important notice For applications where the work location is in Quebec: by fax: 438-892-0329 or

by email: EDSC.QC.PTET.INFO-INFO.TFWP.QC.ESDC@servicecanada.gc.ca For applications where the work location is in the rest of Canada (outside of Quebec): by fax toll free number: 1-866-720-6094 or

by email: ESDC.ON.TFWP-PTET.ON.EDSC@servicecanada.gc.ca

Your Global Talent Stream application is ready for submission when you have:

used the latest version of the application form

completed all fields in all of the required forms

included all of the required supporting documentation, including proof of business legitimacy (if applicable)

signed all of the forms, where required

submitted the processing fee payment with the application

For additional assistance with your application, contact the Employer Contact Centre at 1-800-367-5693.

Note: If you are submitting an application for a position in the province of Quebec: As immigration is a shared responsibility between the Federal Government and the Government of Quebec, Employment and Social Development Canada and the Quebec’s ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration (MIFI) work collaboratively to issue joint decisions on applications through the Global Talent Stream. In addition to submitting your Global Talent Stream application package to Employment and Social Development Canada, it is important that you submit your application and other supporting documents simultaneously to the Government of Quebec in order to be fully assessed and receive a decision. For further information on what supporting documents, fees and other requirements need to be met and provided to the Government of Quebec along with your Global Talent Stream application, employers from Quebec are invited to consult Quebec’s ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration (MIFI) website (French only).

Note: On May 12, 2020, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced a Temporary Public Policy. The new policy allows some temporary foreign workers (TFWs) already in Canada to change jobs before a final decision is made on their work permit application. Employers hiring these TFWs may receive priority processing of the LMIA applications. To do so, employers must notify Service Canada in writing that the TFW: is in Canada, and

wishes to benefit from IRCC’s COVID-19 Temporary Public Policy

After you apply

A dedicated team at Employment and Social Development Canada will provide all Global Talent Stream employers with streamlined, client-focused service.

Employers applying to the Global Talent Stream can expect:

faster processing of your Global Talent Stream applications with a service standard of 10-business days starting on the business day after the application has been received by Employment and Social Development Canada – this service standard is expected to be met 80% of the time

personalized, high-touch assistance throughout the assessment process, and

eligibility for your highly-skilled global talent workers to have their work permits processed in 2 weeks by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada – this service standard is expected to be met 80% of the time

Note If you are submitting an application for a position in the province of Quebec: Employment and Social Development Canada and Quebec’s ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration (MIFI) jointly process Global Talent Stream applications. You will also benefit from faster processing, targeting a joint service standard of 10-business days starting on the business day after the application has been received by Employment and Social Development Canada. However, to benefit from this faster processing service, it is important that you submit your application and other supporting documents simultaneously to the Government of Quebec. For further information on what supporting documents, fees and other requirements need to be met and provided to the Government of Quebec along with your Global Talent Stream application, employers from Quebec are invited to consult Quebec’s ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration (MIFI) website (French only).

Adding or Changing a temporary foreign worker name on a positive GTS LMIA Employers who need to add or change the name of a temporary foreign worker on a positive GTS LMIA must send a completed Request to add or remove a Foreign National’s name form (ESDC-EMP5661) by email to NC-GTS-VTM-TFWP-PTET-GD@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca. Processing times vary depending on the number of names to be changed: 10 names or less – request must be received at least 15 business days prior to the LMIA validity date

more than 10 names – request must be received at least 20 business days prior to the LMIA validity date Important: For Category A applications, a GTS Designated Referral Partner must submit a new referral to validate that the Category A eligibility criteria continues to be met based on the new foreign worker(s) identified. Name change requests for Category A positions will not be processed without a new referral.

Exemptions Name changes are not performed for GTS LMIAs when: The LMIA was previously used for a Work Permit application (as verified by IRCC) Note: If you wish to change the name of your already identified foreign worker for reasons related to COVID-19 you can now benefit from an expedited name change process. You will need to indicate that the name change request is due to hardships related to COVID-19 when you contact the processing centre that initially processed your LMIA. Note: For positions located in Quebec, the replacement of a TFW is only possible if the new worker holds a Certificat d'acceptation du Québec (CAQ). Please note a CAQ is not required for positions with a work duration of 30 days or less. For more details on the required steps, please consult the Ministère de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Intégration web page (French only). Note: On May 12, 2020, IRCC announced a Temporary Public Policy. The new policy allows some TFWs already in Canada to change jobs before a final decision is made on their work permit application. Employers hiring these TFWs may receive priority processing of the requests to add or change names on approved LMIAs. To do so, employers must notify Service Canada in writing that the TFW: is in Canada, and

wishes to benefit from IRCC’s COVID-19 Temporary Public Policy

Cancelling a job offer

If you no longer require the service of the temporary foreign worker for which you have received a positive assessment under the Global Talent Stream or decide to cancel your job offer, prior to the entry of the temporary foreign worker, it is important that you inform the worker directly and also let the Employer Contact Center know of the situation by calling 1-800-367-5693. Your Global Talent Stream application processing fee will not be reimbursed if you cancel a job offer.

End of employment

If you cannot locate the temporary foreign worker for which you have received a positive assessment under the Global Talent Stream or the worker does not show up for departure from Canada at the end of your employment contract with the worker, you must:

make reasonable efforts to reach the worker; and

notify the Canada Border Services Agency and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

Documentation retention

You must keep all documents used to support your application for a minimum of 6 years beginning on the temporary foreign worker’s first day of work. We may request these documents at any time to verify your past compliance with the Program conditions.

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