On February 24, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada updated its program delivery instructions for the Rural Community Immigration Pilot (RCIP) and Francophone Community Immigration Pilot (FCIP), answering long-standing questions from employers and applicants about bridging work authorisations.
Key points include:
• Permanent-residence applicants under RCIP/FCIP can obtain a job-specific work permit for up to two years while their PR file is processed.
• The permit is exempt from the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) and must reference the same employer and location listed in the PR application.
• Family members are eligible for open work permits restricted to the principal applicant’s region of employment.
• Officers are instructed to accept community recommendation letters—even if technically expired—provided they have not been revoked.
The clarification gives rural employers and francophone minority communities greater certainty that they can retain talent while PR decisions are pending, reducing turnover risk and recruitment costs.
![IRCC clarifies LMIA-exempt work permits for Rural and Francophone Community Immigration Pilots]()
For employers or applicants who want extra support navigating these new rules, VisaHQ’s Canada portal (https://www.visahq.com/canada/) offers intuitive checklists, real-time status tracking and expert assistance with assembling RCIP or FCIP work-permit packages, helping ensure submissions are accurate and timely.
Mobility professionals should review existing RCIP/FCIP cases to determine whether a C15 code work permit is advisable, particularly where current status is set to expire.
Because RCIP and FCIP are both employer-driven pilots capped at 10,000 admissions each, proactive use of the new guidance could become a competitive advantage for high-growth sectors such as agrifood processing, renewable energy and health services in smaller centres.
Key points include:
• Permanent-residence applicants under RCIP/FCIP can obtain a job-specific work permit for up to two years while their PR file is processed.
• The permit is exempt from the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) and must reference the same employer and location listed in the PR application.
• Family members are eligible for open work permits restricted to the principal applicant’s region of employment.
• Officers are instructed to accept community recommendation letters—even if technically expired—provided they have not been revoked.
The clarification gives rural employers and francophone minority communities greater certainty that they can retain talent while PR decisions are pending, reducing turnover risk and recruitment costs.
For employers or applicants who want extra support navigating these new rules, VisaHQ’s Canada portal (https://www.visahq.com/canada/) offers intuitive checklists, real-time status tracking and expert assistance with assembling RCIP or FCIP work-permit packages, helping ensure submissions are accurate and timely.
Mobility professionals should review existing RCIP/FCIP cases to determine whether a C15 code work permit is advisable, particularly where current status is set to expire.
Because RCIP and FCIP are both employer-driven pilots capped at 10,000 admissions each, proactive use of the new guidance could become a competitive advantage for high-growth sectors such as agrifood processing, renewable energy and health services in smaller centres.
