The Francophone Mobility work permit lets you work in Canada outside Quebec if you have a job offer from a Canadian employer and can speak and understand French at an intermediate level. There is no labour market impact assessment, no requirement to hold a passport from a French-speaking country, and almost no restriction on the type of job.
It is one of the most accessible routes into Canada that almost nobody writes about accurately, largely because the rules changed significantly in 2023 and much of the advice still circulating describes the older, stricter version. Here is how it actually works now.
IRCC’s eligibility page sets out two different rule sets, divided by 15 June 2023. What changed:
| Requirement | Before June 2023 | Now |
|---|---|---|
| French Level | NCLC 7 | NCLC 5, speaking and listening only |
| Eligible Jobs | TEER 0, 1, 2, and 3 only | Any TEER category, except primary agriculture at TEER 4 and 5 |
Read those two rows together and the scale of the change is clear. The old programme was for skilled and professional roles held by people with strong French. The current one reaches entry-level work and intermediate French.
If you looked into this programme a few years ago and concluded you did not qualify, it is worth looking again. A great many people who were correctly excluded under the old rules are eligible under the current ones.
The Francophone Mobility work permit is not a French-language stream of Express Entry, and it has nothing to do with the International Experience Canada working holiday agreements. It is a distinct category under Canada’s International Mobility Program, identified on employer paperwork by the exemption code C16, Mobilité Francophone.
Because it is exempt from the labour market impact assessment, your employer does not have to demonstrate that they searched for a Canadian worker first. They need to show the role is genuine and file it correctly. That removes the single biggest obstacle in most Canadian hiring of foreign workers.
Two features make it unusually open compared with almost any other Canadian work permit category:
One important limit: it is an employer-specific permit. You are authorised to work for the employer named on your permit, not for anyone else. That is the trade-off for the LMIA exemption.
To qualify for the permit itself you need to:
A TEF Canada or TCF Canada result is the standard evidence. Written confirmation that you completed a French-language education programme, or other documentation of French-language schooling, can also be accepted. Since only speaking and listening are assessed, a strong speaker who writes French less confidently is not disadvantaged here the way they would be under Express Entry.
| Fee | Amount | Who Pays |
|---|---|---|
| Employer Compliance Fee | C$230 | Your employer, when they file the offer of employment |
| Work Permit Processing Fee | C$155 | You, when you submit your application |
| Biometrics | C$85 | You, if you have not given biometrics to Canada in the last 10 years |
Amounts as published by IRCC at time of writing. Verify current fees before applying, as they are adjusted periodically. These are separate from any fee charged by a company helping you find the job.
Canada publishes annual targets for French-speaking permanent resident admissions outside Quebec, and those targets rise on a published trajectory reaching 12 percent by 2029. The federal government has also reserved thousands of selection spaces specifically for provinces and territories to designate French-speaking immigrants.
In practical terms, demand for French speakers outside Quebec is being deliberately created by federal policy, and this work permit is one of the most direct ways to answer it.
IRCC also runs the Welcoming Francophone Communities initiative, covering communities selected specifically to receive and support French-speaking newcomers, which is worth reading before you decide where in Canada to target.
Once the employer has submitted the offer, the applicant must submit a complete employer-specific work-permit application. The documents required vary according to nationality, country of residence, occupation, travel history and personal circumstances.
You need a Canadian employer outside Quebec who has a genuine role, is willing to file through the Employer Portal, pay the compliance fee, and use the LMIA-exemption code used for the Francophone Mobility work permit code correctly. Many Canadian employers, particularly smaller ones, have never heard of Francophone Mobility and will assume hiring you requires an LMIA. Explaining the programme to a prospective employer from another country, in a second language, while competing with local candidates, is the actual obstacle.
That is what a placement programme like Stepwest provides for you.
If you want a simple, trusted pathway to work in a Canadian kitchen, gain international experience, and join one of the most multicultural culinary scenes in the world, this is it.
Stepwest’s programme under this permit is specific rather than general. It places culinary and hospitality candidates into confirmed roles with employers who already understand the Francophone process. To be considered you need:
Stepwest places candidates in a variety of culinary and hospitality roles with employers in resort towns across British Columbia and Alberta. Available positions vary by employer and season.
If you are a French speaker outside culinary and hospitality, this particular programme is not for you, but the permit itself still is. The requirements above are Stepwest’s, not IRCC’s. The government criteria are much broader, and the section on eligibility above is what actually governs whether you can hold this permit.
| Applying on Your Own | Stepwest’s Francophone Trainee Program | |
|---|---|---|
| The Job Offer | You source, negotiate, and persuade the employer to file. | Pre-matched with an employer who already uses this permit. |
| Employer Familiarity with LMIA-Exemption for the Francophone Mobility Program | Often none. You may need to explain the program. | Established. The paperwork is routine for them. |
| Fees | IRCC government fees only. | Government fees plus the program fee. |
| Salary | Depends entirely on the employer you find. | Set with the placement. |
| Application Support | IRCC’s published guidance. | Guided through the employer filing and your own application. |
| Timeline | Highly variable, driven by how long the job search takes. | Roughly 4–6 months on average from application to move. |
| Where | Anywhere outside Quebec. | Any resort town in the Canadian Rockies in Alberta or British Columbia. |
Every eligibility rule, fee, and process step on this page comes from IRCC’s own published guidance, and the relevant pages are linked throughout so you can verify any of it yourself. Start with the official Francophone Mobility work permit page if you want to check the whole thing.
On the placement side, Stepwest has operated since 2010, we’re one of the organisations vetted by the Government of Canada as a Recognized Organization under a separate youth mobility programme, and works with Canadian employers who already file under this permit routinely. That last point is the one that matters here. Familiarity with the employer side is what makes the difference between an offer that gets filed correctly and one that stalls.
Stepwest coordinates with participating employers as they complete their employer-side requirements and provides participants with administrative support and information for the work-permit process so you can submit your own Francophone work permit application.
If you speak French at an intermediate level and have culinary or hospitality experience, explore the Francophone Trainee Program.
You need a job offer from a Canadian employer outside Quebec, French speaking and listening ability at NCLC 5 or higher, and an employer willing to file the offer with IRCC using the LMIA-exemption code used for the Francophone Mobility work permit.. Once they have filed and you have the offer of employment number, you apply online for an employer-specific work permit. No LMIA and no French-country passport required.
No. The permit is open to applicants of any nationality. IRCC sets no nationality requirement. What matters is your demonstrated French speaking and listening ability.
NCLC 5 or higher in speaking and listening only. Reading and writing are not assessed for this permit. A TEF Canada or TCF Canada result is the standard evidence, and documentation of French-language schooling can also be accepted.
Almost any. Since June 2023 the programme accepts offers in every TEER category of the National Occupational Classification, from management through entry-level, with the single exception of primary agriculture roles at TEER 4 and 5. Older guidance online restricts it to TEER 0 to 3, which is out of date.
Your employer pays a C$230 compliance fee to file the offer. You pay C$155 for work permit processing, plus C$85 for biometrics if you have not given them to Canada in the last 10 years. These are separate from any fee charged by a company helping you find the job.
No. Your employer must file the offer of employment through IRCC’s Employer Portal before you can submit anything. The job comes first, and there is no way to start the process without it.
Yes. It is an employer-specific work permit, so you are authorised to work only for the employer named on your permit and offer of employment. That is the trade-off for the LMIA exemption.
Yes. If your position is classified under TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3, eligible work experience gained while authorized to work in Canada may help you qualify for Express Entry through the Canadian Experience Class. French speakers can also earn up to 50 additional CRS points if they achieve NCLC 7 or higher in all four French-language abilities and CLB 5 or higher in all four English-language abilities. IRCC has conducted dedicated French-language invitation rounds since 2023.
However, holding a Francophone Mobility work permit or gaining Canadian work experience does not guarantee eligibility for permanent residence, an invitation to apply or approval. Eligibility depends on the immigration programs and requirements in effect at the time you apply.
The variable is the job, not the permit. Through Stepwest’s Francophone Trainee Program candidates average around 3 months from application to moving. Applying independently, the timeline depends almost entirely on how long it takes to find an employer willing to file. Check IRCC’s processing time tool for the permit stage itself.
Stepwest places candidates in a variety of culinary and hospitality roles with employers in resort towns across British Columbia and Alberta. Available positions and locations vary depending on the employer and the season. Candidates must have at least one year of relevant culinary or hospitality experience and a relevant diploma or degree. The Francophone Mobility work permit itself covers a much broader range of occupations, but Stepwest’s placements focus specifically on the culinary and hospitality industries.
Want to work in Canada as a French speaker? Learn about the Francophone Mobility work permit, eligibility, jobs, fees, and more.
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