Employer-specific work permit in Quebec: how to change jobs without losing your status

An employer-specific work permit in Quebec: how to change jobs without losing your status. A better offer comes along, or your job is going badly and you want out. Can you leave? Yes. Can you start somewhere else the next morning? No. A transition takes more than a new job offer: you need to check your permit’s conditions, the new employer’s Quebec and federal requirements, and when you may legally start. Applying for a new permit does not, by itself, authorize you to begin the new job. This guide is based on IRCC pages checked on October 17, 2026.

Key takeaways

• A closed work permit is tied to its conditions. A new employer or a change to the authorized job generally requires a new permit.
• Quebec steps may be part of the process. Many Quebec jobs require an LMIA and a CAQ for work.
• Maintained status is not a new-employer permit. It protects you while IRCC decides an extension under the same conditions; it does not cover a change of employer.
• Wait for authorization before starting. IRCC can authorize you to work for the new employer while your application is processed, by email, if you ask through its web form.
• Job loss and workplace abuse call for different next steps. A vulnerable worker open work permit exists for people facing abuse or at risk of it.
• Plan around expiry. IRCC says workers whose conditions are changing should apply at least 30 days before their permit expires.

What an employer-specific work permit allows

An employer-specific work permit, also called a closed permit, lists conditions: the employer’s name, the occupation or duties, the location and the validity dates. Together, those conditions are your authorization to work. A job outside them, even with the same company, may not be covered.

An open work permit lets you work for almost any employer while it is valid, but it is only available in specific categories; it is not an alternative every worker can choose. A spouse’s eligibility for one has its own rules, which have changed in recent years; see our guide on the spousal open work permit.

Keep three things separate: temporary resident status is your permission to remain in Canada, a work permit authorizes work under its terms, and a job offer is an employment arrangement. One does not automatically provide the others.

Situation	What it allows	What it does not allow
Current employer-specific permit	Work within the employer, job and location conditions printed on it.	Work for a different employer or in a different role.
New employer-specific permit	Work for the new employer under its conditions, once issued.	A job offer or pending application alone does not authorize the new work.
IRCC’s authorization email during a job change	Work for the new employer while the new permit is processed.	It is not your work permit.
Maintained status after an extension request	Remain in Canada and keep working under the same conditions until IRCC decides.	A new employer or job.

Before you accept any change, whether a new employer, a new location or substantially different duties, compare it with the wording on your permit, not with your job title.

Leaving is allowed; working elsewhere needs authorization

A closed permit does not tie you to your employer. You can resign. But the right to leave and the right to work for someone else are two different things. To work for a new employer, you generally need a new employer-specific permit for that job. IRCC says that until your new permit is approved or you receive an authorization email, you must stop working for this or any other employer.

Check the new job’s Quebec and federal requirements first

Before agreeing to a start date, identify the employer, the actual duties and the work location. The new job follows its own route: your current permit’s LMIA or exemption does not carry over to a different employer.

The employer and worker determine whether the offer needs a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) or fits an LMIA-exempt category. In Quebec, many jobs require an LMIA and a Quebec Acceptance Certificate (CAQ) for work; an exemption from the LMIA does not remove every other requirement. Our page on LMIA in Quebec explains the employer’s process, and our guide on LMIA or LMIA exemption covers the difference.

The employer’s steps and the worker’s federal work permit application are separate parts of the process, not interchangeable approvals.

The legal way to change jobs, step by step

1. Your new employer prepares their side: the LMIA and CAQ, or the exemption, depending on the route. See our employer services.
2. You apply for a new employer-specific work permit from inside Canada, with the job offer and the documents your route requires.
3. You ask IRCC for authorization to start working while the application is processed, using IRCC’s web form and the priority code given on its page about changing jobs or employers. Follow the instructions exactly.
4. You wait for IRCC’s email. Only once it arrives can you start the new job. That email is not a work permit; it confirms you may work while your application is processed.

This process is for people who applied for a new employer-specific permit from inside Canada and hold an employer-specific permit (or can work without one); business visitors and some short-term workers are excluded, and International Experience Canada participants must first check whether they can change employers.

Keep your passport, your current permit, the written offer or contract, the LMIA and CAQ (or proof of exemption) and the proof that you applied together. There is no single checklist for every route: start with IRCC’s application instructions.

A worked example

Ana, a welder in Trois-Rivières on an LMIA-based permit valid until next September, gets a better offer from a shipyard in Lévis. Here is the order that keeps her working legally:

1. She tells the shipyard she can’t start until her authorization is in place, and keeps working at her current job.
2. The shipyard files its LMIA with Service Canada and the MII (formerly MIFI) at the same time; once it’s filed, Ana applies for her CAQ for the new job.
3. With the positive LMIA and the CAQ, she applies online for a new employer-specific permit, then uses IRCC’s web form to ask for authorization to work for the shipyard while it’s processed.
4. About two weeks later, IRCC’s email arrives. She gives notice to her current employer and starts in Lévis on the agreed date.

Had she resigned first, she would have spent the whole LMIA period without income, and without the right to work anywhere else. The new job waits for the authorization; the old job pays the bills until then.

Know what you can do while the application is pending

If you apply to extend your permit before it expires, you can keep working under the same conditions until IRCC decides; see our guide on maintained status. That protection does not cover a change of employer or job.

Do not start the prospective job just because you submitted an application. Keep the new start date conditional on receiving the authorization email or the new permit. And plan early: IRCC says workers whose conditions are changing should apply at least 30 days before the expiry date of their original permit.

If you quit, are dismissed or feel unsafe

If your employment ends, you cannot use the former job’s permit to work for another employer. Your permit’s validity, your temporary resident status and your right to work in a particular job are separate questions.

• Planned job change: settle the new employer’s route, complete the required approvals and apply before starting.
• Job ended: check how long your status remains valid and which permit route may fit before taking a new job.
• Unsafe workplace: put your safety first. If you face abuse or are at risk of abuse, an open work permit for vulnerable workers may be an option if you meet IRCC’s conditions.

Your immigration status does not remove your workplace protections. In Quebec, the CNESST provides information on labour standards and health and safety and handles complaints within its jurisdiction. Problems with an employer’s conduct under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program can be reported to the federal authorities. Keep your contracts, pay stubs and messages. If an employer holds your passport or documents, get help quickly. And before paying any recruitment-related fee, ask in writing what it is for and check the rules.

Staying with the same employer? Check anyway

A promotion, a move to another site or a change of duties, location or wages can also fall outside your permit’s conditions. Staying with the same employer does not automatically make the change authorized. Compare the change with the permit and with Quebec’s employer obligations before it takes effect.

Other routes may exist: an open work permit in a defined category, an LMIA-exempt route under the International Mobility Program, or a bridging open work permit in circumstances connected to certain permanent residence applications. Our work permit page covers the main types; you can also describe your situation or book a consultation.

Frequently asked questions

How long does IRCC take to answer the request to start working?

IRCC says about 10 to 15 days; paper applications take longer. Do not start the new job until you have the authorization email.

Can my employer add duties without a new permit?

Minor changes may stay within your permit’s conditions; a different occupation or location may not. Compare the change with the wording on your permit before agreeing to it.

Does an LMIA or a CAQ let me start working?

No. They are steps toward the permit. Only the work permit, or IRCC’s interim authorization in a job change, lets you work.

Can I keep working for my current employer after I apply to change employers?

Only while your current permit authorizes that work and the job continues; an application to change employers does not extend it.

Can my employer change my role without my consent?

Your permit sets immigration conditions, not your employment contract. For workplace rights in Quebec, see the CNESST.

Conclusion

Changing jobs on an employer-specific work permit in Quebec means coordinating the new employer’s route, the Quebec steps, the federal application and your current status. Keep working only within your current permit’s conditions until IRCC authorizes the change, ask for interim authorization through the web form if you qualify, and plan the timing well before your permit expires.

Official sources

Official pages consulted on October 17, 2026:

• IRCC — Changing jobs or employers
• IRCC — Extend or change the conditions on your work permit