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Yes, permanent residents have the right to live and work anywhere in the country, making a move to Canada incredibly worthwhile.
The scale remains significant: Canada plans to admit 380,000 new permanent residents in 2026, each gaining the right to live and work across the country. This certainly makes it easier for Canadian permanent residents to look for opportunities. Canadian PRs can take on contracts, part-time, and full-time positions.
Employers can also easily hire and retain the best talent without worrying about complicated visa requirements or whether it's worth investing in an employee. Indeed, employers can invest in their employees without worrying about whether they need to pack up and leave at any time due to visa restrictions and limits. However, there are certain considerations and expectations that you need to be aware of when it comes to working in different provinces or territories. Let's explore what permanent residency is and the rules and regulations that both potential candidates and employers should know when it comes to employment for permanent residents in Canada.
What Is a Permanent Resident Status in Canada?
Permanent residency is a status awarded by the Government of Canada to citizens of other countries when they immigrate to Canada. This status is awarded based on skills, spousal or family sponsorship, or business investment. Under permanent residency, PRs have the right to live in Canada indefinitely.
However, it is important to note that PRs are not Canadian citizens... yet. Some PRs choose to renew their PR, while others apply for citizenship once they are eligible. Refugees can also become permanent residents once approved through two government programs: the Government-Assisted Refugee Program and the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program.
While PRs and refugees are citizens of other countries, they live in Canada on a permanent basis. Unlike a student, or foreign worker who lives in Canada temporarily; they are not permanent residents and do not have permanent resident status. They require a study or work permit.
PRs have the same entitlements as Canadian citizens under Employment Laws. This means they are entitled to the same overtime pay, annual leave, and benefits (such as stock options) when they take on a job role in Canada.
What Rights Do Canada PR Holders Have, and How Do They Differ From Citizens?
PRs have access to most rights that Canadian citizens are entitled to as long as they pay taxes and respect Canadian law at every government level, such as:
- Access to healthcare coverage
- The right to live, work or study anywhere in Canada
- The right to apply for Canadian citizenship
- Guaranteed protection under Canadian law, and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
However, PRs cannot vote, run for political office, or fill jobs that require a high-level security clearance.
Working in Different Provinces or Territories
PRs can live, work, or study anywhere in Canada. However, depending on how you apply for permanent residence, you may have specific expectations, rules, and regulations set out by the Canadian government. Depending on the type of your route to Canadian permanent residency status, working in different provinces or territories may come with some stipulations.
Express Entry
The Express Entry system is one of the most popular Canadian immigration programs for skilled workers who want to settle in Canada and contribute to the Canadian economy. There are three programs under the Express Entry immigration system, managed by Canada's federal government.
- Canadian Experience Class: Skilled workers with at least 12 months of Canadian work experience within the last three years are eligible for this program.
- Federal Skilled Worker Program: Skill workers with foreign work experience and who meet the required education criteria are eligible for this program.
- Federal Skilled Trades Program: Skilled workers qualified in a skilled trade and have a valid job offer or meet the required certification criteria can apply for this program.
The individual's invitation to Express Entry is based on a points system called a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). PRs who received their status under Express Entry can work anywhere in Canada.
Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)
When you become a PR through a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), you have to be nominated by a province or territory in Canada. Each province and territory has its own PNP. Under the PNP, there will be "streams". This helps provinces target certain groups such as skilled workers, students, and others to move to Canada. This allows provinces and territories to nominate individuals for PR based on their specific economic needs.
If you have been nominated by a province or territory through their PNP, you may have certain obligations to fulfill, such as living and working in that specific province or territory for a certain period of time. This is especially true while you are waiting for your PR through the PNP.
Once you have successfully received your PR status, it is possible to move out of the province that nominated you. However, it is important to remember that the province that nominated you chose to bring your specific skills and experience because there is a local economic need.
Quebec Skilled Workers Program
The Quebec Skilled Workers Program is specifically for skilled workers who want to become Canada PRs and live in Quebec. The Government of Canada has a unique agreement with Quebec. This understanding notes that Quebec has its own criteria when it comes to selecting immigrants who will fit in with the province's culture. This is where this program differs from a regular PNP.
To become a permanent resident of Canada as a Quebec skilled worker, you must complete a two-step process. First, submit an application to the Government of Quebec for a Quebec Selection Certificate (Certificat de sélection du Québec [CSQ]).
The Province of Quebec will assess your application. If approved, they will issue you a CSQ. Then, you must apply to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for permanent residence with the CSQ as documentation of your acceptance. The expectation is that you will live and work in Quebec.
Atlantic Immigration Program
What started as the Atlantic Immigration Pilot has become the Atlantic Immigration Program. The Atlantic Immigration Program provides a path to permanent residency for two types of profiles. They invite international graduates from a Canadian school and highly-skilled foreign workers who want to make their home in one of the four Atlantic provinces in Canada – Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, or Prince Edward Island.
Once again, when a candidate becomes a PR through this program, they are expected to bring their skills and experience to Atlantic Canada and to the province that chose them through the Atlantic Immigration Program. Candidates must receive a job offer from an employer in the Atlantic Canada region to be eligible for this program.
This program helps employers fill positions they have not been able to fill with local candidates too. Employers must be designated by their provincial government before making a job offer to a candidate. Once an employer makes a job offer, they must submit an endorsement application for the province to endorse the job offer before a candidate can apply for PR under the Atlantic Immigration Program. This process is different from PNPs in Canada's Atlantic provinces.
Through the endorsement process, an employer must be able to show that they could not fill the job with a local and meet the program's requirements. This is different from a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). Employers do not need an LMIA for this. Once this is complete, employers become designated employers for the program.
Home Child Care Provider Pilot and Home Support Worker Pilot
Canada has an aging population and a low birth rate, and caregiving has long been an area of economic need given the current Canadian demographics. To meet it, Canada previously ran two caregiver pilots as a way for caregivers to immigrate and work in Canada.
These two caregiver pilots — the Home Child Care Provider Pilot and the Home Support Worker Pilot — are now closed and no longer accepting new applications. They previously offered pathways for non-Canadians with a year of full-time Canadian caregiving experience (categorized under Canada's National Occupational Classification, or NOC, framework) to apply for PR, or to qualify with a valid job offer where they did not yet have Canadian work experience.
Because these specific pilots have closed, anyone exploring a caregiving route to PR should confirm the current caregiver pathways and their status directly with IRCC before relying on them.
Historically, PRs who arrived through a caregiver pathway could work anywhere in Canada in a caregiving position, and could also change career paths — though, like the other programs, they were selected on the expectation that they would contribute their caregiving skills to Canada's economy.
Agri-Food Pilot
The Agri-Food Pilot is another Canadian immigration program that was created to meet Canada's economic and labor needs, specifically for agriculture. This is a pathway for skilled, experienced, non-seasonal foreign workers in agriculture to move to Canada.
To be eligible for this program, candidates need to meet the required language and education criteria, proof of funds, Canadian work experience, and a full-time, non-seasonable job offer from a Canadian employer, outside of Quebec.
Similar to the two caregiver pilots, successful PRs from this program can work anywhere in Canada but are expected to fill positions in the agriculture industry with their skills due to Canada's current labor shortage.
Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA)
In some cases, if you want to work in a specific province or territory, you may need to obtain a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). An LMIA is an assessment that employers may need to get before giving a job offer to a non-Canadian.
A positive LMIA is a document or confirmation letter that shows there is a need for a foreign worker to fill a specific job position and that no Canadian citizen or permanent resident is available to do the job. An employer needs to apply for an LMIA before a candidate can apply for a work permit. Once the employer receives a positive LMIA, they can issue a job offer. The candidate must have a job offer, contract, a copy of the LMIA, and the LMIA number to apply for a work permit. This is usually a closed work permit for a specific position and employer. Once they have a closed work permit and have worked in Canada for at least a year, they can apply for PR under the Express Entry or PNP programs mentioned above.
Open Work Permits
Open work permits, on the other hand, allow non-Canadians to work in any capacity, with any employer, in any part of Canada. Most of the time, they do not require LMIA or a job offer. Similar to closed work permits, candidates must have worked in Canada for at least a year before applying for a PR.
There are several programs that candidates can apply for to get an open work permit. Here is who each route is generally for:
- Post-Graduation Work Permits (PGWP): For graduates of eligible Canadian education institutions who want to gain Canadian work experience after finishing their studies.
- International Experience Canada (IEC): For young people from a country that has a youth-mobility arrangement with Canada; eligible age ranges depend on your country of citizenship, so confirm the current limits before applying.
- Bridging Open Work Permit (BOWP): For candidates already working in Canada, intending to live outside Quebec at the time of application, who are awaiting the results of their PR application.
- Spouse Open Work Permit (SOWP): For the spouse or common-law partner of a sponsor living in Canada who holds a valid permit or citizenship.
- Business Immigration Programs: For entrepreneurs applying for permanent residence by transferring their business to Canada, part of the Government's bid to attract innovative enterprises to the country.
Canada Digital Nomad Visa holders can also apply for these permits if they intend to extend their stay and work for a Canadian employer.
Can You Work Across the US–Canada Border?
Because Canada and the United States sit right next to each other, one of the most common questions we hear is whether status in one country carries over to the other. It doesn't. Working authorization is country-specific, and neither a US green card nor Canadian PR does double duty across the border.
Can a US citizen or green-card holder work in Canada? A US green card grants the right to live and work in the United States, not in Canada. To work in Canada, a US national or green-card holder still needs a Canadian work permit or permanent resident status through one of the pathways above. US citizens do have some facilitated routes — for example, professional and intra-company categories under CUSMA — but those still require the appropriate Canadian authorization; the green card alone is not enough.
Can a Canadian PR work in the US? In the same way, Canadian permanent resident status does not, on its own, grant the right to work in the United States. That requires separate US work authorization.
For employers, this is where the real friction shows up: the person you want to hire may be perfectly qualified but not yet authorized to work in the country where you need them. That is exactly the problem an Employer of Record solves. Borderless AI lets companies compliantly hire and employ talent in 170+ countries without setting up a local legal entity, so you can engage the right person on either side of the border while the employment stays compliant with local law. To be clear, Borderless AI is an Employer of Record — it does not sponsor visas or work permits or provide immigration advice — but for employers navigating cross-border teams, it removes the entity-setup burden that immigration-focused providers leave on your plate.
Can Employers Hire Non-Canadians Awaiting Their PR Results?
Employers can hire non-Canadians awaiting their PR results as long as they have a valid open work permit or a valid Bridging Open Work Permit. When hiring non-Canadians, it is also important to pay attention to occupational restrictions.
Certain occupations in Canada may have specific requirements or restrictions that you need to meet in order to work in that field. For example, some professions may require candidates to have a license or certification from a regulatory body in the province or territory where they want to work. Some jobs also do not accept PRs for security reasons, but this is a minority of jobs in Canada and are usually with the government.
If candidates are not PRs yet, it is essential for employers to check if they are qualified to take on the role you want to hire them for to remain compliant with Canadian laws and regulations.
Work in Canada, Work with an EOR
Canada PRs have the freedom to work anywhere in the country as long as they meet the requirements during the qualification process. However, it is important to be aware of the expectations of successful PRs when it comes to working in different provinces or territories.
When applying for a job, PRs must also provide proof of their legal status in Canada. This includes providing proof of their permanent resident card, as well as a valid work permit if they are required to have one.
Overall, permanent residents are allowed to work anywhere in Canada, provided that they meet the requirements for the job and comply with the laws of the province or territory in which they live. It is important for PRs to understand their rights and responsibilities when it comes to employment in Canada. PRs who move to Canada can enjoy a successful career and make the most out of their opportunities.
Worried about not understanding and meeting compliance requirements when hiring a Canadian PR? Work with an EOR in Canada. With Borderless AI, employers get compliant local contracts and onboarding in 5–7 business days, so a qualified hire can start without the wait or the entity setup.
Contact Borderless. Our in-house expertise can help you hire the talent you need in Canada and beyond.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Canadian permanent residents need a work permit?
No. Permanent residents have the right to work in Canada without a work permit. Under Canadian employment laws, they can take on contract, part-time, and full-time positions, the same as Canadian citizens.
Can permanent residents work in any province or territory?
Yes. Permanent residents can live, work, or study anywhere in Canada. Depending on the route to PR, there may be province expectations attached — those who came through a Provincial Nominee Program, the Quebec Skilled Workers Program, or the Atlantic Immigration Program were selected to meet a local economic need and are expected to settle in the nominating province, especially while awaiting PR.
What work rights do PRs have compared to citizens?
Permanent residents have the same employment entitlements as Canadian citizens, including the same overtime pay, annual leave, and benefits. The main differences are not employment-related: PRs cannot vote, run for political office, or fill jobs that require a high-level security clearance.
Can a US green-card holder work in Canada?
No. A US green card does not grant the right to work in Canada. A US citizen or green-card holder still needs a Canadian work permit or permanent resident status to work in Canada.
Can a Canadian PR work in the US?
No. Canadian permanent resident status does not, on its own, grant the right to work in the United States. Working in the US requires separate US work authorization.
Can employers hire someone still awaiting PR?
Yes. Employers can hire non-Canadians who are awaiting their PR results as long as the candidate holds a valid open work permit or a valid Bridging Open Work Permit. Employers should also confirm the candidate meets any licensing or occupational requirements for the role.
Disclaimer
Borderless does not provide legal services or legal advice to anyone. This includes customers, contractors, employees, partners, and the general public. We are not lawyers or paralegals. Please read our full disclaimer here.
