A U.S. green card does not authorize you to work in Canada. If you’re asking whether a green card holder can work in Canada, the answer is yes, but only after getting a Canadian work permit through the same immigration system that applies to any other foreign national. What your green card does buy you is visa-exempt status, which means you can apply for that work permit at a Canadian port of entry instead of waiting weeks for an online application to process.1Government of Canada. Work Permit Who Can Apply
Canada and the United States run completely independent immigration systems. Permanent residency in one unlocks nothing automatic in the other. From Canada’s standpoint, a green card holder who isn’t also a U.S. citizen is simply a citizen of some other country who happens to live in America, and Canada evaluates you on that basis.
The Work Permit Pathways That Fit Green Card Holders
Most foreign nationals need a Canadian work permit to work legally in Canada.2Government of Canada. Work Permit The pathway that fits you depends on your occupation, your employer, and, importantly, your underlying citizenship. Canada groups work permits into two broad streams: the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, which requires a Labour Market Impact Assessment, and the International Mobility Program, which does not.
Temporary Foreign Worker Program
Under this stream, your Canadian employer applies for and obtains a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) from Employment and Social Development Canada before you file for your work permit.3Employment and Social Development Canada. Temporary Foreign Worker Program The LMIA proves that no qualified Canadian citizen or permanent resident is available for the role, and it looks at recruitment efforts, wages, and local labor conditions.4Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. What Is a Labour Market Impact Assessment A positive assessment lets you move forward; a negative one closes that door.
This is the default route for green card holders who don’t fit into an LMIA-exempt category.
International Mobility Program
The International Mobility Program covers cases where hiring a foreign worker serves Canada’s economic, cultural, or social interests, and no LMIA is required.5Government of Canada. Hire Through the International Mobility Program Two categories tend to matter for green card holders.
USMCA professional work permits. The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement lets citizens of the three countries obtain work permits for a defined list of professional occupations without an LMIA, provided you have a qualifying job offer and meet the credential requirements.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. TN USMCA Professionals The catch that green card holders miss: USMCA work permits require citizenship, not residency. Only citizens of the United States, Canada, or Mexico qualify.7U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual. 9 FAM 402.17 USMCA Professionals TN and TD Visas A green card holder who is a citizen of India, the Philippines, or anywhere else outside the three signatory countries cannot use this route.
Intra-company transfers. If you already work for a multinational company with a Canadian branch, subsidiary, or affiliate, you may be able to transfer without an LMIA. The category covers executives, senior managers, and workers with specialized knowledge. You generally need at least one year of continuous full-time employment with the company in the three years before applying, in a comparable role. Recent government guidance suggests closer to two years makes a stronger case.
Criminal Admissibility: The DUI Trap
Canada’s immigration law makes you inadmissible if you’ve been convicted of an offense that would be a serious crime under Canadian law, even if the conviction happened abroad.8Justice Laws Website. Immigration and Refugee Protection Act SC 2001 c 27 – Section 36 Officers compare your foreign conviction to how it would be classified in Canada’s Criminal Code.
The most common surprise is a DUI. Since December 2018, impaired driving in Canada carries a potential sentence of up to ten years, making it a “serious criminality” offense. A single DUI from anywhere in the world can make you inadmissible. If at least five years have passed since you completed your full sentence, including probation, fines, and any required courses, you can apply for Criminal Rehabilitation, which permanently resolves the issue. For shorter timeframes, a Temporary Resident Permit is possible but harder to get and only covers specific visits.
Sort any criminal history out before you accept a Canadian job offer, not after.
How the Application Actually Works
Once your employer has done their part (obtaining an LMIA or submitting an employer offer through the IMP portal), you apply for the work permit itself through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
What You’ll Need
- A valid passport from your country of citizenship, with enough validity to cover your intended stay
- Your green card (Form I-551) or equivalent proof of U.S. permanent resident status
- A job offer letter from your Canadian employer specifying the role, salary, and duration
- Your LMIA confirmation number or IMP offer of employment number, depending on the pathway
- Educational credentials, professional certifications, or licenses relevant to the position
A medical exam may be required, particularly for healthcare or childcare roles or stays longer than six months.
Fees
The work permit processing fee is CAD $155 per person.9Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Citizenship and Immigration Application Fees You also pay a CAD $85 biometrics fee to have fingerprints and a photo collected.10Government of Canada. Pay Your Application Fees Online After payment, IRCC sends a biometric instruction letter and you have 30 days to visit an official collection site in person.11Government of Canada. Biometrics Where to Give Your Fingerprints and Photo
Online or at the Border
Most applicants submit online through the IRCC portal. Processing from outside Canada usually runs several weeks, and if approved you receive an introduction letter to present at the border, where your actual work permit is issued.
Because U.S. green card holders are visa-exempt, you can also skip the online step and apply directly at a Canadian port of entry. This is faster, but riskier: if the border officer isn’t satisfied with your documentation, you can be turned away on the spot. It works best for clean, straightforward cases, like a USMCA professional permit with clearly qualifying credentials (if your citizenship makes that route available in the first place).
What About Your Spouse
Your spouse or common-law partner may qualify for an open work permit, which isn’t tied to a specific employer. As of January 2025, Canada tightened eligibility so not every category of foreign worker qualifies their spouse.12Government of Canada. Open Work Permits for Family Members of Foreign Workers The fee is CAD $155 plus a $100 open work permit holder fee.
Protecting Your Green Card While You’re Away
This is what people plan for last and regret first. “Permanent” residency in the U.S. is conditional on actually residing there. Stay in Canada too long and you can lose it.
Abandonment Risk
No fixed number of days automatically triggers abandonment. But absences longer than six months can raise questions, and absences over one year create a presumption that you’ve given up U.S. residency. Officers weigh whether you kept a U.S. home, filed U.S. tax returns, maintained U.S. bank accounts, and kept ties to family and community.13U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. International Travel as a Permanent Resident
Reentry Permits
If you know you’ll be in Canada more than a year, file for a reentry permit (Form I-131) before you leave the United States. A reentry permit is valid for up to two years and removes the length of your absence as a standalone factor in any abandonment finding. It doesn’t guarantee admission, and you must file while still physically in the U.S.
What This Does to Your Path to Citizenship
Naturalization requires continuous residence and physical presence in the United States. Under the general five-year rule, you need at least 30 months (about 913 days) of physical presence in the U.S. during the five years before you apply. A single absence over six months may disrupt continuous residence, and an absence of a year or more is presumed to break it entirely.14U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Continuous Residence and Physical Presence Requirements for Naturalization A Canadian assignment can easily push you past those thresholds and reset your clock.
Taxes on Both Sides of the Border
The U.S. taxes permanent residents on worldwide income, so your Canadian salary still goes on your U.S. return.15Internal Revenue Service. US Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad Canada will also tax income earned within its borders.
The U.S.-Canada income tax treaty prevents full double taxation. You can generally credit income taxes paid to Canada against your U.S. tax, and the reverse. If you establish your tax home in Canada and meet either the bona fide residence test or the physical presence test (330 full days abroad in a 12-month period), you may also qualify for the foreign earned income exclusion. For 2026 the exclusion covers up to $132,900 of foreign-earned income per person, plus a housing exclusion of up to $39,870.16Internal Revenue Service. Figuring the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion Canada’s tax treaty with the U.S. means green card holders can access these rules.17Internal Revenue Service. Foreign Earned Income Exclusion
Notice the tension. Claiming the foreign earned income exclusion requires establishing your tax home in Canada. Establishing your home outside the United States strengthens the case that you’ve abandoned your green card. Those two goals pull in opposite directions, and getting them both right generally requires professional tax and immigration advice at the same time.
Social Security
The U.S.-Canada totalization agreement keeps you from paying into both social security systems at once. Working for a Canadian employer in Canada, you generally pay into the Canada Pension Plan (or the Quebec Pension Plan in Quebec) and are exempt from U.S. Social Security contributions. Your employer should request a certificate of coverage from the appropriate Canadian agency; self-employed workers attach a copy to their U.S. tax return each year.18Social Security Administration. Totalization Agreement with Canada The agreement also lets you combine work credits from both countries when qualifying for retirement benefits later, which matters if your years in Canada reduce your U.S. contribution history.