Canada has refreshed its guidance for Caribbean Agricultural Liaison Officers working in Canada, clarifying when they qualify for LMIA‑exempt work permits under the International Mobility Program and how officers should process, approve, or refuse these applications.
The Commonwealth Caribbean Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (CCSAWP) is a memorandum of understanding between Canada and 11 Caribbean governments, originally signed in 1967 and last updated in 1995. Participating countries (Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago) send liaison officers to Canada to support their seasonal agricultural workers, who are critical to Canada’s food security.
Two countries—Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago—have liaison officers accredited by Global Affairs Canada as consular officers, so those individuals can work without a permit under paragraph R186(b). Liaison staff from Jamaica and the Eastern Caribbean (the other eight states) instead require work permits, and IRCC has clarified that they should be processed under R205(a), administrative code C10 (significant benefit) rather than under international agreement code T11, which was incorrectly used in the past.
Who qualifies under R205(a) – C10?
To be eligible as a Caribbean Agricultural Liaison Officer under C10, a foreign national must:
- Be employed by one of the 11 CCSAWP Caribbean countries specifically as an Agricultural Liaison Officer.
- Be coming to Canada to assist their country’s seasonal agricultural workers, working with federal/provincial governments and NGOs on welfare, dispute resolution, and program administration.
Liaison officers appointed to the Jamaican Liaison Service or the Eastern Caribbean Liaison Service offices across Canada are explicitly recognized as meeting the “significant benefit to Canada” test because they help maintain a stable agricultural workforce and support worker welfare.
These two liaison services are also exempt from the normal employer compliance regime, meaning they do not have to submit offers of employment through the Employer Portal or pay the employer compliance fee in the usual way, as per separate IMP exemption guidance.
Required documents and assessment
When assessing a C10 application, officers must see:
- The standard documentation listed in IRCC’s Significant benefit to Canada [R205(a) – C10] guidelines (e.g., proof of role, evidence of benefit to Canada).
- An offer of employment, either submitted via the Employer Portal or by authorized alternate means for exempt employers.
- A detailed description of:
- The skills and experience required.
- The job title, core duties, and employment duration.
- Payment arrangements and where the work will be performed.
Applicants are still subject to all regular eligibility and admissibility rules under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and Regulations, including financial capacity and intent to leave Canada at the end of their authorized stay (e.g., section A39). Officers must be satisfied that all requirements are met at the time of decision.
How approved work permits are coded
For approved Caribbean Agricultural Liaison Officers, officers should record the following in GCMS:
- Case type: 20
- Province of destination: Province where the job is physically located (main site in the field; additional sites in remarks).
- City of destination: City of the main work location (again, secondary locations in remarks).
- Administrative code: C10 (significant benefit).
- NOC:
- 42201 – Liaison Officer / Community Service Worker, or
- 40019 – Chief Liaison Officer / Other Public Administration Manager, depending on role (with legacy NOC codes for pre‑Nov 16, 2022 files).
- Intended occupation: Chief Liaison Officer or Liaison Officer, matching the employment letter.
- LMIA/LMIA‑exempt #: The “A” number from the work permit application that is used to match to the IMP offer; for paper cases, officers must enter this manually.
- Employer: Jamaican Liaison Service or Eastern Caribbean Liaison Service, as applicable.
- Duration: Up to the end date in the employment offer or until the expiry of the travel document, whichever comes first (with full duration allowed if the person is travel‑document‑exempt, such as a U.S. citizen).
Standard fees apply: $155 work permit processing fee, $230 employer compliance fee, plus $85 for biometrics where required. Regular biometric exemptions (e.g., under age 14, “1 in 10 years” rule) continue to apply.
Refusals and decision quality
If an officer concludes the applicant does not meet the C10 eligibility test or any IRPA/IRPR requirement, they must:
- Record clear refusal reasons in GCMS, describing the evidence considered and the logic behind the decision.
- Specify which section(s) of the law or regulations are not met (for example, lack of financial capacity under A39, or insufficient proof of significant benefit to Canada under R205(a)).
- Follow IRCC’s general guidance on “Decision-making: Standard of review and process for making a reasonable decision” to ensure that decisions are transparent and defensible.
The December 8, 2025 update mainly standardizes formatting, improves links, and strengthens guidance on how to document approvals and refusals, while reaffirming that Caribbean Agricultural Liaison Officers play a significant role in supporting Canada’s seasonal agricultural workforce and therefore qualify under the C10 significant-benefit route when conditions are met.
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