In certain cases, the Canadian government will make an agreement that allows a foreign government to send an officer to work in a department or agency of the Canadian Federal government or a Canadian provincial government.
If the officer works in an executive branch of government, he/she must have a contract from the Public Service Commission that outlines the terms of the inter-government work agreement. This requirement does not apply to any officer who works at a level lower than the executive level. If any foreign government officer would like to stay in Canada for more than three months, he/she must possess a formal letter of agreement signed by:
- The foreign officer AND;
- The deputy head of the department that employs the officer in the officer’s country of origin AND;
- Another authority within the organization that employs the foreign officer.
If the work agreement that sends the foreign officer to Canada also involves Canada sending an officer to work for the foreign officer’s government (reciprocal agreement), the family members of the foreign officer coming to Canada will be exempt from the work permit requirement. If the agreement is not reciprocal, the family members of the foreign officer will have to obtain work permits in order to work in Canada.
Under this section, American law enforcement officers who work near bodies of water that are shared between Canada and the USA are exempt from the work permit requirement.
In-flight security officers are also exempt under this rule.
