Pathways · Mobilité Francophone
Hire French-speaking workers in 6–10 weeks. No LMIA.
Mobilité Francophone is the federal work-permit exemption (code C-16) that lets Alberta employers hire French-speaking workers without a Labour Market Impact Assessment. Lowest government fee, fastest timeline, no mandatory advertising. Upforce scopes the pathway in writing and sources your candidate; our network of licensed immigration partners (RCICs) handles the IRCC filing — placement fees start at $1,000.
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6–10
Weeks from written engagement to candidate landing
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$230
Federal employer compliance fee — no LMIA fee
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TEER 0–3
Occupation tiers eligible under the 2023 expansion
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90
Day replacement guarantee on every placement
What it is
A federal LMIA exemption for French-speaking hires.
Mobilité Francophone is an exemption stream inside the federal International Mobility Program. It carries the IRCC exemption code C-16, and it lets a Canadian employer outside Quebec hire a French-speaking foreign worker without going through a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). No labour-market test, no mandatory weeks of Canadian advertising, no $1,000 ESDC fee.
The federal government created the stream to support French-speaking communities outside Quebec, and the 2023 expansion widened it from high-skill roles to cover TEER 0 through 3 occupations — management, professional, technical, and skilled trades. For Alberta employers, that turns a French-speaking candidate into the fastest, lowest-cost legal route to a work permit. Upforce specializes in matching the role and the candidate to this pathway, then connecting you with our network of licensed immigration partners (RCICs), who handle the IRCC filing.
Why employers choose it
Three reasons Mobilité Francophone beats the default route.
When the candidate is French-speaking and the work is outside Quebec, this pathway wins on every axis that matters to an operator: cost, speed, and paperwork.
- 01
Lower cost
The federal employer compliance fee is $230 — there is no $1,000 LMIA processing fee and no Canadian advertising spend. Combined with an Upforce placement fee of $1,000–$2,500, the all-in cost lands well below a comparable LMIA hire.
- 02
Faster timeline
No labour-market test means no waiting on ESDC. Government processing typically runs 2–6 weeks, and the full engagement — sourcing, filing, arrival — lands in 6–10 weeks instead of the 8+ months an LMIA route can take.
- 03
No advertising
LMIA requires you to advertise the role to Canadians first and prove no one suitable applied. Mobilité Francophone has no advertising requirement at all — sourcing starts the moment the proposal is accepted.
Eligibility
What it takes to qualify — on both sides.
Upforce confirms every one of these against your actual role and the candidate before you commit. Nothing is assumed.
Employer side
- A registered Canadian business with a genuine job offer
- Work location outside Quebec (the C-16 exemption does not apply in Quebec)
- An eligible occupation — TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3 under the 2023 expansion
- A wage and working conditions that meet provincial standards
Candidate side
- A French-speaking foreign national (French as the habitual language of daily use)
- French proficiency assessed against the NCLC 7 benchmark (TEF or TCF)
- Education and experience that match the offered role
- Admissibility to Canada — confirmed candidate-side by our network of licensed RCIC partners
How fast we move
Five steps from your hiring need to candidate arrival.
- 01
Discovery
30-minute call to scope the role and confirm C-16 fit
Day 1
- 02
Proposal
Written proposal with pathway, timeline, and pricing
4 hours
- 03
Sourcing
Partner-office sourcing of French-speaking candidates
2–4 weeks
- 04
Immigration filing
Handled by our RCIC partner — employer-side and candidate-side
2–6 weeks
- 05
Arrival
Landing, check-in, and on-site ramp-up
1–2 weeks
The real cost
What you actually pay — itemized.
$230 — the federal employer compliance fee paid to IRCC. This is your only mandatory government cost on this pathway.
$1,000–$2,500 — the Upforce placement fee for a Mobilité Francophone hire, billed on milestones, not all upfront. The exact figure depends on the role. See the full ranges on our pricing page.
$0 in advertising — there is no labour-market test, so none of the Canadian-recruitment advertising spend an LMIA requires. Candidate-side costs (medical exam, biometrics) are paid by the candidate, never by you, and never by Upforce on the candidate's behalf.
Side by side
Mobilité Francophone vs. LMIA.
| Mobilité Francophone | LMIA | |
|---|---|---|
| Government fee | $230 | $1,000 + advertising |
| Mandatory advertising | None | 4+ weeks before filing |
| Labour-market test | No | Yes (ESDC assessment) |
| Total timeline | 6–10 weeks | 5–8 months |
| Candidate requirement | French-speaking | Any language |
| Best for | French-speaking roles outside Quebec | Roles with no IMP exemption |
If the candidate is not French-speaking, or the role does not qualify, the LMIA pathway is usually the route — we tell you which one fits before sourcing begins.
A note on compliance
We handle recruitment. Our licensed RCIC partners handle the immigration.
Upforce is an Alberta-licensed recruitment agency, not an immigration firm — we do not file immigration applications or give immigration advice. We connect you and your candidate with our network of licensed Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants (RCICs), registered with the Collège des consultants en immigration et en citoyenneté, who handle all the immigration filing and advice — employer-side and candidate-side.
Workers never pay Upforce. That is required by Alberta law, and it is absolute. Our fee is paid by the employer. See our compliance page for the full legal framework.
Mobilité Francophone FAQ
What Alberta employers ask about Mobilité Francophone.
- What level of French does the candidate need?
- The federal program requires the candidate to be a French-speaking foreign national whose habitual language of daily use is French — assessed against the NCLC 7 benchmark on a recognized French test (TEF or TCF). Upforce screens candidate French during sourcing so you only meet candidates who clear the bar. The exact assessment is confirmed candidate-side by our network of licensed RCIC partners, not by us.
- Can we hire someone who speaks French but not English?
- Yes. The pathway is built for French-speaking hires, and the work permit does not require English. Whether the role itself needs English is your call as the employer — for a back-of-house kitchen or workshop role, French alone is often fine; for a customer-facing role it may not be. We screen for the language mix the role actually needs.
- Does the worker have to come from a specific country?
- No. Mobilité Francophone is open to French-speaking foreign nationals regardless of nationality. Upforce sources through partner offices abroad; we never disclose corridor specifics on the public site, and country of origin is not an eligibility factor for the program.
- Is the role limited to certain skill levels?
- The program covers TEER 0, 1, 2, and 3 occupations under the 2023 expansion — which spans management, professional, technical, and skilled-trade roles outside Quebec. We confirm your specific NOC code maps to an eligible TEER tier before you commit.
- Can Mobilité Francophone lead to permanent residence?
- It can. French-speaking workers with Canadian work experience are strong candidates for Express Entry (with category-based French draws) and the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program. We outline the sequence on our permanent residence pathway page. The PR application itself is filed by our network of licensed RCIC partners, not by Upforce.
- How is this cheaper and faster than an LMIA?
- There is no Labour Market Impact Assessment, so no $1,000 ESDC fee and no mandatory weeks of Canadian advertising. The employer compliance fee is $230 and government processing typically runs 2–6 weeks instead of the months an LMIA adds. See the full side-by-side in the LMIA pathway comparison.
- Does it apply to jobs in Quebec?
- No. Mobilité Francophone (exemption code C-16) applies only to work locations outside Quebec. Quebec runs its own immigration programs. Upforce places into Alberta and the rest of Canada outside Quebec.
Got a French-speaking role to fill? Start in 24 hours.
Tell us the role. We reply within 4 business hours with a written proposal: confirmed pathway, candidate profile, timeline, and milestone-based pricing.