All international postdoctoral fellows must apply for a work permit from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) prior to coming to Memorial University to take a postdoctoral position at the university. It is the responsibility of the postdoctoral fellow to obtain the required valid legal documentation from IRCC to work at the university as a postdoctoral fellow.

Under IRCC’s International Mobility Program, postdoctoral fellows are exempt from a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) under regulation 205 (c) (ii), exemption code C44. To be exempt from an LMIA, the applicant must have completed, or be expecting to shortly complete, their doctorate, be working in a related field to that in which they earned, or are earning, their PhD and be appointed as a postdoctoral fellow by the university.

Normally, postdoctoral fellows enter Canada via an LMIA-exempt work permit, and, as such, Memorial University is required to provide the postdoctoral fellow with an offer of employment ID number (issued by IRCC) prior to submitting an application for a work permit. This number will be provided by the Office of Faculty Relations after confirming acceptance of a postdoctoral fellow appointment. Postdoctoral Fellows applying for open work permits are exempted from this process.  For further information on this process contact immigration@mun.ca.

For information on the appointment process for postdoctoral fellows or to obtain settlement and support advice click here.

Questions regarding the immigration process for international postdoctoral fellows can be directed to the Office of Faculty Relations.