Apply for a foreign worker recruiter's licence
Last updated on April 15, 2024Recruiters help employers to find foreign workers. The law in B.C. protects temporary foreign workers from unfair employers and practices.
After getting a licence, recruiters are added to the public list of licensed recruiters in B.C.
On this page:
Getting licensed
No matter where they are, individuals must have a licence if they help foreign workers find jobs in B.C. Recruiters are individually licensed, which means that each recruiter at a business must have a licence. Recruiters who operate without a licence could be fined up to $10,000.
Apply for a recruiter licence
People who offer recruitment services must be licensed. Recruitment services include:
- Trying to find employment for a foreign national in B.C.
- Helping an employer hire a foreign national
- Helping someone else to find employment for a foreign national
- Referring a foreign national to another person who finds employment for them
Who does not need to apply?
You do not need to apply for a licence to
- Recruit for your employer or for a job in your own business
- Recruit a family member
- Act on behalf of a government or an institution defined in the College and Institute Act
For more information, see:
- Recruiter licensing requirements under the Temporary Foreign Worker Protection Act and Regulation
- Employer registration requirements under the Temporary Foreign Worker Protection Act
- Partners, Affiliates and Agents Infosheet (PDF, 168.3 KB)
Pay the financial security
Each licence requires a financial security instrument in the amount of $20,000. If you do not follow the rules for recruiters, this security may be used to
- Reimburse foreign workers for fees and costs incurred due to contraventions of the Temporary Foreign Worker Protection Act
- Cover fines imposed for contravening the Act
The security can be paid by
- Certified cheque or bank draft
- An irrevocable letter of credit (ILOC) provided directly from a Canadian financial institution
- A surety bond provided by a financial institution or other issuer
The security must be issued in the individual applicant's own name (for example, "Recruiter's Name carrying on business as Company Name"). Credit card, cash and money order payments are not accepted.
Irrevocable letter of credit (ILOC)
An ILOC must contain an automatic renewal clause.
If your financial institution refuses to renew your ILOC, Employment Standards can require you to provide acceptable alternate security within 10 days of the notice of non-renewal date. Otherwise, Employment Standards will demand payment up to the full amount of the ILOC and hold that payment as alternate security.
Surety bond
A surety bond must be issued by a person authorized under the Financial Institutions Act. Have an authorized person complete the Surety Bond Template (PDF, 180 KB) and return the signed original to the address below.
You can send the financial security before or after you apply, but your application will only be processed after Employment Standards receives the security. The security will be returned if your application is refused.
The security must meet specific requirements in order for Employment Standards to accept it. If your security provider is unsure whether their templated security meets the requirements, they may send a sample of the template to Employment Standards for review prior to completion.
Send the signed original financial security document to the address below. Employment Standards cannot accept a copy.
Make payable to: Minister of Finance
Attn: Trust Clerk
Employment Standards Branch
By mail:
PO Box 9570 Stn Prov Govt
Victoria, BC V8W 9K1
By courier (or if a signature is required for delivery):
200-880 Douglas Street
Victoria, BC V8W 2B7
If your licence expires
If your licence expires and you do not apply to renew it, your financial security can be held for up to 36 months after your licence expires.
If a business pays your financial security
If a business pays an individual recruiter's security, the security attaches to the recruiter and not the business. Employment Standards can only return the security to the business if the recruiter provides written authorization to do so.
Security refunds
To request a refund of your security, email EmploymentStandards@esb.gov.bc.ca and identify the reason for your request (cancelling your licence, etc.). Employment Standards will retain your security for up to 3 years after the cancellation or expiry of your recruiter licence.
Employment Standards may return your security prior to 3 years if there are no outstanding complaints against the recruiter and no complaints are received against the recruiter within the statutory complaint period of 24 months.
Employment Standards will return your security by mail once the retention period has expired. Please update Employment Standards as soon as possible if your mailing address changes.
Applications are assessed
After you apply, Employment Standards will review your application for completeness and check that a financial security has been provided. Only complete applications are considered for a licence.
Your conduct can be evaluated based on your character, financial history, competence and prior compliance with the Temporary Foreign Worker Protection Act, as well as your partners, affiliates and agents.
The Temporary Foreign Worker Protection Act allows the Director to issue a recruiter licence for a period of up to 3 years. New applicants usually receive a 1-year licence.
Subsequent licences may be issued for up to 3 years. Employment Standards may continue to issue 1-year licences to a recruiter if circumstances require it - for example, if
- Employment Standards has concerns about compliance
- Complaints are made against the applicant
- The applicant has a history of non-compliance
When exercising this discretion, Employment Standards considers all available information, including the applicant's compliance with the Temporary Foreign Worker Protection Act, the Employment Standards Act and other applicable labour legislation.
If your application is not approved
Applications can be refused if you
- Provide incomplete, false, misleading or inaccurate information
- Have not followed provincial or federal laws
- Do not comply with terms and conditions set out by the federal government on an approval to hire a foreign worker
- Do not carry out business legally, honestly, with integrity or in the interest of the public
If an application is going to be refused, amended, suspended or cancelled:
- Employment Standards sends the applicant written notice that their application is going to be refused, including the reasons why.
- The applicant can respond with reasons why they think their application should be accepted.
- Employment Standards reviews the response to decide whether the application should be accepted or refused.
- If the application is refused, the applicant has 30 calendar days to submit a formal request for reconsideration. Otherwise, the decision is final and the financial security will be returned.
For more information, see Parts 2 and 4 of the Temporary Foreign Worker Protection Act.
Follow the rules for recruiters
Licensed recruiters must uphold their obligations required by law and make sure that the partners, affiliates and agents they work with do the same. If not, recruiters could
- Be fined
- Lose their licence
- Have restrictions placed on their licence
Recruiters need to clearly communicate to foreign workers what their rights are under the Temporary Foreign Worker Protection Act. You can do so by posting and sharing this document:
Uphold your obligations under the law
Recruiters and the people they work with have obligations under the Temporary Foreign Worker Protection Act. They cannot:
Keep a foreign worker's money or documents
This means they must not
- Directly or indirectly charge any person other than an employer a fee or expense for recruitment services
- Reduce the wages of a foreign worker, or vary, reduce or eliminate any other benefit or term or condition of a foreign worker's employment, in order to recover the expense of recruiting the foreign worker
- Take a foreign worker’s passport or official documents
Provide false or misleading information
They must not
- Produce or distribute false or misleading information relating to recruitment services, immigration, immigration services, employment, housing for foreign workers or the laws of British Columbia or Canada
- Misrepresent employment opportunities, including a position, duties, length of employment, wages, benefits, or other terms of employment
Keep signed employment contracts and accurate records
Recruiters must have a written contract with each employer and foreign worker. If you provide services to both a foreign worker and that worker's employer, you need contracts with both.
Records must be kept in B.C. for at least 4 years. They must be made available for inspection upon request. Recruiters must keep all records related to recruiting temporary foreign workers:
- Signed contracts
- The name and address of each worker
- A description of recruitment services provided to each worker
- The name of each employer a foreign worker was referred to and/or placed with
- Fees and expenses requested or received
Disclose information
Recruiters and the people they work with need to disclose information about the services they provide to foreign workers and employers they work with.
You must inform foreign workers in writing if you will receive a fee or compensation for referring the worker to someone else.
If you're providing recruitment services to an employer and immigration services to a foreign worker who will be employed by that employer, you need to
- Inform both of them about the services you're providing to both parties
- Get written consent from each of them to provide those services
Partners, affiliates and agents
If you work with any partners, affiliates or agents during the recruitment process, you need to ensure that they uphold their obligations required by law.
You also need to provide the names and addresses of all partners, affiliates or agents to Employment Standards when you apply for your licence.
Update Employment Standards when your information changes
Email EmploymentStandards@esb.gov.bc.ca to update Employment Standards whenever any of your contact information changes, even after your licence expires.
You also need to update Employment Standards any time information changes about any of your partners, affiliates or agents, including if
- Their name or address changes
- Your relationship with them changes
- You start working with a new partner, affiliate or agent
Renew your licence
A foreign worker recruiter licence is valid for up to 3 years. New applicants usually receive a 1-year licence. You need to renew your licence before it expires. The expiry date is printed on the licence.
Operating as a recruiter without a valid licence is against the law in B.C.
Contact Employment Standards
The B.C. Employment Standards Branch administers the Temporary Foreign Worker Protection Act and Regulation.
By email
Ask a question or get confidential support about temporary foreign workers in B.C.
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