Employer FAQs

An employer must actively operate the business in Saskatchewan as the employer for at least 24 consecutive months before applying for a Certificate of Registration, unless otherwise exempted.

The required 24 months of business operation will ensure that the business is well established, stable, and able to support the foreign worker. The Ministry of Immigration and Career Training’s goal is to support fair and safe employment for foreign workers.

To be eligible for a Certificate of Registration, the business must operate within Saskatchewan's geographic boundaries, be zoned for commercial uses, or be located on farmland as defined in The Saskatchewan Farm Security Act.

Employers who intend to employ a foreign national as a live-in caregiver may also be eligible for a Certificate of Registration to recruit through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP).

The bolded information enclosed in the criterion below indicates a new criterion for the Certificate of Registration as of September 1, 2024. To qualify and meet the application requirements for registration, employers must:

• provide a work location for a foreign worker within the geographic boundaries of Saskatchewan and must be zoned for commercial uses, or located on farmland as defined in The Saskatchewan Farm Security Act;
• the business must also provide proof of an appropriate certificate or designation to perform the type of work (e.g., Certificate of Authorization for a professional engineering business), if applicable to the business type;
• actively operate the business as the employer for no less than 24 consecutive months in Saskatchewan;
• must provide evidence that the employer has the financial capacity to hire and support the international worker’s full-time employment for the duration of the employment contract;
• must provide evidence that any equipment required for the work is available, operational, and safe for the international worker to use (e.g., for trucking businesses: cab cards showing vehicles registered, licensed). Trucking businesses must provide a current National Safety Code (NSC) certificate with their applications, showing a Satisfactory Audited or Satisfactory Unaudited rating; and
• provide any documentation requested by the ministry to support your application, including:
  • financial statements;
  • business plans;
  • incorporation documents;
  • Canada Revenue Agency documents;
  • business licence;
  • lease/rental agreements;
  • business employee attendance and payroll records;
  • business contracts;
  • contractor permits;
  • evidence the business is registered with the Saskatchewan Corporate Registry; and
  • evidence the business is licensed or registered with the Ministry of Finance for Provincial Sales Tax purposes.

Certificate of Registration applications submitted by an employer(s) and affiliated employer(s) under the following condition(s) may not be eligible if:

• Employer has outstanding issues or patterns of employment standards or occupational health and safety issues under The Saskatchewan Employment Act;
• Employer has an unsatisfactory history with employing foreign nationals or other employees;
• Employer is not in compliance with laws and regulations of the province of Saskatchewan, Canada, and any other province or territory in Canada;
• Employer is having its operations or recruitment activities reviewed by the Ministry of Immigration and Career Training (ICT);
• Employer is under investigation by a law enforcement agency
• Employer is not in compliance with any other ICT program; or
• Employer is found to have provided incomplete, false, misleading or inaccurate information in support of their application.

In addition to criterion changes, there are new requirements to ensure integrity within the online application system:

• The authorized contact on the employer account must be an owner, director, or general manager.
• The Authorization email on the employer account must be the employer's email. The authorization email address on the employer account must be associated with a custom employer domain name or, if no employer domain name exists, a Canadian telecom provider.
• The Correspondence email on the employer account must be the employer or employer email and the immigration recruiter email. If the employer is using a recruiter, the email address listed on the account for the recruiter must be listed on the Licensed Recruiter list.

For more information, see how to Apply for a Certificate of Registration.

The authorization email on the employer’s account is the email of the business owner and must be the employer's email. It is used to set up and reset account passwords.

The correspondence email on the employer SINP account is the email address where correspondence/emails from the Ministry of Immigration and Career Training are sent. Employers may choose to have correspondence go to a licensed recruiter who they employ but the correspondence emails must also go to the employer‘s email.

The licensed foreign worker recruiter's email address must be the same email listed on the Licensed Recruiter list.

The authorized contact person must be an owner, director or general manager of the business.

Where multiple general managers are business owners, at least one listed on the corporate registry must be listed on the employer SINP account.

The authorization email on the employer account must be associated with a custom employer domain name (e.g., example@org.ca) or, if no employer domain name exists, a Canadian telecom provider (e.g., example@sasktel.ca.).

For integrity reasons, emails from providers such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, or Outlook cannot be used as authorization emails on the employer account. Gmail and other popular domain registries mask IP address information, making combating fraud and identifying fraud trends challenging.

At present, a minimum revenue requirement has yet to be prescribed.

At present, a foreign worker ratio has yet to be prescribed.

An employer is not obliged to use a foreign worker recruiter to recruit foreign workers. However, if the employer chooses to use one, that person must be licensed in Saskatchewan and listed on the Licensed Recruiter list.

A Certificate of Registration is not transferable. The legal status of a business will determine whether a new owner requires a new Certificate of Registration. To determine whether a new Certificate of Registration is required, new owners should discuss with their legal counsel or can contact the Program Compliance Branch (pcb@gov.sk.ca) for further information.

An employer is responsible for informing the Program Compliance Branch (pcb@gov.sk.ca.) of any significant changes that could affect their Certificate of Registration. This includes changes to business ownership and changes to the operating name or address.

A business owner for the organization or an authorized person, including a human resources staff, who is a paid employee of the organization, and licensed recruiters hired by the employer.

Foreign worker recruiters and lawyers who are licensed in Saskatchewan can provide recruitment services to the employer or submit a Certificate of Registration application and Job Approval Forms on the employer’s behalf.

The Licensed Recruiter List has a list and status of all licensed foreign worker recruiters in Saskatchewan.

For more information on foreign worker recruiters' responsibilities and registration process, see Immigration Consultant and Foreign Worker Recruiter Licensing and Responsibilities.

All Certificates of Registration suspended under The Foreign Worker Recruitment and Immigration Services Act (repealed) will continue to be in effect until the suspension period expires.

The employer may apply for a new Certificate of Registration or renewal after the suspension period expires, subject to the application requirements of the new Immigrations Services Act.

For more information, see how to Apply for a Certificate of Registration.

Currently, there is no application fee for a Certificate of Registration.

Employers are not required to file financial security as part of the application requirements for a Certificate of Registration. However, an employer may be required to if the Director under the Act considers it necessary and in the public interest.

The ISA provides the Director under the Act with authority to issue compensation orders to the benefit of a foreign worker in particular circumstances, such as if a foreign worker was required to pay a fee contrary to the ISA or a foreign worker’s wages were unlawfully reduced by the employer. If a compensation order is issued, financial security may be utilized to pay the compensation order should the employer or licensee otherwise fail to pay.

If financial security is required, it must be in the form of a surety bond or an irrevocable letter of credit. The financial security amount is $20,000.

All financial security filed with the ministry must remain valid for four years from the date of licence or certificate of registration is terminated, withdrawn or expired.

See financial security requirements for more information on how the applicant will file the surety bond or letter of credit.