Newcomers and Work Permits: Who Can Actually Get EI

Insurable work is the test, not citizenship

EI is tied to the job, not your passport. If you work for an employer in Canada, EI premiums are normally taken off your pay ($1.63 per $100 of insurable earnings outside Quebec in 2026), and the hours count toward a claim exactly as they do for a citizen or permanent resident. Temporary foreign workers, international graduates, spouses on open permits and newly arrived permanent residents all use the same eligibility rules:

• enough insurable hours in the last 52 weeks for your region (420 to 700 in 2026; check your region);
• a job lost through no fault of your own, such as a layoff or the end of a contract;
• at least 7 days in a row without work and pay;
• being ready, willing and able to work, and looking for work.

Work done outside Canada generally doesn't count toward these hours, and neither does self-employment.

Your SIN, and why a 9 matters

You need a Social Insurance Number (SIN) to apply and to complete your reports. SINs issued to temporary residents start with 9 and carry an expiry date that matches your work permit, study permit or visitor record. When you apply for EI with a 9-series SIN, canada.ca asks for proof of your immigration status and your work permit.

When you receive a new permit with a new expiry date, you need to update your SIN record with Service Canada. canada.ca says that if your SIN has expired but you applied to extend your permit, you can keep working with the expired SIN until IRCC decides. Keep proof of the date you applied; it also matters for EI, as the next section explains.

Regular benefits: the availability question

For regular benefits, you must show you are available for work each day you claim. For newcomers, Service Canada's guidance (the Digest of Benefit Entitlement Principles, Chapter 10) looks at whether your permit actually lets you take a job. In short:

These are Service Canada's EI rules about availability, not immigration rules. Whether you can extend a permit, change employers or stay in Canada is a question for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

Special benefits: maternity, parental, sickness, caregiving

Special benefits need 600 insurable hours in the last 52 weeks (or since your last claim), wherever you live. Maternity and parental benefits don't depend on being available for work in the same way, so a closed permit is less of an obstacle. canada.ca says people who aren't Canadian citizens may be eligible for maternity and parental benefits if they have a valid SIN, so watch your SIN expiry date. If you live in Quebec, maternity and parental benefits come from the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan instead (see QPIP for parents). Sickness benefits have their own conditions; see EI sickness benefits.

Leaving Canada while on EI

Regular benefits are generally not paid for days you are outside Canada. canada.ca lists short exceptions, if you declare the trip and stay available:

• up to 7 days in a row to attend the funeral of an immediate family member or close relative, to go with an immediate family member to medical treatment not readily available where they live in Canada, to visit an immediate family member who is seriously ill or injured, or to attend a genuine job interview;
• up to 14 days in a row for a genuine job search.

Trips must be declared on your reports or in My Service Canada Account. Service Canada compares claims with border-crossing records, and benefits paid for days you weren't entitled to must be repaid, with possible penalties.

If you leave Canada for good, regular benefits normally stop. canada.ca says that if you live outside Canada and the United States, maternity, parental, compassionate care and family caregiver benefits may still be possible if your last job was in Canada and your SIN is valid. Before you move, ask Service Canada how it affects your claim, and ask IRCC anything about your status.

Examples

• Post-graduation work permit. Wei is laid off from a logistics job with 820 insurable hours and an open permit valid for another 14 months. She is assessed like any other claimant: if 820 hours meets her region's requirement, regular benefits are likely.
• Employer-specific permit. José's permit names a food-processing plant that closes a line and lays him off after 1,100 hours. He has the hours, but because his permit names one employer, Service Canada will look closely at his availability. He should still apply within 4 weeks, answer the availability questions honestly and keep his job-search records.
• Permit running out. Ama's permit expires in March and her claim started in January. If she applied to extend before the expiry date and can prove it, her availability keeps being assessed normally. If she didn't, regular benefits stop from the expiry date until a new permit is issued.

For a decision on your own EI claim, only Service Canada can tell you: call 1-800-206-7218 or start at canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei.html. For anything about your immigration status, permit or right to stay in Canada, go to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). MyEI is an independent information and estimate tool, is not affiliated with Service Canada, IRCC or the Government of Canada, and does not give immigration or legal advice.