If you are a citizen of the twelve countries listed below, you may be eligible to apply for a Work Permit under the Seasonal Agriculture Worker Program (SAWP). The article explains what the SAWP is, and its requirements for temporary workers.
Seasonal Agriculture Worker Program – Overview
The Seasonal Agriculture Worker Program was born more than 50 years ago, following the signing by Canada of bilateral conventions with the participating countries. These conventions describe the responsibilities of the participating countries’ governments:
- keep a list of farm workers,
- help with the gathering of documents, and
- provide a person of contact in Canada to supply assistance when in need.
Your Work Permit cannot exceed 8 months, between the January 1st and December 15th of each year.
You may be asked to work on more than one farm while you’re in Canada. You don’t need a new work permit for each employer.
If you are hired to work as a seasonal farmer in Quebec, you will need to apply for a “Certificat d’Acceptation du Québec” (CAQ). You can find more information here.
You will need to enter into contact with your government officials. They are responsible for hiring workers under this program and help you gather all the documents needed to apply for the Work Permit.
Seasonal Agriculture Worker Program – Eligibility
You can qualify for the Seasonal Agriculture Worker Program (SAWP) if:
- you’re a citizen of a country that takes part in the program (see below),
- your government recruited you, and
- you’ll be working for SAWP employers in Canada.
Seasonal Agriculture Worker Program – Eligible Countries
- Anguilla
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Barbados
- Dominica
- Grenada
- Jamaica
- Mexico
- Montserrat
- St. Kitts-Nevis
- St. Lucia
- St. Vincent and the Grenadines
- Trinidad and Tobago
Seasonal Agriculture Worker Program – Processing Times
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has a target service standard of processing 80% of work permit applications submitted outside Canada within 60 days.
According to the annual data published in December 2025 – From April 2024 to March 2025, IRCC processed 72% of applications within the 60-day standard.
You can check the current average processing times for a SAWP application here. You need to select “Temporary residence (visiting, studying, working)”, then “Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP)”.
