What It Costs to Move to Canada for a Cleaning Job

Checked: 13 September 2026  ·  Fees: IRCC fee list  ·  Rules: ESDC low-wage stream

Moving to Canada for a cleaning job costs you far less than most offers circulating online claim, because the rules put the biggest costs on the employer. The government fees you pay yourself come to $240. Anyone asking for thousands of dollars is charging for something the law says should be free to you.

Every cost, and who pays it

Almost every cleaning job pays below its province’s wage threshold, so the employer hires through the low-wage stream. These are the costs in that stream:

Employer obligations: ESDC low-wage program requirements. Fees: IRCC fee list.

What the employer must pay for

The Temporary Foreign Worker Program sets the employer’s obligations for low-wage positions, and an employer who breaks them can be penalised:

• Transportation. The employer pays round-trip transportation from your country of residence to the work location in Canada, and back.
• Housing. The employer must provide suitable and affordable housing, or make sure it is available.
• Health insurance. The employer must buy and pay for private emergency medical insurance for any period before provincial or territorial coverage starts, and cannot recover the cost from you.
• The LMIA fee. $1,000 per position, which cannot be paid by or recovered from the worker.
• No recruitment fees. Neither the employer nor anyone recruiting for them may charge you, directly or indirectly.

Get each of these in writing before you pay for anything yourself. A contract that names the employer, wage, hours, housing arrangement and who books the flight protects you if something changes.

What you pay, step by step

1. Passport with validity well beyond the job’s length — a permit cannot outlast it.
2. Police certificates from each country where you have lived, if IRCC asks for them.
3. Work permit fee, $155, paid online to IRCC when you apply.
4. Biometrics fee, $85, paid with the application; you then give fingerprints and a photo at a visa application centre.
5. Medical exam with an IRCC panel physician if your instructions require one.
6. Arrival money for food, local transport and rent until your first pay.

The high-wage exception

If a job pays at or above its province’s wage threshold, it goes through the high-wage stream instead, and the employer is not required to pay transportation in the same way. Cleaning jobs almost never reach that threshold — even cleaning supervisors, the best-paid role, have a national median of $25.00 an hour — so the low-wage protections above apply to nearly every cleaning offer you will see.

Costs that are really scams

• “LMIA purchase” or “LMIA fee” charged to you. Only the employer pays it, and only to the government.
• “Job placement” or “registration” fees. Recruitment fees are prohibited.
• “Visa processing” paid to a person or private account. IRCC fees are paid online to IRCC.
• “Flight deposit” for a low-wage job. The employer must pay transportation.
• “Accommodation deposit” before you have a contract. Housing terms belong in a written contract with a real employer.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to move to Canada for a cleaning job?

Your government fees are $155 for the work permit and $85 for biometrics. Add a passport, police certificates, a medical exam if required, and living costs until your first pay. The employer pays the LMIA fee and, for low-wage jobs, your flights.

Does the employer pay for my flight to Canada?

For low-wage positions, which include almost all cleaning jobs, yes: the employer must pay round-trip transportation between your country of residence and the job.

Can an employer make me pay the LMIA fee?

No. The $1,000 LMIA processing fee cannot be paid by or recovered from the temporary foreign worker.

Is housing free for foreign cleaners in Canada?

Not necessarily free. The employer must provide or make sure suitable and affordable housing is available, and you normally pay rent.

Do I need to show money to get a work permit?

IRCC can ask you to show that you can support yourself and your family while in Canada and return home. Keep proof of savings ready.

What is a fair recruitment fee for a Canadian cleaning job?

There is no fair recruitment fee. Employers in the Temporary Foreign Worker Program may not charge one, directly or through anyone recruiting for them.

Sources

• ESDC — program requirements for low-wage positions
• IRCC — fee list
• ESDC — refusal to process LMIA applications in the low-wage stream
• Job Bank — wages for cleaning supervisors (62024)

Kept current. Every figure on this page was checked against the sources listed above on 13 September 2026. Wage tables, fees and the list of cities where low-wage applications are refused all change; where this page and the government page disagree, the government page is right.

Disclaimer. We are an independent publisher. We do not recruit, we are not paid by any employer named here, and we cannot place you in a job or speed up an application. This page explains public rules and public postings in plain language; it is not legal or immigration advice. If you decide to pay someone to represent you, check their licence first on the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants register.