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LMIA Consultants
Labor Market Impact Assesment
The job market in Canada is growing by leaps and bound, where Canadian employers are in constant search to fill labour shortages with skilled and/or specifically trained workers to meet their demands. The temporary foreign worker program was created by the federal government to fill shortages in the Canadian Labour Market.
A positive Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) is required a Canadian employer who can hire a temporary foreign worker. An LMIA confirms that there is a need for a foreign worker and no Canadians or permanent residents are available to do the job. A positive LMIA is sometimes called a confirmation letter.
The LMIA based work permit is a two staged application process, where at one stage employer needs a positive LMIA from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) and later a temporary foreign worker applies for work permit based on a positive LMIA. In order to obtain a positive LMIA, certain compliances such as advertisement requirements, wages, labour conditions, preparing a recruitment efforts report and completing the application properly required to be met.
LMIA is a form of labour market verification, designed to protect Canada’s domestic job marketplace as well as it protects foreign workers, employed in Canada temporarily. Only under selected circumstances LMIA-exempt work permits can be obtained.
If the employer needs an LMIA, they must apply for one.
Once an employer gets the LMIA, the worker can apply for a work permit.
To apply for a work permit, a worker needs:
- A job offer letter,
- A contract,
- A copy of the LMIA, and
- The LMIA number.
LMIA Processing Times
LMIA processing times can be somewhat unpredictable, ranging from a couple of weeks to few months. Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) has pledged to process certain LMIA applications within 10 business days. The following categories will now be processed with a 10-business-day service standard:
- Highly paid workers: Those whose wages are in the top 10 percent of wages are paid by the province or territory to which they are applying.
- Short term workers: If the term of employment is equal to or less than 120 calendar days. However, the salary must also be considered as a high wage (equal to or greater than the provincial or territorial median).
- Skilled trades workers: Those with designated positions on the list from Employment and Social Development Canada. They must also have high wage salaries.
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