Under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, an employer must first receive approval from the Canadian government before hiring a foreign national. This comes in the form of the Labour Market Impact Assessment. In order to obtain a positive LMIA, a Canadian employer must prove that there is no Canadian or permanent resident worker available to complete the job in question and a foreign worker is therefore required.

LMIA applications should show the following:

• Efforts made to recruit available Canadian citizens/permanent residents
• Wages offered for the position are consistent with the prevailing wage rate paid to Canadians/permanent residents in the same occupation in the region
• Working conditions for the occupation meets the current provincial labour market standards
• Any potential benefits that hiring a foreign worker might bring to the Canadian labour market, such as the creation of new jobs or the transfer of skills and knowledge
• Transition plans will be required for high-wage positions whereby employers must demonstrate increased efforts to hire Canadians in the long-term.

LMIA Application Process

The goal of the LMIA process is to determine what effect the hiring of foreign workers would have on the Canadian labor market. There are three possible results of the LMIA assessment: positive, neutral, or negative. Foreign national and employer got through two step process –

STEP 1: Apply for Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA)-This application is done by employer

• Verify whether you need an LMIA
• Check if there is any prohibition to processing an LMIA
• Determine the required wage rate employers must pay to foreign workers
• Based on the occupation and the wage rate, select the appropriate LMIA stream
• Prepare an advertising and recruitment campaign prescribed by the LMIA stream
• Conduct an advertising and recruitment campaign for the prescribed period
• Complete the application package, including forms, proofs of recruitment, a recruitment summary, and all supporting documents
• Pay fees and submit the LMIA application
• Continue the advertising & recruitment campaign and keep records of the results
• Participate in the final phone interview with the ESDC officer
• Receive the LMIA decision
• Provide a copy of the LMIA decision to your foreign workers

STEP 2: Apply for a Canadian Work Permit- This step is done by Foreign national

The applicant must submit an application to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) for the work permit. A foreign national candidate uses apositive Canadian LMIA, in their application to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) to get Canadian temporary work permit.

To apply for an LMIA based work permit for Canada, the candidate must include both the written job offer and the positive LMIA. The additional documents depend on the province and on the nature of the work.

LMIA based work permit is temporary work permit but it can create a path way for obtaining permanent residence through various immigration programs.
Let us help you prepare your LMIA-based Work Permit application and find a pathway to permanent residency!