In most cases, a foreign worker planning to work for a Canadian employer has to apply for a work permit with a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). It was formerly known as a Labor Market Opinion – LMO.

Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) is a document from Employment and Social Development Canada/Service Canada (ESDC) that ensures there are no qualified Canadians or permanent residents for a specific job and the foreign nationals have the looked-for qualification and can meet employer’s job requirements. A Canadian employer who is hiring a foreign worker must first receive a government approval before giving the position to a foreign national. In addition, it should be proved that a foreign worker will be given a salary and benefits that meet Federal and Provincial standards. The key factor to get a positive LMIA from the Canadian government is to prove that hiring of a foreign worker will have a positive or neutral effect on the Canadian Labor market.

Process of obtaining Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) Work Permits

1) An applicant has to submit an application to ESDC for a Labour Market Impact Assessment.

2) An applicant has to apply to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) for the actual work permit.

3) After ESDC decides that all provided documentation and various labor market conditions are in favor of a foreign worker, it authorizes the Canadian employer to hire this particular foreign worker.

Time needed to obtain an LMIA

The processing time for LMIA depends on the type of the job, demand for the position, job offering wages and work duration  period. Consequently, it may take from a few weeks to a couple of months.
ESDC has committed to processing the following categories within 10-business days period:

• Applications for the highest-demand occupations (skilled trades);
• Highest-paid (top 10%) occupations;
• Short-duration work (120 days or less).
• ESDC offices are available in every Canadian province.

LMIA Fees

• An employer wishing to hire a foreign worker must pay CDN $1,000 as a fee Labour Market Impact Assessment application. (The exclusion is the application submitted for permanent residence status).
• The Privilege Fee of CDN $100 is required to fund further government research on the labor market of open work permit holders and encourage the foreign workers to apply for permanent residence.
• The employer has to pay a compliance fee of CDN $230. It is needed to provide funding for employer’s compliance regime regarding the work being offered to foreign workers in a prescribed format before a foreign national obtains a work permit at the Port of Entry or through a Canadian visa office.

Requirements for Employers Applying for a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA):

• Pay all the processing fees to hire a foreign worker.
• English or French are the only languages required to be used for LMIAs and job vacancy advertisements unless the employer specifies the requirements for the other language.
• Employers have to advertise job vacancies in the Canadian job market for the at least four weeks prior to applying for LMIA.
• Employers must prove using at least two other methods besides posting an advertisement on the Canadian Job Bank website.
• If the employer is applying for LMIA for high-wage positions, it is required to submit a transition plan to ESDC with their LMIA indicating how the employer plans to reduce the dependency on the temporary foreign worker.
• Employers are prohibited to cut the hours of Canadian workers in case they hire the foreign workers.

Depending on the type of occupation the employer may need additional documentation and have to meet additional requirements.