LMIA (LABOUR MARKET IMPACT ASSESSMENT)

Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) is a confirmation letter that most employers in Canada need in order to hire a temporary foreign worker for a specific job/position. It includes a labor market verification made by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) studying the impact hiring a foreign worker to have on Canadian labor market and all protective labor market factors.

When a positive LMIA is issued, it means that there is a need for a foreign worker to fill a job/position and that working conditions satisfy Canadian labor law measures. More specialized and high skill evaluated the job is, more likely there is a change to obtain a positive LMIA.

If you wish to obtain a positive LMIA, your future employer needs to pay a processing fee and also advertise the job in all job vacancies in Canada during four (4) weeks prior applying for the LMIA. If the job is highly specialized, highly paid or of a short duration position, you might obtain the LMIA faster than if your job is less specialized and less paid. The processing times generally vary from few weeks to few months.

Once your future employer has obtained a positive LMIA, you as a foreign worker can apply for a work permit. Some work permit applications are nevertheless LMIA exempts, like those covered by the NAFTA agreement, Working Holiday’s permits, Post-Graduate work permits, Open Work permits, Intra-company transfers, permits for certain academic positions, and for certain programs such as International Mobility Programs.

When a positive LMIA is issued, it means that there is a need for a foreign worker to fill a job/position and that working conditions satisfy Canadian labor law measures. More specialized and high skill evaluated the job is, more likely there is a change to obtain a positive LMIA. If you wish to obtain a positive LMIA, your future employer needs to pay a processing fee and also advertise the job in all job vacancies in Canada during four (4) weeks prior applying for the LMIA. If the job is highly specialized, highly paid or of a short duration position, you might obtain the LMIA faster than if your job is less specialized and less paid.

The processing times generally vary from few weeks to few months. Once your future employer has obtained a positive LMIA, you as a foreign worker can apply for a work permit. Some work permit applications are nevertheless LMIA exempts, like those covered by the NAFTA agreement, Working Holiday’s permits, Post-Graduate work permits, Open Work permits, Intra-company transfers, permits for certain academic positions, and for certain programs such as International Mobility Programs.