• Posted 20-Mar-2023

LMIA to support Permanent Residency

If your business is facing a labour shortage, or you are unable to find the talent your business needs, why not look outside of Canada? Your business may be eligible to access a pool of foreign workers to hire on a temporary basis when Canadian citizens and/or permanent residents are not available.Canadian employers are required to obtain a document from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)/Service Canada stating that they can hire the temporary worker. This is known as a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), formerly known as a Labour Market Opinion (LMO) is a document from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) that gives the employer permission to hire a temporary foreign worker. It shows that there is a need for a foreign worker to fill the job and no Canadian worker is available to do the job.

Employers who wish to hire skilled foreign workers and support their permanent resident visa application can get an LMIA and make a job offer under Express Entry system if job offer meets the criteria under one of the following economic programs:

• Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP)
• Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP)
• Canadian Experience Class (CEC)
• Under the FSTP, the employment offer can be made by up to two employers.
• The foreign worker is awarded 50-200 additional CRS points (based on NOC code) for LMIA based job offer.
• This program will not impact your Open Work Permit

LMIA to support permanent residency application.

This LMIA is used to support permanent residency application of foreign national. Here employer hires the skilled foreign national only after their immigration application is processed and permanent residency is approved. This option does not have a processing fee.

LMIA to support both permanent residency & work permit application.

If employers wish to hire skilled foreign national temporarily while their application for permanent residence is being processed by IRCC. Then employer can apply for a dual intent LMIA. This option requires paying the processing fee. These dual intent LMIAs can be used to support the foreign nationals’ application to IRCC for a:

• Permanent resident application; and
• Temporary work permit

The purpose of the LMIA is to make sure that foreign workers are not being chosen over Canadian citizens and/or permanent residents those are qualified for the job. Positive LMIA determines that hiring foreign nationals in the specified occupation and at the specified work location is likely to have a positive or neutral impact on the Canadian labour market.