LMIA based work permit

Employers who could not find Canadian citizen or Permanent Resident for the required position, may need to seek for some help from the outside of full fill the Canadian labor market – they will try to hire a specialist from outside Canada. The potential employer starts the process by submitting an LMIA application to IRCC to find a suitable foreigner for the required job position. The goal of LMIA process is to show that it is impossible to find a perfect candidate from within Canada and because of that reason the employer is given a chance to hire one from outside Canada. Most work permit applications fall under the LMIA work permit category. Once LMIA is approved by IRCC the designated employee can apply for the work permit.

The Unwanted Truth

LMIA applications are complicated and consist of multiple steps that must be done in sequence. The primary step is to prove that a Canadian candidate was not found for the job published on multiple websites. The LMIA process itself must be done in a certain way to be accepted by IRCC (Immigration, Refugee, Citizenship Canada), it has several requirements which are different from province to province and from position and salary offered by an employer. It will consume time (few months) and IRCC fees ($1000 CAD). If rejected, the employer must start the process from the beginning (which consume time and money) as having the refusal history under the employer’s name may affect future applications. With the next re-application it will be more difficult to be approved as now on each LMIA package must explain why a company had a refusal before and what was changed in company requirements ever since. LMIA is not about posting the advertisement online on recruitment websites, if you are unaware of the specific process regarding LMIA, we do strongly encourage you to contact us to avoid having any refusals under your comp

French Mobility Program

Canada, being a bilingual country, is working to promote French language across the whole territory. French speaking applicants have a chance of working in Canada without applying for LMIA as their French skills are considered to be in the benefits of National Canadian interests. This program applies to all Canadian provinces except for the province of Quebec.

Self Employed Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs who wish to start a business in Canada may be LMIA exempt if they meet certain requirements such as being the sole owner (majority owner) of the business they wish to establish and/or operate.

Academics

Professors, researchers, and lecturers (Guest lecturers at seminars and other major venues) may be exempt from LMIA.

Intra-Company Transfers

This stream applies to transferee between company branches from outside Canada (transfer between the mother company and subsidiaries and vice versa). It Is applicable for high managerial positions and those whose specialized knowledge is essential to the functionality of the company. In order to apply for this stream, the applicant might have worked for at least 3 years in the company.

Dependents of foreign workers

Dependents of foreign workers are exempt from LMIA requirement when they apply for their open work permits.

Provincial exempt LMIA

Workers under the PNP (nominated by the province for PR) may be exempt from LMIA. Province of Yukon and Prince Edward PNP programs are exempt from LMIA. The difference between these 2 provinces and the rest of Canada is that PNP for the rest of Canada may or may not require LMIA.

Working Holiday

This program allows foreigners to come and work in Canada for 1 – 2 years with an employer accepted by this program. Since this program is for young professionals and graduate students, it is an exchange program in between the countries binding by international agreement, therefore it is exempt from LMIA.