What Canadian Employers Should Know Before Applying For LMIA

A Labor Market Impact Assessment which is LMIA is permission from Employment and skills development Canada mandatory for all employers in Ca...

A Labor Market Impact Assessment which is LMIA is permission from Employment and skills development Canada mandatory for all employers in Canada who wish to employ foreign workers.

Some Employers in Canada who prefer the experience and skills of foreign workers are allowed to hire an employee from the numerous temporary foreign workers that are in Canada or even outside Canada.

But to do this, employers must obtain the necessary approval from LMIA which would allow them to hire any foreign worker of their choice for any job position. This would also depend on the circumstance or condition of the company and the number of persons they wish to employ.

The LMIA approval will only be issued due to the following circumstances and conditions:

• You are urgently in need of a temporary foreign worker


• You must show that there have been efforts made by you to employ a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident but couldn’t find anyone with the right skills for the position.


• You must complete a transition plan when it is discovered that the wage you are offering is higher or meets the provincial minimum wage per hour.


• The appointment of the temporary foreign worker must be short-term, pending when a citizen or PR will be available. Below are some of the steps involved in obtaining an LMIA

Steps To Apply For LMIA

• The first thing generally is for employers to post job ads for the supposed job position on at least three different occasions, that a minimum of three job advertisements for an interval of 4 weeks. This will prove that the employer has made necessary efforts to recruit citizens and permanent resident.


• The advert for the job must be detailed with all the information and requirements provided accordingly either on a website, or any other source of advertisement.


• After the 4 weeks of advertisement, the employers must interview all the applicants who are a Canadian citizen and permanent resident that responded to the job.


• The assessment must be based on the requirements and qualifications that was listed on the job advertisement.


• A Canadian citizen and permanent resident cannot be excluded based on the requirements or specific job qualifications that was not listed when the job ads were posted. And if a foreigner is to be given the job, he/she must meet all the requirements listed.

If it is satisfied that no Canadian citizen and permanent resident qualified for the job, then the employer can proceed with applying for an LMIA to Employment and Skills Development Canada (ESDC)/Service Canada.

This will require:

• An LMIA application form


• A letter supporting or confirming the job offer


• Your various recruitment effort in details


• A description of the business


• The total number of employed workers.