Hiring Foreign Workers Labour Assessment (LMIA) lawyers help people obtain Candian work permits. Our Hiring Foreign Workers Labour Assessment (LMIA) lawyers can help you come to Canada and obtain a job here.
Hiring foreign workers – Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) 1 877 602 9900
Foreign nationals who would like to work in Canada usually require a valid work permit. In today’s blog, Helen Han of MacLean Law would like to talk about the different types of work permit and LMIA requirements.
Generally speaking, there are two types of work permit in Canada:
- • Open work permits
- • Employer-specific work permits
An open work permit allows you to work in almost any occupation for any eligible employer in Canada. On the other hand, employer-specific work permits have employer and occupational restrictions, which means you can only work for the employer and occupation specified on your work permit.
You can only get an open work permit in certain situations. Normally foreign nationals would require an employer-specific work permit to work legally in Canada.
Hiring Foreign Workers Labour Assessment (LMIA) 1 877 602 9900
In most cases, your employer is required to obtain a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)/Service Canada, before you can submit a work permit application.
The LMIA application is filed by an employer who wishes to offer the position to a foreign worker to fill the employer’s labour or skill shortages temporarily. ESDC/Service Canada will first assess the employer’s eligibility, whether they have conducted sufficient efforts to recruit Canadians or Permanent Residents from the local labour market, and whether the foreign worker will have a positive impact on the local labour market. If the above factors are satisfied, ESDC/Service Canada will issue a positive LMIA confirmation to the employer.
After the positive LMIA is issued to the employer, the foreign worker could then file the work permit application within 6 months.
General LMIA Requirements for Employers:
- – Must have a legitimate business.
- – Conduct at least 3 different recruitment activities for a minimum of 4 consecutive weeks before submission.
- – Offer the foreign workers the prevailing wage for the intended occupation.
The LMIA process may be different depending on various factors such as wages and occupations. If the employee is offered a wage that is at or above the provincial or territorial median hourly wage, then the LMIA application is classified under the high-wage category; otherwise, the LMIA application will be classified under the low-wage category. The following chart briefly highlights the difference between the two types of applications.
After obtaining the LMIA based work permit, the foreign worker can legally work in Canada. Also, they will receive an additional 50 points (200 points under NOC 00) to their Express Entry (EE) system which will increase the chance for securing an Invitation to Apply.
During the processing of an LMIA application, Service Canada officer will conduct a phone interview with the sponsoring employer to evaluate the application. These phone interviews are treated very seriously by the officer as they strictly assess whether the employer has made maximum genuine efforts to search for Canadian workers but was unsuccessful. They also need to be satisfied that hiring this foreign worker will not negatively impact the Canadian labour market. An employer who is unexperienced in LMIA applications may unfavorably answer the officer’s question and jeopardize an otherwise strong application. Therefore, finding a professional to help you become fully prepared with your application, including preparing an employer for the phone interview, is essential to increase your rate of success.
Vancouver BC Immigration Lawyers
If you are an employer who would like to hire a foreign worker to work for your company, or you are a foreign national looking to increase your CRS score in your EE system, talk to us by calling 1-877-602-9900 and MacLean Law’s immigration team will resolve matters for you professionally.
