LMIA application Labor Market Impact Assessment
There are different types of work permits available to people who are interested to work in Canada.
Most of the time the Temporary Foreign Worker needs a valid job offer supported by LMIA to be able to apply for a work permit in Canada. This kind of work permit is called a closed work permit.
This is the employer’s responsibility to apply for the LMIA through Service Canada or Employment And Social Development Canada (ESDC).
This approval letter is given to interested employers who can prove to ESDC that hiring a Temporary Foreign Worker will not negatively impact the labor market in Canada.
The processing time for LMIA application and the documents required depends on the type of the LMIA.
In general, there are two types of LMIA. High wage and low wage.
What is the difference between High wage and low age LMIA application
Every province determines a maiden wage. This maiden wage is directly related to the cost of living in that province. If the wage offered to the Temporary Foreign Worker is over that maiden wage determined for that particular province, the LMIA type will be called high-wage and if the wage offered is lower than maiden wage, It will be called a low wage LMIA.
High wage LMIA application
Employers who are looking to hire a Temporary Skilled worker or other foreign workers over the maiden wage of the province have to Apply for the high-wage LMIA.
Canadian employers who apply for this type of LMIA need to provide a transition plan at the time of application.
The purpose of this transition plan is to ensure that the employer will take the necessary steps to reduce the dependency on the Temporary Foreign Worker.
Employers must prove that hiring a Temporary Foreign Worker is their last resource to fill their labor shortage. If there is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident available for the job, then ESDC does not approve the LMIA.
Different important factors to get approval for a Labor Market Impact Assessment LMIA :
- The working condition for the Temporary Foreign Worker
• Whether or not the company applying for LMIA has or had any labor dispute
• If the employer has laid any staff off in the past
• The number of full-time employees, working in the company
• The salary offered to the Temporary Foreign Worker.
• The rate of unemployment in that area
• Whether or not hiring a Temporary Foreign Worker can create a job for Canadians.
• The Skill transferability of The Temporary Foreign Worker.
• The type of effort the employer has made to recruit from the Canadian local labor market
• whether or not the position offered is full time with a predetermined wage or not.
The maiden hourly wage for each province is as follows
| Province/Territory | Wages effective April 1, 2019 ($/hour) |
| Alberta | $52.00 |
| British Columbia | $44.00 |
| Manitoba | $42.00 |
| New Brunswick | $39.00 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | $43.96 |
| Northwest Territories | $58.60 |
| Nova Scotia | $40.87 |
| Nunavut | $55.00 |
| Ontario | $47.12 |
| Prince Edward Island | $37.50 |
| Quebec | $42.56 |
| Saskatchewan | $46.00 |
| Yukon | $48.00 |
The low wage LMIA application
If employers are interested to hire a Temporary Form Worker with a wage lower than the maiden wage for the province, then they have to apply for low-wage LMIA.
There is a limit to the number of low-wage foreign workers each business can recruit. This cap can be calculated by different factors for each business.
Each business with 10 Canadian employees can apply for one low wage LMIA.
For some low wage positions, it is very difficult to get an approved LMIA.
Employers obligations when applying for a low-wage LMIA:
- They must pay for the Temporary Foreign Workers health insurance if he or she is not under the provincial health system.
• give the TFW the employment contract
• Each low wage TFW must be registered with a workplace safety board.
• Pay for the TFW a round-trip ticket to the country of his or her origin.
• Help the TFW to find suitable housing.
Only Canadian employers in certain cities and regions with an unemployment rate of 6% or less can apply for the low wage and lower-skilled LMIA in the trade sector, foodservice sector, and accommodation.
How long the process of obtaining LMIA will take?
The processing time for each LMIA is different, some types of LMIA will be processed is a few weeks, whereas, for certain territories and provinces it may take a few months.
Fast track LMIAs
The shortest processing time belongs to jobs that are in high demand in that certain province or territory. January these positions play a major role in the growth of the Canadian economy and infrastructure development. The list is determined by ESDC.
The list of highest demand occupations are as follows:
| NOC 2011 | OCCUPATION TITLE |
| 7202 | Contractors and supervisors, electrical trades and telecommunications occupations |
| 7204 | Contractors and supervisors, carpentry trades |
| 7205 | Contractors and supervisors, other construction trades, installers, repairers and servicers |
| 7271 | Carpenters |
| 7301 | Contractors and supervisors, mechanic trades |
| 7302 | Contractors and supervisors, heavy equipment operator crews |
| 8211 | Supervisors, logging and forestry |
| 8221 | Supervisors, mining, and quarrying |
| 8222 | Contractors and supervisors, oil and gas drilling services |
| 8241 | Logging machinery operators |
| 8252 | Agricultural service contractors, farm supervisors, and specialized livestock workers |
| 9211 | Supervisors, mineral and metal processing |
| 9212 | Supervisors, petroleum, gas and chemical processing and utilities |
| 9214 | Supervisors, plastic and rubber products manufacturing |
| 9231 | Central control and process operators, mineral and metal processing |
| 9241 | Power engineers and power systems operators |
| 9243 | Water and waste treatment plant operators |
| 7231 | Machinists and machining and tooling inspectors |
| 7233 | Sheet metal workers |
| 7235 | Structural metal and plate work fabricators and fitters |
| 7236 | Ironworkers |
| 7237 | Welders and related machine operators |
| 7241 | Electricians (except industrial and power system) |
| 7242 | Industrial electricians |
| 7243 | Power system electricians |
| 7244 | Electrical power line and cable workers |
| 7245 | Telecommunications line and cable workers |
| 7246 | Telecommunications installation and repair workers |
| 7251 | Plumbers |
| 7252 | Steamfitters, pipefitters and sprinkler system installers |
| 7253 | Gasfitters |
| 7311 | Construction millwrights and industrial mechanics |
| 7312 | Heavy-duty equipment mechanics |
| 7313 | Refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics |
| 7314 | Railway carmen/women |
| 7315 | Aircraft mechanics and aircraft inspectors |
| 7318 | Elevator constructors and mechanics |
| 7371 | Crane operators |
| 7372 | Drillers and blasters – surface, mining, quarrying, and construction |
| 7373 | Water well drillers |
| 8231 | Underground production and development miners |
| 8232 | Oil and gas well drillers, servicers, testers, and related workers |
| 9232 | Petroleum, gas and chemical process operators |
General requirement to apply for LMIA:
1_To apply for LMIA, the language required should be only one of the Canadian official languages which are English or French.
2_There is a 4 weeks minimum advertisement requirement right before applying for LMIA. Employers need to make sure they have advertised in different methods and places to fill the labor shortage before applying to hire a temporary foreign worker.
3_each LMIA application processing fee is $1,000
In some cases, there’s another $100 privilege fee charged by ESDC.
4_to apply for low wage and highway LMIA employer need to attach a transition plan at the time of submitting the application. Transition plan employers must explain
how the employer transit the reliance from TFW to a Canadian citizen or permanent residence.
The employer has to prove what is their plan for hiring and training Canadians in the future.
The employer has to make an effort to turn the TFW to a Canadian permanent resident.
In the case where the employer has submitted a transition plan in the past for any temporary foreign worker here, she has to prove that the previous transition plan has been followed or in progress.
Exception: If the employer is applying for permanent resident LMIA they don’t need to attach any transition plan.
But in anyways employers must attest that they cannot lay off the TFW.
You can read about the latest updates on LMIA application processing time and the LMIA accelerated processing time, and how to obtain a work visa read on our website
We have been helping employers to solve their labor shortage problem and applying for a different type of LMIA application for years.
If you require assistance to apply for LMIA, our team of experts is always pleased to help you with a very competitive rate. Please leave us your basic information and one of our specialist will get back to you as soon as possible
