Overview
Understand the pathway before you act.
Eligibility, timing, evidence and risk should be assessed together before an application or response is prepared.
Hiring a foreign worker usually begins by identifying whether the position requires a Labour Market Impact Assessment or fits a recognized LMIA exemption. That choice controls the employer process, recruitment record, government portal and supporting documents. It should be made before the worker applies for a work permit.
Labour Market Impact Assessments
An LMIA asks Employment and Social Development Canada to assess the employer, job offer and likely labour-market effect. The correct stream depends on the position, wage, occupation, location, duration and purpose of the application.
The employer may need to establish business legitimacy, recruitment efforts, prevailing wage, working conditions and ability to meet program obligations. A positive LMIA supports but does not guarantee the worker’s separate work permit or admission to Canada.
High- and low-wage LMIAs
The offered wage is compared with the current provincial or territorial threshold to determine the high- or low-wage stream. Thresholds can change. The offered wage must also meet the applicable prevailing-wage rules; increasing a wage solely to select a stream may not satisfy the program.
High- and low-wage streams have different recruitment, transition, cap, duration and workplace requirements. The current government table and stream instructions should be checked at filing.
Global Talent Stream
The Global Talent Stream remains an LMIA stream within the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Category A generally requires a referral by a designated partner for unique and specialized talent. Category B addresses eligible positions on the current global talent occupations list.
The employer must develop and maintain a Labour Market Benefits Plan and meet the stream’s business, wage and compliance requirements. A service standard is not a guarantee of a decision or work permit within a particular time.
Permanent-residence-supporting LMIAs
Some employers use the permanent-resident stream to support a skilled worker’s permanent-residence application. The job, employer, worker and immigration program must be coordinated. An LMIA does not itself create permanent residence, and current Express Entry rules determine whether and how a job offer affects the worker’s application.
Where temporary work authorization is also requested, the LMIA and employment duration must support that separate process.
LMIA-exempt hiring
The International Mobility Program contains specific LMIA exemptions based on international agreements, reciprocal benefits, significant benefit, intra-company transfers and other defined categories. An exemption must be supported by its actual legal requirements; an employer cannot simply choose to proceed without an LMIA.
In most employer-specific cases, the employer submits an offer through the Employer Portal and pays the required compliance fee before the worker applies. The occupation, duties, wage, location and duration in the portal must match the intended employment and work-permit record.
Worker work-permit support
The employer process and worker application are connected but distinct. The worker must still establish eligibility, admissibility and the ability to perform the job. Family applications, status in Canada, biometrics, medical requirements and visa or travel documents may need separate planning.
Recruitment or representative fees that the employer is prohibited from recovering must not be shifted to the foreign worker. Provincial employer registration or recruiter rules may also apply.
How Beyond Borders Law can help
- Select the appropriate LMIA or LMIA-exempt route.
- Prepare accepted LMIA applications and Employer Portal submissions.
- Review recruitment, wage, business-legitimacy and compliance records.
- Coordinate the employer process with the worker’s work-permit application.
- Address a returned, refused or compliance-sensitive employer file.
Gather corporate and business-legitimacy records, job description, occupation, wage and work location, recruitment record, workforce information, candidate qualifications, proposed employment agreement, prior LMIA or Employer Portal history, and provincial registration where applicable.
Official information: ESDC LMIA guidance, current wage-stream table, Global Talent Stream and IRCC LMIA-exempt hiring guidance.
This guide provides general information. An inquiry does not create a lawyer-client relationship. Advice and representation begin only after the firm confirms scope and a retainer is completed.