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A Labour Market Impact Assessment (French: étude d’impact sur le marché du travail, LMIA) is a document that an employer in Canada may need to receive prior to hiring a foreign worker.
The LMIA program has been noted to be used by fraudulent actors to sell jobs to temporary foreign workers, with them being sold a work permit in exchange for money, in which they buy access to work in Canada.
Background
When a Canadian employer is seeking to hire a foreign worker, it must first be determined if an LMIA is needed or if the position is LMIA-exempt before applying for a work permit. A work permit allows a foreign worker to legally work in Canada and is granted by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada if applying online or in paper, or by Canada Border Services Agency if applying in person at a port of entry. If the position that the employer is hiring the foreign worker for requires an LMIA, it must be confirmed before a Canadian employer can hire a temporary foreign worker in Canada. A positive LMIA, sometimes called a confirmation letter, indicates that there is a need for the temporary foreign worker and that no Canadians or permanent residents of Canada are available to do the job. To obtain an LMIA, an employer must send an application to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program administered by Employment and Social Development Canada.
There are some exceptions which allow a Canadian employer to hire a foreign worker and for the foreign worker to be issued a work permit without an LMIA confirmation. There is a list of LMIA-exempt jobs and their corresponding exemption codes provided by the Government of Canada.
History
With the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting high unemployment rate in Canada, Service Canada has delayed the processing of certain types of LMIA applications. As of August 2020, there is an indication that the Owner Operator category of LMIA processing has resumed. On April 1, 2021, Service Canada removed the Owner Operator advertising variation and the alternative approach for a business owner now requires an advertising period and can be successfully navigated as a Self-Employed LMIA.
References
- "What is a Labour Market Impact Assessment?". ircc.canada.ca. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. 7 November 2012.
- "Alarming job scam targets temporary foreign workers in Alberta » LPEN". 2024-07-30. Retrieved 2024-09-20.
- Canada, Service (10 February 2020). "Glossary". Government of Canada. Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
- Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (2007-03-31). "Find out if you need a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) and how to hire a temporary foreign worker". aem. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
- "Labour Market Impact Assessment application processing delays". aem. Employment and Social Development. 2018-10-29. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
- McKinsley, Sean (2020-07-25). "Special Bulletin: Service Canada Resumes Processing of Owner Operator Applications - Congratulations Clients for 2 Approvals This Week". Canada Immigration & Visa Services. Archived from the original on 2023-06-01. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
- Canada, Employment and Social Development (5 January 2016). "Variations to minimum advertising requirements". www.canada.ca. Government of Canada. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
- "Entrepreneurs or self-employed individuals seeking only temporary residence – [R205(a) – C11] – International Mobility Program". www.canada.ca. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. 21 November 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
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