Labour market impact assessment

The Federal Government of Canada believes that international workers can help businesses meet their labour demands when Canadians and permanent residents are unable to do so. The government supports foreign workers with skillsets in order to help them establish economically in Canada, as well as assist business employers who are experiencing shortages of skilled labourers.

If you want to hire a skilled foreign worker and support their permanent resident visa application, you can make them a job offer through the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Express Entry system. Job offers must adhere to the conditions of one of the economic immigration programs. These programs are:

Employers who want to hire skilled foreign workers through on of the immigration programs above may also want to temporarily hire these workers while their application for permanent residence is being processed. As a result, employers may obtain a dual intent Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) by paying the processing fee. These LMIA’s that have dual intent be used to support the foreign national’s application for a:

Employers applying for an LMIA to hire high-wage positions can request an employment period of up to 3 years. The duration of the employment must be consistent with the employer’s legitimate business demands. (High-wage positions include the High-wage Stream including caregiver positions, Global Talent Stream, Agricultural Stream and Express Entry). In exceptional cases, the duration may be extended for a period of time that is acceptable to the employer and justifiable given the circumstances.

Low-wage positions will be eligible for 2 years of employment, subject to the legitimate demands of the employer.

Employers who wish to hire foreign workers must submit an LMIA application and all necessary supporting documents to Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)/Service Canada.

In short, by hiring a foreign worker, Canadian employers are asking for an opinion on how it would affect Canada’s job market. Therefore, is it critical that businesses follow every step and submit all needed documents.

You need a Job Bank user account to log in and access LMIA Online. If you’re an employer, you may also need a third-party account for authentication purposes.

Complete your one-time registration in Job Bank for Employers by clicking on the link below and following the instructions.“Don’t have an account? Sign up now.” button.

It will take around 10 minutes to complete the registration procedure.

After you create your Job Bank account(s), you can complete an LMIA application on the LMIA Online Portal.

After the LMIA application is approved, the employer will receive an approval letter. This positive LMIA will be valid for 18 months from the date of issue.

The letter will not include the names of the temporary foreign workers for privacy reasons. The names of the workers will appear in Annex B, which is only for employer records and not required to be shared with potential employees when applying for a work permit.

The positive LMIA letter supports both the skilled worker’s application to IRCC for a:

The employer’s responsibilities after they’ve received a positive LMIA include:

Employers may hire Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) in the Agricultural Stream if Canadian and permanent residents are not available.

To be eligible for this stream, employers must meet these two criteria:

The LMIA processing fee does not apply to occupations related to primary agriculture and positions under the National Occupational Classification codes: 0821, 0822, 8252, 8255, 8431, 8432, and 8611

Employers are responsible for paying for the round-trip transportation costs (for example, plane, train, boat, car, bus). These fees must be paid up-front by the employer to avoid being included in any discussions about the employment contract. This procedure helps safeguard TFWs who may be offered alternative travel arrangements in exchange for a job offer.

Employers must maintain records (such as invoices, receipts, flight itineraries, tickets, boarding passes) for a minimum of 6 years documenting all travel expenses paid. Employers may need this information as supporting documentation when applying for a subsequent LMIA or if they are randomly selected for an inspection.

Note: An employer cannot recover the transportation costs from a TFW under any circumstances.

Employers must provide free transportation to and from the on-site/offsite housing location to the work site for TFWs, as required.

Employers must offer TFWs with decent, appropriate, and low-cost housing as defined by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation. The housing can be either on-farm, like a bunkhouse, or off-site in a commercial establishment. Employers must not allow more people to occupy an accommodation than the maximum occupancy permitted.

They must also ensure that sufficient housing will be made available for all TFWs per approved accommodations, from the date of arrival to departure.

Employers supplying:

If there are multiple TFWs living in a home that is leased or owned by the employer, the employer must calculate the rent at market rate. The rent should be shared equally among all TFWs.

Note: The TFW is not required to stay in the workplace’s housing and may elect to depart for private accommodation if desired. The departure date, on the other hand, may need to be notified to the employer or business institution in advance by the TFW.

Employers that wish to house workers on farms or at remote locations must produce evidence of inspection by the appropriate provincial, territorial, or municipal government agency, or a valid private inspector with appropriate certification. If the official housing inspection report does not have a standard form, employers must make sure that Schedule F – Housing inspection report seasonal agricultural worker program and agricultural stream is used to report the results of the inspection.

If you cannot meet the requirements for the housing inspection report, your LMIA application will be considered incomplete.

While a housing inspection report marked “pass with conditions” can still be used to processing an LMIA application, no decision will be made until the employer provides proof that all issues on the report have been resolved.

Employers are responsible for any labor or inspection fees that may be incurred as a result of the housing being examined. Employers are not allowed to recover these costs from the TFW under any circumstances.

If you need more information about the housing inspection. You can find it here.

Employers must cover the costs of health insurance for their employees. The TFW’s health insurance coverage must start from the moment they arrive in Canada until they are enrolled in a provincial or territorial health care plan. The waiting period for each province or territory’s health insurance is available on the Ministry of Health’s websites. The TFW’s private insurance must be comparable to the territorial/provincial health coverage plan.

Note: The TFW is prohibited from reimbursing the employer for health insurance premiums under any circumstances.

Employers must always verify that the TFWs they seek to hire under the TFW Program are covered by their province’s or territory’s workplace safety insurance provider, as required by law. Employers who operate in provinces/territories where the provincial/territorial legislation allows them to select a private insurance plan must comply with the following conditions:

Employers looking for a private insurance plan equivalency should contact the provincial or territorial workplace safety authority.

The employer’s insurance coverage must match the TFWs’ first day of work in Canada, and the costs associated with this insurance cannot be charged to the employees.

Employers who use pesticides or other hazardous chemicals must follow provincial/territorial regulations. Workers must be informed of pesticide and chemical applications, as well as given the following:

An employment contract must be prepared and signed by the employer. If any disagreements or problems should come up between the employer and the temporary foreign worker, this contract will serve as a resolution guide. If the employer and employee cannot resolve the conflict, they may contact their provincial or territorial Ministry of Labour.

As part of the application for a Labour Market Impact Assessment, all employers seeking to hire through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program must provide documentation demonstrating that their business and job offer are legitimate.

In order to represent or assist employers in exchange for compensation, individuals must be authorized under section 91 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). This means they have to be a member who is currently in good standing with one of the following:

To confirm that a specific individual is able to represent you or provide immigration advice, employers should visit Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

You must offer temporary foreign workers the same compensation and benefits as Canadian and permanent resident employees working in the same occupation. Furthermore, any temporary foreign worker in a union must receive the wage set under the bargain agreement.

If you want to bring in foreign non-livestock high-skilled workers, you must check the Streams for High-wage or Low-wage positions to determine the wage.

You must agree to review and adjust the wage of the temporary foreign worker to ensure it meets or exceeds, at all times, the wage rates outlined in the wage tables, or applicable federal/provincial/territorial minimum wage rates, whichever is higher.

Starting January 12, 2022 and continuing until June 30, 2023, Employment and Social Development Canada will not impose minimum advertising requirements on employers applying for a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) to employ foreign temporary workers in primary agriculture.

Employers do not need to follow the Temporary Foreign Worker Program’s minimum advertising requirements or submit documentation supporting their application when applying for a Labour Market Impact Assessment.

Employers who want to hire a temporary foreign worker under the Agricultural Stream must submit an application for a Labour Market Impact Assessment along with all required supporting documentation to Employment and Social Development Canada/Service Canada.

Employers submit evidence of how a TFW would impact the Canadian job market in order to receive an assessment. You need to apply with all of the applicable submitting documentation. It is critical that employers take all the required steps and submit any needed documentation, and that all supporting documents submitted are filled out correctly.

You need a Job Bank user account to log in and access LMIA Online. If you’re an employer, you may also need a third-party account for authentication purposes.

Complete your one-time registration in Job Bank for Employers by clicking on the link below and following the instructions.“Don’t have an account? Sign up now.” button.

It will take around 10 minutes to complete the registration procedure.

After you create your Job Bank account(s), you can complete an LMIA application on the LMIA Online Portal.

The employer will be notified of the LMIA application’s approval in a letter. This positive LMIA will be valid for 18 months from the date of issue.

The letter will not include the names of the TFWs for privacy reasons.It includes information on the job offer, such as pay, working conditions, and employment categories.The names of the workers will appear in Annex B, which is only for employer records and not to be shared with potential employees as it not required when applying for a work permit.

After the employer obtains a positive LMIA letter, they are responsible for:

To apply for the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), employers need to include proof with their Labour Market Impact Assessment application that both their business and job offer are legitimate.

A Transition Plan is necessary to hire temporary foreign workers in high-wage positions, and it must be valid for the entirety of their employment. This plan outlines the actions you’ll take to recruit, retain, and train Canadians and permanent residents, as well as reduce your reliance on the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

If you’ve never created a Transition Plan before, you must do so as directed in the relevant part of the Labour Market Impact Assessment form for high-wage jobs.

If you are reapplying for a Labour Market Impact Assessment and have already fulfilled similar commitments in an earlier Transition plan, you must update the results of your previous Transition plan.

There are some Transition plan exemptions.

Temporary foreign workers under the hig wage stream should be paid the same wage as Canadian and permanent resident employees employed for the same position, working in the same place, with similar abilities and experience.

For the purposes of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, you must pay a wage that is equivalent to the highest of either:

The wage rate being offered only considers guaranteed wages, which does not include:

There are some variations to the wage requirements.

The only languages you can identify as a job requirement in your Labour Market Impact Assessment application and job advertisement are English or French. If you cannot perform the job without speaking another language, you must explain why on the application.

There are some exemptions that have no language requirement.

It costs $1,000 to process each Labour Market Impact Assessment application.

Individuals or families who wish to employ a foreign caregiver to do home care for individuals requiring medical assistance are exempt from having to pay the Labour Market Impact Assessment application processing fee.

Families or individuals with a gross annual income of $150,000 or less who want to employ a foreign caregiver to provide child care in their home to a kid under the age of 13 qualify for the processing fee exemption.

Employers applying to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) must submit proof of their business legitimacy by providing documentation with their Labour Market Impact Assessment application.

As of April 30, 2022, you are limited to employing only 20% of your workforce for low-wage positions at a specific location. This cap is in place to ensure that Canadian or permanent residents take precedence for available employment.

There are some industries that are eligible for a cap limit of 30%.

You must complete the Cap for a low-wage position section of the Labour Market Impact Assessment application to determine if you are within the proportion of temporary foreign workers that you can hire in in low-wage positions at a specific work location.

There are some exemptions to the cap.

Wages offered to low wage foreign workers on a temporary basis should be similar to those paid to Canadian and permanent employees who are hired for the same job, work in the same location, and have comparable skillsets and experience.

You must pay the prevailing wage which is defined as the highest of either:

Employers seeking foreign workers, with a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment, can only do jobs that relate to the occupation they were originally hired for.

The employer is responsible for the expenses related to temporary foreign workers travel, both coming to and leaving Canada.

The temporary foreign workers must not be charged for the travel expenses.

You need to make sure that the foreign workers you want to hire for low-wage positions have private, provincial or territorial health insurance coverage from their first day in Canada.

If provincial or territorial health care is not an option, you must purchase equivalent private health insurance for foreign workers until they are eligible for the provincial/territorial plan.

You must make certain that the temporary foreign workers you want to employ through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program are covered by their province or territory’s workplace safety insurance provider, where required by law.

If employers are allowed to choose a private insurance plan under provincial or territorial law, you must make sure that:

The insurance you purchased must cover the first day of work for temporary foreign workers in Canada and must not be paid for by them.

The only languages you can identify as a job requirement in your Labour Market Impact Assessment application and job advertisement are English or French. If you cannot perform the job without speaking another language, you must explain why on the application.

There are some exemptions that have no language requirement.

To ensure that all parties are aware of their rights and obligations, an employment contract must be prepared and signed by you and the temporary foreign worker. Prior to arriving in Canada, the foreign national must sign the document.

It costs $1,000 to process each Labour Market Impact Assessment application.

Individuals or families who wish to employ a foreign caregiver to do home care for individuals requiring medical assistance are exempt from having to pay the Labour Market Impact Assessment application processing fee.

Families or individuals with a gross annual income of $150,000 or less who want to employ a foreign caregiver to provide child care in their home to a kid under the age of 13 qualify for the processing fee exemption.