What is LMIA?

Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), previously known, as the Labour Market Opinion (LMO). Any Canadian employer who is looking to hire a temporary foreign worker requires the Labour Market Impact Assessment.

When the information is completed and processed the Employment and Social Development Canada will assess that information and will determine if the employer gets a positive LMIA or a negative LMIA.

• LMIA, when received is a letter of confirmation
• Positive LMIA means that a foreign worker is necessary to fill a job since a Canadian worker is not available for that particular job
• Negative LMIA will show that the job the employer is looking to hire a foreign worker can be done by a Canadian worker who is available

Do I Need a Labour Market Impact Assessment?

• For certain jobs a LMIA is required, it is an application that needs to be filled by you and your employer
• The fees regarding the LMIA, which has increased over the years is to be paid by your employer and not you.
• LMIA is only given for a certain period of time and for a specific job. If the job is extended or it is a different job a new LMIA will be required by the Canadian government

When is LMIA not required?

Since LMIA is a legal document given by the government of Canada that allows a Canadian employer to hire a temporary foreign worker instead of a Canadian, it is important that the LMIA be provided. Though there are certain cases where an LMIA is not always required,

The following are the cases where a LMIA may not be required but a work permit will be required.

• Employees hired through the International Mobility Program
• Co-op students
• Exchange programs
• Part of an international agreement
• Entrepreneur
• You are an academic (you work as a professor)
• Refugee status

How we help with the LMIA application

For LMIA there are certain documents that are needed to start the application and a process that one has to go through in order to obtain LMIA. That process can be long and complicated. Economic and Social Development Canada (ESDC) will provide a positive LMIA when they are satisfied with the reasons given by the employer.

What is needed?

• Employer Information
• Details of the job offer, which will include:

o Location

o Duration

o Type of job

o Duties

o Education required

o Skills needed to complete the job

• The employer will also need to show proof that reasonable steps were taken to ensure that they looked for local employees
• Information on the Employee
• Details of them as a Foreign Worker

Does Labour market impact assessment take long?

The time it takes to obtain a positive LMIA from ESDC depends on the application that is sent. If all the requirements are met and all the documents have been provided and the job is a highly skilled one, then the chances of obtaining a positive LMIA early are high. Thus in order to ensure that you have sent the application exactly as ESDC wants it, it is always considered best practice to get a experienced professional to complete the application process.

Why is LMIA important?

• The Labour Market Impact Assessment is important because this shows whether or not foreign workers are needed to better the Canadian economy or if there are Canadians available.
• LMIA is done to ensure that there is no negative impact on Canadian labour market
• Allows the Canadian employer to hire a temporary foreign worker under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program if they are unable to find local workers

Where is the application for the LMIA submitted?

The application for the Labour Market Impact Assessment is submitted to Service Canada, where the information is assessed and it is then determined if you will get a positive or a negative LMIA

What does Service Canada look for with regards to LMIA?

• How much will the foreign employee be paid
• The conditions the foreign employee will be working in
• How will this benefit the Canadian labour market
• That the employer made genuine efforts to obtain a local worker, as in they advertised the job and considered the local applications

We are here to help!

Labour Market Impact Assessment applications can be very time consuming and very detailed. Moreover, they are very time sensitive, the application and all the other documents relating to the application have to be sent in within a certain time frame. If a small piece of the application is missing, it can delay the whole process, which is why at Akrami and Associates we have experience representatives who have dealt with many Labour Markey Impact Assessment application and can help you get the results you need and fast!

What is a Labour Market Impact Assessment?

A Labour Market Impact Assessment, formerly known as a Labour Market Opinion, is a legal document provided by Employment and Social Development Canada that will allow a skilled worker to work in Canada.

A positive Labour Market Impact Assessment will determine that there are no qualified Canadians or permanent residents seeking the position that the skilled worker wishes to have and will allow the skilled worker to apply for a work permit.

What You Will Need

If you wish to come to Canada as a Foreign Worker, you will have to have a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment. This process begins with your prospective employer making an application to Employment and Social Development Canada.

Once an immigration officer issues a Labour Market Impact Assessment, if it is positive, you will be able to apply for a work permit. If your work permit is successful, you will be permitted to work in Canada for the duration set out on your work permit.

Things You Should Know

All applicants applying for the Temporary Foreign Workers Program will require a Labour Market Impact Assessment; exempt occupations are now part of the International Mobility Program

• After the transition from a Labour Market Opinion to a Labour Market Impact Assessment, your employer will now need to put a greater effort into showing that they made an effort to advertise the occupation
• The LMIA relies more heavily on wages offered
• Your employer will need to refer to NOC in order to determine the occupation’s duties and job title
• Your employer should advertise according to the requirements of NOC
• Time will be needed to process a work permit, and so you should consider this in your plans
• The valid length of your Labour Market Impact Assessment determines the length of your work permit

How We Can Help

The Labour Market Impact Assessment is a crucial part of a Temporary Foreign Worker’s application. Without one, you will not be permitted to apply for a work permit and therefore not allowed to legitimately work in Canada.

At Akrami & Associates, we can assist you with:

• Assessing your situation and what is required of you
• Complete any applications involved
• Contact your employer
• Of course, be with you every step of the way

LMIA stands for Labour Market Impact Assessment. It is the opinion provided by ESDC to the officer which enables the officer to determine whether the employment of the foreign worker is likely to have a positive or negative impact on the labour market in Canada. It is a document that an employer in Canada must obtain before hiring a foreign worker. If the LMIA is positive, then this means that the employer may hire a foreign worker due to the fact that there is not any Canadian who will or can fill that job.

Before 2013, employers did not have to pay a thing when applying for LMIA’s, an application fee of $275.00 was introduced and in the span of one year has tripled in price. The employers will have to pay a fee of $1000.00 per position requesting an LMIA. This affects employers in such a way that they will be held accountable for the promises the make in the initial application. The more expensive cost of bringing someone over will make the employers more eager to find Canadian workers.

LMIA applications have gotten much more complicated and require a lot more documentation and statistics. It has gotten to the point that they must give detailed reasoning as to why any Canadian that has applied is not suitable for the job. This is important to you because it makes the employers more reluctant to go through the LMIA process.

The LMIA looks at a few different categories when processing LMIA applications. You should figure out which category you belong to. These categories include:

• Higher-skilled occupations: high-wage
• Higher-skilled occupations: low-wage
• Lower-skilled occupations: high-wage
• Lower-skilled occupations: low-wage

ESDC will not process LMIA applications for certain positions where the employment rate is at six percent or higher. There is a cap on the amount of temporary foreign workers (TFWs) who may be employed in low-wage positions. This cap is 10 percent of TFWs.

What Is The Expedited Process?

Some temporary foreign workers can benefit from much quicker processing times. The expedited processing times would only take 10 business days to obtain your LMIA. To be eligible for this, you must meet certain requirements/criteria.

1. Shortest Duration Occupations

• includes jobs where the employment runs a maximum of 120 calendar days or less
• one must also be receiving a pay of a median or above median wage for the specific province or territory they will be in

    2. Highest Paid Occupations

• this only applies to the top 10 percent of wages in the province or territory
• this job usually only applies to highly skilled, professional jobs; such as top level managerial jobs, senior executives, and physicians.

    3. Highest Demand Occupations

• all the skilled and in-demand trades jobs
• however, they must all be median wage or higher for that specific province or territory
• this list is always changing depending on the demand at the time

All in all, in order to obtain an expedited LMIA you must fall into one of the three categories. The three categories are shortest duration occupations, highest paid occupations, and highest demand occupations. All of which must have a wage set to meet or exceed the province or territory’s median wage.

If you are looking at filing your LMIA application, or have further questions, contact us today!

Has your application been refused?

Do you know why you were refused?

Do you need help?

If your application has been refused, you must be feeling a great sense of disappointment and frustration. You may not even know why you were refused or what you should do now.

Just because you have received a refusal letter does not mean that you should be discouraged. Options may still be available to you. Depending upon the program you applied for, an appeal may be a viable option. This being said, you may also wish to re-file.

The first step that must be taken is to discover the reason why you were refused. Even though you may not have been given a reason, you may request Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) for one. The reason will set out why you were refused and this information will help make a stronger case for your next application.

There are many reasons that may have affected your application the first time. This might include a lack of evidentiary material to satisfy the requirements of the program you entered into; an Immigration officer will need certain documents to show that you have met the demands of the program.

Another issue that usually arises is a lack of explanation. You may have included many documents to prove a matter, however, the documents might not be understood in a similar way by a visa officer, which is why your explanation must be clear and relevant to the documentations you provided.

It is important to realize that the chances of a successful immigration application the second time around will be low, and so it is imperative that you re-file the application accurately in order to get the results you want.

At Akrami & Associates, our experienced legal staff may provide you with the tools required to obtain positive results. Call us today for a consultation so that we may assist you through your time of need.