The Labour Market Impact Assessment is often applied by a Canadian employer. Most time is easy to hire a foreign skilled worker who does not have a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) or work permit. The process of obtaining an LMIA application is done by a Canadian employer, not a foreign citizen. Labour Market Impact Assessment was initially called Labour Market Opinion (LMO)
What is the Labour Market Impact Assessment?
The Labour Market Impact Assessment is a document that is being issued by a corporate body known as Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) in order to assess the impact of employing a foreign citizen in Canada.
We have a positive LMIA and negative LMIA. The former shows that there is no permanent resident or Canadian citizen available to fill the position, therefore making the employer hire a foreigner. While a negative LMIA shows a position has to be occupied by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.
Different Types of Labour Market Impact Assessment
We have three kinds of LMIA and here they are:
Regular LMIA:
This is kind of LMIA used to assist an application for the purpose of a work permit through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Once the Canadian employer obtains a regular LMIA, the foreign citizen whose name is boldly written on the LMIA can file an application for a work permit.
Dual LMIA:
Dual LMIA is used to back up both an express entry application and a work permit application. When a Canadian employer acquires a dual LMIA, the concerned foreign citizen for the LMIA will be given 600 CRS points on his or her express entry. This is enough for the foreign applicant to get an invitation to apply for a permanent residence card in Canada.
Express Entry LMIA:
The Express Entry LMIA is used to aid the application for a Canadian permanent residence card through any of the programs that are run under Express entry. Once the Canadian employer gets an Express Entry LMIA, the foreign national whose name is on it will be gifted 600 CRS points.
Labour Market Impact Assessment Eligibility
There are important things one has to know before he or she can be eligible for Labour Market Impact Assessment and they are:
- International student who has completed his or her designated learning from an institution should be qualified for a post-graduate work permit program.
- An employer work permit that has not being abused in relation to any Canadian job. This implies you must have a good working history.
- A dependent family relative of a name who has filed an application for a permanent residence card.
- A temporary resident permit.
- Must be a skilled or talented foreign worker for any Canadian employer to employ.
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Labour Market Impact Assessment Application Requirements
The application of LMIA is submitted in hard copy, through the mail, designated to the Canadian Processing Centre. The following are the basic documents that are used to process LMIA.
Processing Fee:
The sum of $1000 CAD which is not refundable even if the outcome is not positive is being paid. Certain applicants under the Labour Market Impact Assessment for in-home caregivers might not be required to pay this fee.
Authentic business documents:
There should be documents available or present in order to prove the employer is a real business person in Canada such as sales invoices, receipts, cash regular tapes, fee statements, bank deposit slips, and others.
Requirement Efforts:
The employer should provide evidence to show that he or she has made a significant effort to employ permanent residents and Canadian citizens to occupy the position prior to employing a Temporary Foreign Worker.
Wages:
The application for LMIA must have detailed information regarding the wages of TFW. This will help to distinguish the low-wage positions from the high-wage positions and make sure foreign workers are paid the same wages as Canadian citizens.
Workplace Safety:
The temporary foreign workers have equal social amenities as Canadians in equal positions. For this reason, Canadian employers must offer proof that Temporary Foreign Workers will have health insurance plans that will cover them. This is provided by the region where the business is situated.
Labour Market Impact Assessment Application
The verdict on issuing a positive LMIA or not is done by the Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). After this, it is given to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC). The CIC will inform the Canadian employer of the final Labour Market Impact Assessment decision. The ESDC will put some factors into consideration such as
- The usefulness of employing a foreign worker on the Canadian Labour Market.
- Whether employing a foreign worker will help in creating jobs for permanent residents and Canadian citizens.
- Whether the foreign worker will transfer some useful skills and knowledge.
A Canadian employer must submit an application for Labour Market Impact Assessment as early as six months (6-months) due to the proposed date to resume the position. The application for LMIA varies depending on the person’s wages to be employed. It is important for the employer to consult the average hourly wages of their region to know whether the job position is low-wage or high-wage.
Benefits of Labour Market Impact Assessment
The following is a list of benefits of LMIA:
- It shows an employer’s obligation to activities that will yield long-lasting positive effects on the Canadian Labour Market.
- It helps to track a Canadian employer’s total creation in jobs, training and skills investments which will bring immense benefits to the Canadian economy through employing highly skilled foreigners.
- It helps Canadian workers to learn something new that is different from the way they used to operate from co-workers (foreign citizens)
Read also: Top 20 Jobs for Immigrants in Canada without Work Permit
Processing Time for Labour Market Impact Assessment
The Canadian does not have a processing time frame and it cannot be predicted since it is not published online by any department from the government. After a positive LMIA has been given, any temporary foreign worker has a maximum of 6-months to make use of it to file an application for a work permit, because no other extension will be given to him or her. Canadian Employers have only a period of four weeks to advertise the vacant position.
Conclusion:
Labour Market Impact Assessment is an important part of the process for any Canadian employers who want to hire any foreign workers. This depends on the type of jobs, industry sector, and the wages involved. The major thing is to get the right documents for the application and follow the basic instructions in order to achieve it.