LMIA

A Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) is a document that an employer in Canada may need to get before hiring a foreign worker. A
positive LMIA will show that there is a need for a foreign worker to fill the job. It will also show that no Canadian worker or PR is available to do
the job. A positive LMIA is sometimes called a confirmation letter.

If the employer needs an LMIA, they must apply for one.

- Employer is responsible to pay the LMIA fees.
- Employer compliance fee when you submit the offer of employment using the Employer Portal.
Who needs a LMIA?
Employers of some types of temporary workers need to get a LMIA before the worker applies for a work permit. An LMIA is a document from
Employment and Social Development Canada that gives the employer permission to hire a temporary worker.
The employer, you need an LMIA if:
Most employers need an LMIA before they can hire a temporary foreign worker. Before you start the hiring process, you must determine if you
need an LMIA.
An LMIA confirms:
- There is need for temporary foreign worker.
- no Canadians or PR are available to do the job.

How to get an LMIA

You’ll need an LMIA from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)
The LMIA application process depends on the type of program you’re hiring through.
- High-wage workers position
As an employer, you must comply with all the TFWP requirements for the position you are requesting. Learn about employer compliance and
the possible consequences of non-compliance. You must also ensure that the employment you want to offer to a TFW is for a Full-Time
position which means that is has to be for a minimum of 30 hours of work/week.
Processing fee:
Families or individuals seeking to hire a foreign caregiver to provide home care for individuals requiring assistance with medical needs are
exempt from paying the LMIA fee. Families or individuals with a gross annual income of $150,000 or less, seeking to hire a foreign caregiver to
provide childcare in their home to a child under 13 years of age, also qualify for the processing fee exemption. 寻求雇⽤用外国护理理⼈人员为需要医
疗协助的个⼈人提供家庭护理理的家庭或个⼈人，可免于⽀支付LMIA费⽤用。年年总收⼊入在150,000美元或以下的家庭或个⼈人，寻求雇⽤用外国护理理⼈人员在家中
为13岁以下的⼉儿童提供照顾，也有资格获得处理理费豁免。
You must pay $1,000 for each position requested to voter the cost of processing your LMIA application.
- The processing fee will not refunded if your application is withdrawn, cancelled or if your LMIA is negative. Refunds are issued only if a fee
was collected in error.
- The processing fee cannot be paid by nor be recovered from the temporary foreign workers.

Wages
Wages offered to TFW should be similar to wages paid to Canadian and PR employees hired for the same job and work location, and with
similar skills and years of experience. You must pay the prevailing wage which is defined as the highest of either:
- The median wage on Job Bank
- the wage that is within the wage range that you are paying your current employees hired for the same job and work location, and with the
same skills and years of experience.

Application process
Your LMIA application can be submitted up to 6 months prior to the expected job start date.
Apply via LMIA Online Portal. You must complete, sign and send it along with all required documentation and the processing fee, to the
appropriate Service Canada Processing Centre.

Employer Requirements
- Be actively engaged in a business that : legally exists and operates, provides goods or services, has a physical work location in Canada
where the employee will work, and can provide stable employment for the period requested.
- Must prove cannot hire Canadian or PRs by showing advertising and interview records. Must interview all people who meet the
requirements and justify for not hiring them.
- The company must not be sex industry related, on the non-compliance list, in default of a non-compliance financial penalty.
- The job must not be on the list of low wage positions that will not be processed, region with 6%+ unemployment, certain food and retail
positions, or above a cap.
- Cooperate with an -on-site inspection.
- Must pay the employee not less than agreed to on the Offer of Employment.
- Any deductions must be agreed to on the Offer of Employment.
- Any changes in the work conditions that negatively affect the employee require a new work permit.
- If the employer is unsure if they are violating the terms of employment, they can voluntarily disclose information to ESDC. 如果雇主不不确定他
们是否违反了了就业条款，他们可以⾃自愿向ESDC披露露信息。

An employer can fail the ESDC on-site inspection by:

- Not proving the employee conducted the tasks on the job offers or was paid less than listed on the Letter of Employment.
- Not keeping all documents related to the LMIA and the employee (TFW/IMP) for 6 years.
- Not showing up for a meeting, not providing documents, not answering questions.
- Breaking employment laws, not hiring or training Canadians/PRs, not preventing an abusive workplace (including abuse from 3rd party)
Exceptions to violating work conditions: change in law or collective agreement, economic downturn, situation where the employee was
compensated due to error, fire/flood/etc.

Penalties for breaching requirements: 对违反要求的处罚

- Employer: will be in the non-compliant list, will receive a fine of up to $100,000 and-or a ban on hiring TFWs for 1-10 years or even
permanently without the right to appeal. If an LMIA is revoked for fraud, the ban is 2 years.
- Employee: Misrepresentation under A450 and a 5-year exclusion, will receive a fine of up to $50,000, 2 years in prison.

Procedures:
- The employer submits the LMIA application to ESDC and the Work Permit application to IRCC at the same time.
- If the officer doubts about the job offer, the LMIA/WP application can be refused, or the employer can be contacted to provide clarification
before issuing a decision.
- ESDC issues the LMIA to the employer and IRCC issues an employer-specific work permit to the TFW.
Applications under the TFWP require an LMIA (unless exempted), but under the International Mobile Program (IMP) and LMIA is not required.
Unnamed LMIA: valid 6 months and available for jobs in Seasonal Agriculture, Caregiver, Agricultural, Low and High Wage positions where
there is no TFW yet.

Under the new public and interim policy, due to COVID19, we can apply for a work permit pending the LMIA approval. We can defer the LMIA
and get a temporary work permit and start working for the new employer while waiting for the permanent work permit. 根据新的公共和临时政
策，由于COVID19，我们可以在LMIA批准之前申请⼯工作许可。我们可以推迟LMIA并获得临时⼯工作许可，在等待永久⼯工作许可的同时开始为新雇
主⼯工作。
You received the temporary work permit within 24-48 hours if you still have the status. But for those who have no status and applied for a
restoration, the processing may take from 3-4 months or more due to COVID19. Do not worry because you will be considered Implied Status if
you were able to apply within the time frame from the last day of losing your status to the 90 days grace period. Then you are safe from losing
WP status. 如果你还有身份，你会在24-48⼩小时内收到临时⼯工作许可。但是对于那些没有身份⽽而申请恢复身份的⼈人来说，由于COVID19的原因，
处理理过程可能需要3-4个⽉月或更更⻓长时间。不不要担⼼心，因为如果你能在失去身份的最后⼀一天到90天宽限期的时间内申请，你将被视为隐含身份。那
么你就不不会失去WP身份。
Comparing the application process for high-wage and low-wage LMIAs
Generally speaking, the application process for a high-wage LMIA is more straightforward. Moreover, we expect higher approval rates for this
group. The following tables show the main differences between the two programs. Consequently, you can review the tables to decide for
yourself.
The basic criteria
The following table compares the basic expectations for both options
The recruitment efforts
In this table, you can see how recruitment efforts differ for high-wage and low-wage options. Of course, I have not discussed the details or
exceptional situations.

Other issues that differ between high-wage and low-wage LMIAs

The following table shows those requirements for low-wage LMIA that are not mandatory for the high-wage option. Of course, I highly
recommend discussing the matters with a professional for more information.