I’d like to talk to you about some recent important changes that have been made to the work permit application process. Specifically, Labor Market Impact Assessment or LMIA. The LMIA has commonly replaced the LMO, Labor Market Opinion, and this is one of the first steps in the work permit approval process. In order to have a valid work permit issued, we must first go and obtain a positive LMIA.
Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIA)
There are some key points to keep in mind when going to submit to LMIA; one, being as a Canadian employer, you will need to see if you are eligible and/or qualified to apply. Now, once this has been determined that a foreign national can, in fact, be hired by this Canadian employer, a National Occupational Classification Code, or NOCC Code, needs to be assessed to further supplement the application and basically show the tasks and duties that need to be fulfilled.
Requirement for LMIA
As a minimum requirement for this LMIA, there’s a few things that need to be outlined. One of them being, that this position that is being offered to the foreign worker was firstly made available to the Canadian worker, as it had been advertised for at least one month in three various sources; one of those sources could be online, another one could possibly be in an ad in a newspaper.
Another thing that needs to be outlined and demonstrated in the LMIA is that there is, in fact, a need for this foreign national to fill this position. Also, you would need to go and demonstrate that by hiring this foreign national, it is not going to have a negative impact on Canada’s labor market.
The next step would be the job offer from the employer and this would basically state that the position being offered is for full-time, permanent, paid work. And once you go and you get your positive LMIA, you are then able to go and apply for the work permit, through the Express Entry Program.
Challenges of the LMIA
The LMIA does have its challenges; some of them being the amount of time and work that go into its completion. Unfortunately, this can sometimes deter an employer from wanting to participate in hiring foreign nationals altogether. Now, this is technically complex and it is a process. Therefore, there is room for error if it is not completed properly.
If you would like to go and find out more information about the LMIAs and how we here can help you, do call and book your consultation today. If you like this video, please also click the “Like” button and do visit us at our website: www.visaplace.com. I’d like to thank you for watching. Take care!
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President & CEO
Michael Niren
Mr. Niren is CEO of VisaPlace LLC and the President and Managing Partner of VisaPlace Legal Canada, an immigration law firm based in Toronto, and VisaPlace Legal US a law firm registered in The District of Columbia, USA. Mr. Niren is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Canadian Bar Association’s Citizenship and Immigration Section, American Lawyers Association, and an Associate Member of the American Bar Association.
