Everything You Want To Know About LMIA

Are you having thoughts about settling in Canada via a work visa?

Here’s what you need to know!

Canada is one of the most desirable destinations globally for all the working professionals who are thinking about settling with their family. Here you will get a perfect balance between life and work. The prime advantages for working in Canada are high career opportunities, pathway to Canada PR, affordable cost of living, workplace insurance coverage, Paternal/Maternity leave benefits etc.

What are the documents required for a work visa?

• A valid passport
• Recent Passport sized photographs – 2
• LMIA Letter
• Proof of funds
• Medical Examination proof from registered hospitals
• Educational and work experience
• Application fee receipt

What is an LMIA Letter?

An employee in Canada needs a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) certificate in order to hire an overseas immigrant worker.

LMIA represents the need of employing an immigrant worker to fill the job vacancy. It also represents that no Canadian resident or permanent resident is at hand to do the job. A positive LMIA is sometimes also known as a confirmation letter.

Not every type of work permit requires a LMIA to be issued. There are some job streams that come under LMIA exemptions and the International Mobility Program is designed by the Government of Canada for those jobs. If someone is hiring foreign workers through this program then they need to pay an employer compliance fee, which will generate a unique number in the employer portal, and that number can be used by the worker while filing a visa.

After getting an LMIA letter from the employer, the validity of the LMIA letter is up to 6 months for foreign workers, which means that the foreign worker has to file the visa under this period.

Types of Streams under LMIA

There are mainly 8 types of streams that come under LMIA. The following are the streams:

• LMIA required for low-wage stream: This category is specifically designed for the foreign immigrant workers who are paid less than a provincial or territorial median hourly wage.
• LMIA required for high-wage stream: This category is specifically designed for the foreign immigrant workers who are paid more than a provincial or territorial median hourly wage.

Below is the table which shows the median hourly wages for individual province and territory:

• LMIA required for agricultural workers: Under this stream, the employer can hire foreign workers only for on-farm primary agricultural activity.
• LMIA required for seasonal agricultural workers: Under this stream, the employer mainly hires citizens of approved countries to perform on-farm primary agricultural activity.

However, the key difference between this two streams is, seasonal agricultural worker program hire only foreign workers of some specified countries like: Mexico and Caribbean countries of Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago, while agricultural worker stream hire foreign workers all over the world. Moreover, the seasonal agricultural worker program has a maximum employment period of 8 months, while the agricultural worker program has a maximum employment period of 2 years.

• LMIA required for a Permanent Residency (PR) application: This stream is specifically designed for high salary jobs which come under skill type and level A and B in National Occupational Classification.
• Dual Intent LMIA: This stream has mainly two purposes, one is to support PR and second is to assess work permit application at same time. If a positive LMIA is granted, then the worker will get an additional score of 200 CRS Points in the express entry system for an offer in NOC 00 job, and a score of 50 CRS Points in the express entry system is rewarded for an offer in NOC 0, A or B job. This will augment the worker’s chances to get Canada PR.
• LMIA required for Global Talent Stream: The Global Talent Stream (GTS) Canada permits the Canadian employers to accelerate the hiring of foreign immigrants to fill specialised roles or positionswhere Canadian citizens could not fill the specific occupations. The in-demand highly skilled positions are listed on the global talent occupation list. There are two categories under global talent stream:

• Category A: This category allows inventive firms in Canada to hire specialized foreign workers. It is subjected to a condition that the company must be a Canadian based firm, innovation-oriented, have an objective to grow and step up and also lookout to fill a unique and specialized position.
• Category B: Employers in Canada can employ in-demand highly skilled positions that are listed on the global talent occupation list. Minimum wage requirements must be met too.

• LMIA required for in-home caretakers: Canadians can employ foreign caretakers to take care of people of all the age with certified medical needs in private households. Caretakers must be full time employed (i.e. minimum 30 hours per week). Categories of professions eligible for home child care provider pilot and home support worker pilot are as follows:
• Home child care provider (NOC 4411)
• Home support worker (NOC 4412)

The processing time and fees for different streams under LMIA

The following table lists the information about various streams having different processing time and fee:

Conclusion:

Finding a job in Canada and getting a genuine LMIA is required to file the work permit visa to Canada, and it might be difficult to find an authorized employer for the job.

Note: Beware! Most of the Consultants who are promoting to offer LMIA Letter have no direct link/authority to file work permits for Canada, therefore it is highly advisable to check the authenticity of the LMIA and other documents before applying for work permit visa.

It’s easy to directly get the Canada PR rather than filing for work permit, and Rao Consultants has been known as one of the best immigration consultants for filing Canada PR across western India. We have more than 20 years of experience, and a trust of 2 lakh families. As accredited members of ICCRC, we ensure our clients the highest standards of Canada visa services. The absolute dedication, diligence, and attention have driven us to the top of the list of anyone hoping to settle abroad. Get your Canada PR eligibility checked by the experts.

As per the Government of Canada, authorized consultants who are ICCRC members can only process your PR file. Ask your consultants ICCRC authorization before initiating your PR process.

For more information on Canada PR : Visit www.raoconsultants.com

Statistics Courtesy: https://www.canada.ca/en/services/immigration-citizenship.html