By admin (May 21, 2024)

LMIA for Some Foreign Workers in Canada Can Be Processed in 10 Days

LMIA for some foreign workers in Canada can be processed in 10 days as per new guidelines of IRCC. 

Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) operates the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) to help Canadian employers fill skills and labour gaps in their organizations when there are no qualified and available Canadians or permanent residents (PR).

Employers hiring foreign nationals must complete a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) to demonstrate that the hire will either have a neutral or positive effect on the Canadian labour market as a condition of the work permits provided to foreign workers through this program.

LMIAs took over 21 business days to be processed across the seven streams accounted for by IRCC on average, in December 2022. These streams include the Agricultural stream, High-wage stream, Low-wage stream, Permanent Residence stream, Global Talent stream, Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program, and In-home Caregivers stream.  

The processing time of an LMIA can be expedited to 10 business days in the following three streams.

Note: Employers that fall under the following categories must still meet all usual program requirements used to assess TWFP applications despite the expedited processing time.

1.     LMIAs for Workers in High-Wage Skilled Trade Occupations

For employers hiring foreign workers in the following skilled trades, the expedited 10 business day service standard is available – deemed essential for natural resource extraction and infrastructural development, thereby qualifying as vital to the economic growth of Canada – and offering a wage either at or above the average wage in the province or territory where the job is located.

There are many skilled trade occupations under this category alongside the occupation’s National Occupation Classification 2021 (NOC 2021) code like contractors and supervisors, carpenters, machinery operators, ironworkers, sheet metal workers, etc.

2.     LMIA for Workers Being Paid at or Above the Level of the Top 10%

For employers offering foreign workers a wage that meets or exceeds the top 10% of wages earned by permanent residents or Canadian citizens in the specific territory or province of work, the expedited 10-business-day service standard is available. In this category, temporary workers have been deemed highly skilled in their roles with skills that are difficult to find in the Canadian labour force.

In each Canadian province and territory, the median hourly wages effective April 30, 2022 (2019 wages) are as follows:

Alberta (AB): $28.8

British Columbia (BC): $26.44

Manitoba (MB): $23.00

Ontario (ON): $26.06

Quebec (QC): $25.00

Saskatchewan (SK): $25.96

Prince Edward Island (PEI): $21.63

New Brunswick (NB): $21.79

Newfoundland and Labrador (NL): $24.29

Nova Scotia (NS): $22.00

Northwest Territories (NT): $37.30

Nunavut (NU): $36.00

Yukon (YT): $32.00

3.     LMIA for Workers in Occupations with a Short Duration

For employers requesting a foreign worker hire for no greater than 120 calendar days, the expedited 10 business-day service standard is available. The wage offered to the foreign worker in this instance must be at or above the territorial or provincial median in the region where the job is located similar to the first category identified above.

Roles related to handling repairs, utilizing manufacturing equipment or warranties are included in applicable occupations under this category.