Hire Foreign Workers — LMIAs
Hiring Foreign Workers Through the LMIA Process
The Labour Market Impact Assessment process has become significantly more restrictive in recent years. Low-wage LMIAs are increasingly difficult to obtain, compliance enforcement has intensified, and the consequences of getting it wrong are severe. The MyVisa Team guides employers through the LMIA process, from application strategy to compliance management.
Tell us about your hiring needs and we will advise on the right pathway.
What Is an LMIA and When Do You Need One
Understanding the LMIA, what it is, what it does, and when it applies
A Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) is a document issued by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) that an employer must obtain before hiring a temporary foreign worker for most positions in Canada. The LMIA assesses whether hiring a foreign worker for a specific position will have a positive or neutral impact on the Canadian labour market, confirming that a genuine effort was made to recruit Canadian citizens and permanent residents first, and that no qualified Canadian worker was available.
To get an LMIA, you must submit an application and all the necessary supporting documents. Your application will be assessed to validate the legitimacy of the business and the job offer, and the impact hiring a temporary foreign worker would have on the Canadian labour market.
A positive LMIA is not a work permit. It is the employer's authorization from ESDC to offer the position to a specific foreign worker. The worker must then apply separately to IRCC for a work permit using the positive LMIA as the basis for their application. The MyVisa Team assists both stages, the LMIA application to ESDC and the work permit application to IRCC.
Not all foreign workers require an LMIA. There are significant categories of workers who can be hired through LMIA-exempt pathways, including intra-company transfers, USMCA-covered occupations, and workers covered by international agreements. If an LMIA-exempt pathway exists for the worker you want to hire, it is almost always faster and less administratively demanding than the LMIA process. The MyVisa Team will always assess the full range of available pathways before recommending LMIA.
The LMIA landscape has changed significantly since 2023
Policy changes introduced since 2023 have made the LMIA process materially more restrictive, particularly for low-wage positions. Cap limitations, enhanced recruitment requirements, and more rigorous compliance enforcement have all raised the bar for employers seeking to use the TFWP. If you successfully obtained LMIAs in previous years under more permissive conditions, your experience may not reflect the current reality.
High-Wage vs Low-Wage, The Critical Distinction
Whether the position is high-wage or low-wage determines almost everything about the LMIA process
The single most important factor in an LMIA application is whether the position is classified as high-wage or low-wage, determined by whether the offered wage is at or above the median hourly wage in the province or territory where the work will be performed. This distinction affects the recruitment requirements, the cap rules, the maximum employment duration, and the compliance obligations that apply to the employer.
The MyVisa Team focuses on high-wage and low-wage LMIAs for employers with genuine skilled labour needs, not on specialized agricultural or seasonal streams. The following is what every employer needs to understand about each stream.
High-Wage LMIA
Employers submitting an LMIA application for a high-wage position may request an employment duration of up to three years. The employment duration must align with the employer's reasonable employment needs.
High-wage positions are those where the offered wage is at or above the provincial or territorial median hourly wage. High-wage positions include the Global Talent Stream, the high-wage stream including caregiver positions, the agricultural stream, and applications to support permanent residency.
Recruitment requirements for high-wage positions require employers to conduct genuine efforts to hire Canadians and permanent residents, including advertising the position for at least four consecutive weeks within the three months before applying for the LMIA. The advertising must reach the appropriate audiences and must be documented in a way that demonstrates genuine recruitment effort.
High-wage LMIAs are the primary LMIA pathway for skilled positions in technology, healthcare, professional services, and other sectors where qualified Canadian workers may be in genuine short supply. For employers in these sectors, the high-wage stream remains a viable and important tool, though the documentation and recruitment requirements are demanding and must be met precisely.
Low-Wage LMIA
The low-wage program allows employers to hire temporary foreign workers for a maximum of one year. The employment duration must align with the employer's reasonable employment needs.
Low-wage positions are those where the offered wage is below the provincial or territorial median hourly wage. The low-wage stream has undergone the most significant restrictions in recent years. Cap limitations now restrict the proportion of an employer's workforce that can be filled by temporary foreign workers in low-wage positions, and these caps have been tightened substantially since 2023.
Recruitment requirements for low-wage positions are more extensive than for high-wage positions, employers must advertise for at least eight consecutive weeks within the three months before applying for an LMIA. The recruitment evidence must be comprehensive and must demonstrate that genuinely no qualified Canadian worker was available for the position.
For most employers, low-wage LMIAs are significantly more difficult to obtain in the current environment than they were before 2023. The cap restrictions, the enhanced recruitment requirements, and the increased scrutiny of low-wage applications by ESDC mean that employers who relied on low-wage LMIAs in previous years need to reassess their workforce strategy, including whether LMIA-exempt pathways, Provincial Nominee Programs, or other immigration mechanisms might better serve their needs.
The low-wage cap has been significantly tightened
Employers in certain sectors and with certain workforce compositions may find that their ability to obtain low-wage LMIAs is restricted or eliminated by current cap rules. Before investing time and money in a low-wage LMIA application, get a legal assessment of whether your business is eligible under current rules. The MyVisa Team will tell you honestly if the pathway is not viable.
The LMIA Application Process, What Employers Must Do
What a well-prepared LMIA application requires, and where employers run into trouble
The LMIA application process is managed by ESDC through the LMIA Online portal. While the application system is online, the substance of what is required is extensive, and applications that are incomplete, that contain inaccuracies, or that fail to demonstrate genuine recruitment effort are refused without refund of the application fee.
Step 1 — Confirm your eligibility and assess the right stream
Before applying, confirm that your business and the position are eligible under the applicable stream — high-wage or low-wage — and that no refusal-to-process measure applies to your application. Some employers and some positions are currently ineligible for LMIA processing due to compliance history or program-specific restrictions.
Step 2 — Complete recruitment and document it thoroughly
This is the most common source of LMIA application failures. For high-wage positions, you must advertise for at least four consecutive weeks within the three months before applying. For low-wage positions, the requirement is at least eight consecutive weeks. The advertising must use the required channels, reach the appropriate audiences, and generate genuine efforts to hire Canadians and permanent residents. Every advertisement, every response received, and every reason for not hiring each Canadian applicant must be documented.
Step 3 — Gather business legitimacy documentation
Every LMIA application must demonstrate the legitimacy of the business and the genuineness of the job offer. This includes your most recent business license, your most recent CRA tax documents, and proof of your recruitment and advertisement efforts. For employers in British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, or Nova Scotia, a provincial employer registration certificate must be obtained before the LMIA application is submitted.
Step 4 — Submit the application and pay the fee
Your LMIA application can be submitted up to six months before the expected job start date. The processing fee, currently $1,000 per position for most applications, is non-refundable regardless of the outcome.
Step 5 — Respond to ESDC requests and await the decision
ESDC may request additional information during processing. Responses must be prompt and complete. A delayed or incomplete response can result in a refusal.
Step 6 — Once the positive LMIA is issued, support the worker's work permit application
Once ESDC issues a positive LMIA, the foreign worker applies to IRCC for a work permit. The MyVisa Team assists workers through this stage as well, ensuring the work permit application is complete, consistent with the LMIA, and submitted correctly.
Employer Compliance, Your Ongoing Obligations After the LMIA is Issued
A positive LMIA is not the end of the employer's obligations. It is the beginning of them
ESDC takes the program's integrity very seriously and has mechanisms in place to verify employer compliance. Employers who fail to comply with all program requirements will be subject to consequences.
Employer compliance obligations under the TFWP are extensive, actively monitored, and enforced with real consequences. The MyVisa Team provides consulting and assistance to employers facing compliance reviews, and advises employers on how to structure their TFWP hiring to remain in compliance throughout the employment period.
The wage must be paid and reviewed annually
You must pay the foreign worker the wage stated in the LMIA, which must meet the prevailing wage for the occupation and region. This wage must be reviewed and updated at the start of employment and annually throughout the employment period. Only guaranteed base wages count, bonuses, commissions, tips, and profit sharing are excluded from the prevailing wage calculation.
The working conditions must match the LMIA
The working conditions, job duties, hours of work, location, and other terms, must substantially match what was described in the LMIA application. Material changes to the conditions of employment require ESDC to be notified and may require a new LMIA.
You must provide a signed employment agreement
A written employment agreement covering the occupation, wage, and working conditions stated in the LMIA must be provided to the worker before their first day of work.
Health insurance must be provided
For any period the worker is not covered by provincial or territorial health insurance, you must arrange and pay for private health insurance covering emergency medical care. This cost cannot be recovered from the worker.
Workplace safety coverage must be in place from day one
The worker must be covered by provincial or territorial workplace safety insurance from their first day of work, or by a private plan providing equivalent or better coverage.
Recruitment fees cannot be charged to workers
The costs of the LMIA application, including fees paid to a third-party representative, cannot be charged to or recovered from the worker. This prohibition is absolute. Violation results in a negative LMIA on any future application.
Records must be kept and made available
Complete employment records, demonstrating compliance with every obligation above, must be maintained throughout the employment period and for a period after it ends. These records must be made available during compliance inspections.
ESDC Compliance Inspections, What Employers Need to Know
Compliance inspections are real, they are increasing, and the consequences of non-compliance are severe
ESDC conducts compliance inspections of employers in the TFWP, both randomly and in response to complaints from workers or referrals from other government agencies. An inspection can be initiated at any time during or after the employment period.
During an inspection, ESDC will review payroll records, employment agreements, time sheets, recruitment documentation, and any other records relevant to the employer's compliance with their LMIA obligations. Officers may also contact the foreign worker directly to assess whether the conditions of employment match what was described in the LMIA.
The consequences of a finding of non-compliance include administrative monetary penalties ranging from $500 to $100,000 per violation, public naming on the Government of Canada's list of non-compliant employers, a ban of one to two years from using the TFWP, and in the most serious cases, a permanent ban from the program.
Non-compliance findings follow employers. A history of non-compliance, even from years earlier, affects the assessment of future LMIA applications and can result in enhanced scrutiny or refusal. The MyVisa Team provides compliance consulting to employers who are facing inspections, who have received notice of a compliance review, or who want to proactively assess and address any gaps in their compliance documentation before an inspection occurs.
If you receive notice of a compliance inspection, contact us immediately
An ESDC compliance inspection is not an administrative formality. It is a legal proceeding with significant potential consequences. The MyVisa Team advises employers through compliance inspections, reviewing your records, identifying any issues, and representing your interests throughout the process.
How the MyVisa Team Assists Employers
The MyVisa Team provides end-to-end assistance to employers using the LMIA process, from initial strategy assessment through to compliance management.
We assess whether LMIA is the right pathway for the position you want to fill, or whether an LMIA-exempt pathway would be faster and more appropriate. We determine the correct stream, high-wage or low-wage, and advise on current cap restrictions and eligibility. We prepare and file the LMIA application to ESDC, including the recruitment documentation and business legitimacy materials. We manage responses to ESDC requests and work toward a positive LMIA decision. We then assist the worker in preparing and filing their work permit application to IRCC. And we advise employers on their ongoing compliance obligations, conducting compliance reviews, identifying gaps, and providing practical guidance on record-keeping and employment practices.
For employers who are already in the TFWP and facing a compliance inspection or review, we provide assessment, advice, and representation throughout the process.
Need to hire a foreign worker through the LMIA process? Start here
The LMIA landscape has changed significantly in the last two years. What worked before may not work now, and the consequences of getting it wrong are more serious than ever. Start with a free assessment and the MyVisa Team will review your hiring needs, advise on the right pathway, and tell you honestly what the LMIA process looks like for your specific situation.
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