Labour Market Impact Assessment
Most Canadian employers need a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) before they can hire a temporary foreign worker for any position they offer. It is worth mentioning, that the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) allows employers to hire temporary foreign workers to fill labor and skill shortages in Canada. Before you start the hiring process in Canada, you must determine if you need a Labour Market Impact Assessment.
In most cases, your LMIA will confirm that there is a need for a temporary foreign worker for this position and there are no Canadians or permanent residents of Canada who are available to do the offered job. You can check if you and the temporary foreign worker you plan to hire are exempt from needing a Labour Market Impact Assessment or work permit. To do this you have to take one of the following steps:
- You can review the available LMIA exemption codes and work permit exemptions. Then you can choose those LMIA exemptions or work permit codes that seem most relevant to your hiring situation and read the detailed description of them. Remember, that if an exemption code applies to you, you will be obliged to include it in your offer of employment.
- Another option is that you contact the International Mobility Workers Unit (IMWU) and get all the information there. But the help of IMWU is available only if you are hiring a temporary foreign worker who is both currently outside Canada and comes from a country whose nationals are visa-exempt.
Remember, that most people need a visa or an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) to travel to Canada, but some nationals may only need their valid passports. You can always check this information online. After you check and learn that you need an LMIA for hiring, you can get it from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC).