If you want to work in Canada, you have two options: apply for permanent residency and come to Canada on a PR visa after receiving a job offer, or look for a job once you arrive. The second alternative is to find a job and then apply for a work permit.
If a Canadian company is interested in hiring you, it must first get a Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). A foreign worker applying for a work permit must provide a copy of the LMIA with his application.
What is LMIA?
The term LMIA refers to Labor Market Impact Assessment. Under the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Express Entry system, Canadian employers who want to hire qualified foreign workers and support their permanent residence visa application can make a job offer to the selected employee.
Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) issues a Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) (ESDC).
LMIA certification, in simple terms, is a process that proves that Canadian companies are unable to find the suitable individual to fill a given position/role in Canada, and so are permitted to hire a foreign worker.
If a Canadian company wants to hire a foreign worker and obtain the LMIA, they will be needed to furnish a range of details. They must provide specific information about the position for which they seek to hire a foreign worker, such as the number of Canadians who applied, the number of Canadians who were interviewed, and thorough explanations for why the Canadian workers were not hired.
Types of LMIAs
There are two types of LMIAs offered for:
- Temporary job offers
- Permanent job offers
For permanent work offers, the LMIA is a two-year permit with a two-year extension.
Temporary employment offer LMIAs are only valid for two years and cannot be extended.
The maximum duration of a temporary job offer is two years, and it cannot be extended.
The LMIA is one of several mechanisms in place to protect the interests of the local Canadian labor market, and it is required to ensure that hiring a foreign worker has no negative impact on the labor market.
Changes that will impact LMIA policy for 2022
Canada is set to make changes to the way occupations are classified by fall 2022. This will impact the LMIA policy for 2022 as well.
Canada’s technique for classifying jobs is the National Occupational Classification (NOC). The NOC is reviewed every year and updated every five years to adequately reflect Canada’s changing labor market.
The federal and provincial governments use the NOC to manage skilled worker immigration programs and the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, it is critical for Canadian immigration. As a result, an immigrant or temporary foreign worker must meet the program’s NOC eligibility conditions before applying. Express Entry, for example, requires skilled worker immigrants to show work experience in a NOC that fits within the NOC 0, A, or B skill type group.
The IRCC currently uses the NOC 2016 to determine the eligibility of immigration applicants for skilled worker programs.
According to the IRCC, the federal government intends to be able to implement the new classification system for vocations in “fall 2022.” This, it claimed, will give IRCC time to notify stakeholders of the changes and roll out the new system across all of its programs. In order to guarantee consistency throughout the work permit application process, IRCC is harmonizing the rollout with ESDC.
This will have an impact on the LMIA policy for 2022.