The rules have changed a great deal since 2024. The wage threshold separating the two main streams is raised periodically, a refusal to process blocks low-wage applications in Montreal and Laval, and the cap on temporary foreign workers per work location has been tightened.
This guide covers the full LMIA process: the streams, the exemption codes, processing times and what is specific to Quebec. Every rule points to its official page, because thresholds and lists change during the year. Check them on the Temporary Foreign Worker Program website before you apply.
I. Introduction: What Is an LMIA (Labour Market Impact Assessment)?
An LMIA is an opinion issued by Employment and Social Development Canada. It confirms that no Canadian citizen or permanent resident was available to fill the position you want to offer a foreign national. ESDC looks in particular at your job offer, the wage offered, the working conditions and your efforts to recruit Canadian citizens and permanent residents.
The acronym causes confusion, especially in Quebec. Before 2014, the same document was called a Labour Market Opinion, or LMO. In French-language documents, which Quebec employers receive constantly, it appears as the EIMT (évaluation or étude d’impact sur le marché du travail). Service Canada, ESDC and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) all mean the same opinion.
A positive LMIA opens the door to a work permit. A negative LMIA closes it, and the $1,000 you paid stays with the department. ESDC states that LMIA fees are not refunded if the application is withdrawn, cancelled or refused, and they remain non-refundable even when only some of the positions are approved. You can still apply again.
Getting an LMIA therefore depends more on preparation than on speed. Our firm has been guiding Canadian employers through these files for more than thirty years, and you can review our Canadian immigration services to see where the LMIA fits within the broader process.
II. The LMIA Process: The Employer’s Path
The LMIA process belongs to the employer, not the candidate. You file the LMIA application, you pay the LMIA fee, and you answer the ESDC officer. The temporary foreign worker steps in only afterward, for their own work permit application. If you retain our services, we handle these steps for you.
The same logic governs business immigration and compliance. A Canadian employer recruiting internationally takes on obligations that outlast the hire: records to keep, working conditions to respect, and possible inspections for six years. The application is only the first milestone, which is why sound guidance is essential.
A. TFWP or International Mobility Program: When an LMIA Is Required
The Canadian system has two sides. The Temporary Foreign Worker Program, or TFWP, requires an LMIA. The International Mobility Program, or IMP, is LMIA-exempt.
The difference lies in the justification. The TFWP rests on a demonstrated labour shortage: you prove that the Canadian labour market did not meet the need. The IMP rests on a benefit recognized in advance by regulation, whether a trade agreement, an intra-company transfer or a youth program.
Knowing which program your position falls under is the first question to settle. It determines your processing time, your fees and your burden of proof: an LMIA exemption spares you the advertising, while the LMIA requires the full demonstration. Our article on temporary work in Canada places these two routes in the bigger picture.
B. Employer-Specific or Open Work Permit: The Dividing Line
An LMIA leads to an employer-specific (closed) work permit. The foreign worker is tied to one employer, one position and often one specific location. If they change jobs, the process starts over.
An open work permit is not tied to anyone. The spouse of a skilled worker, the holder of a post-graduation work permit (PGWP) or a permanent residence applicant who is waiting for a decision is LMIA-exempt because the regulations exempt them. Permanent residents and Canadian citizens need no work authorization at all.
This dividing line has practical consequences. A candidate who already holds an open work permit does not need your LMIA. Check their status before committing $1,000 and several months of processing. Our guide on how to apply for a work permit in Canada details both paths.
Confirm Your LMIA Requirement With an Immigration Lawyer
An LMIA application filed when none was needed costs $1,000, non-refundable. A 45-minute consultation is often enough to establish whether an exemption applies to your candidate.
III. An Overview of the LMIA Application Steps
Nine steps separate the decision to hire from ESDC’s decision. None can be skipped, and the order matters: recruitment efforts must come before you apply, not after.
A. Determine Whether an LMIA Is Needed and Identify the Right Category
Start by checking whether you actually need an LMIA. If the position falls under the IMP, the question is settled.
If an LMIA is required, identify the exact category: high-wage, low-wage LMIA, agricultural stream, caregivers, permanent residence support or Global Talent Stream. Eligibility criteria and supporting documents vary considerably from one category to another. Choosing the wrong category at this stage is paid for with an LMIA refusal.
B. Recruitment Efforts on Job Bank: Proving No Permanent Resident Was Available
ESDC requires proof that no Canadian citizen or permanent resident was available before you hire foreign workers. The minimum advertising period depends on the stream and has been changed several times since 2024: check the requirements for the high-wage stream or those for the low-wage stream for the rule in force when you submit your LMIA application.
ESDC asks for at least three distinct recruitment activities:
- An advertisement on the Government of Canada’s Job Bank
- A second advertisement on a national platform or a specialized site in your sector
- A third method targeting an under-represented group, such as Indigenous people, persons with disabilities or newcomers
Keep everything: dated screenshots, résumés received, interview notes and the reasons each Canadian candidate was turned down. These supporting documents are the core of the LMIA file, and the officer will ask for them.
C. Complete the LMIA Application Form
The LMIA application form varies by stream. It covers your business, the position, the wage, benefits, working conditions and your recruitment efforts.
Answer with precision rather than caution. A vague job description triggers questions, and every question lengthens the processing time. Match the position to the National Occupational Classification (NOC) code that truly fits it: that code determines the LMIA stream and the applicable median wage.
D. Gather Supporting Documents and Prove Business Legitimacy
ESDC verifies that your business exists, operates and can pay the advertised wage. Expect to provide supporting documents such as your financial statements, tax return, business licence, payroll records and proof of registration.
The department is looking for one thing: business legitimacy. A company created three months before the LMIA application, with no revenue and no Canadian citizen on staff, will be examined closely. That is not an insurmountable obstacle, but it has to be documented rather than ignored.
E. Pay the LMIA Fee and Compliance Fees
The processing fee is $1,000 per position requested. It is non-refundable, including when the decision is negative or you withdraw the application.
Some categories are exempt from the LMIA fee, notably primary agriculture and a list of occupation codes published by ESDC. On the IMP side, no LMIA fee applies, but a $230 employer compliance fee is required for each job offer submitted in IRCC’s Employer Portal. The candidate then pays their own work permit and biometrics fees.
These amounts cover only government fees. Professional fees come on top, and we publish our detailed fees so you can budget for the whole process.
F. Submit the Application to ESDC Through the Online Portal
Applications are filed online. ESDC’s LMIA Online portal receives LMIA applications, and a separate IRCC portal, the Employer Portal, receives LMIA-exempt job offers.
Double-check the business number, the work location address and the median hourly wage used one last time before submitting. These fields generate the most corrections, and a correction restarts the processing time.
G. ESDC Assessment and Potential Interview
An officer reviews the file and may call you. The interview covers your actual operations, your recruitment efforts and the working conditions offered.
The officer weighs six factors, including job creation or retention for Canadian citizens and permanent residents, skills transfer and whether a labour dispute is under way. Prepare answers backed by your supporting documents rather than by memory.
H. Receive the Decision: Positive LMIA or Negative LMIA
A positive LMIA confirms the need and gives you a decision letter with an LMIA number. Send it to the foreign worker: they use it to apply for their employer-specific work permit.
A negative LMIA closes the file. There is no formal appeal, but you can submit a new, corrected LMIA application. Analyzing the reason for refusal then becomes decisive, because resubmitting the same file produces the same result.
I. Processing Times and Priority Processing in 10 Business Days
LMIA processing times vary by stream, location and application volume. ESDC publishes its LMIA application processing times and updates them regularly, without guaranteeing any deadline.
Expedited LMIA processing exists for certain priority categories, with a 10-business-day service standard, including the Global Talent Stream. Priority processing is not offered in every stream or every province. The file must be complete when submitted: a single missing document takes the LMIA application out of priority processing.
Plan generously. The LMIA letter carries two distinct dates that are often confused: the validity period, which is the deadline by which IRCC must receive the work permit application, and the authorized duration of employment, which sets the length of the permit. IRCC explains this distinction and refuses any application received after the validity date. For employees already on staff, start the work permit extension well before it expires.
IV. LMIA Categories and Streams
The wage offered determines the stream, and the stream determines your obligations. The benchmark is the province’s median hourly wage, which is revised periodically.
A. High-Wage Stream and Transition Plan
If the wage offered meets or exceeds the provincial median hourly wage, the application falls under the high-wage stream. ESDC publishes this threshold by province and revises it periodically: check the official wage threshold table before setting your wage, rather than a figure found in an article.
This stream required a transition plan describing how you intended to reduce your reliance on temporary foreign workers, by training Canadian citizens or by supporting the foreign worker’s permanent residence. The requirements have evolved since 2024, but the spirit remains: ESDC wants to see a trajectory, not permanent reliance.
Watch for drift. The threshold rises, and a position classified as high-wage one year can tip over the next without anything changing in your business. That shift is usually discovered at renewal time, often too late.
B. Low-Wage Stream: Foreign Worker Cap, Unemployment Rate and Refusal to Process
Below the provincial threshold, the application falls under the low-wage stream, and that is where restrictions concentrate. A low-wage LMIA is subject to four distinct rules.
- The cap limits the proportion of low-wage temporary foreign workers per work location, with sector exemptions (rule and calculation method at ESDC)
- Applications are not processed in a census metropolitan area with an unemployment rate of 6% or more, a list ESDC updates every three months
- A refusal to process applies to low-wage positions in the Montreal and Laval regions until December 31, 2026
- The authorized duration of employment is shorter in this stream than in the high-wage stream
Regional rates change every quarter, and a region can become eligible again and then lose eligibility a few months later. Check the current list on ESDC’s Quebec page before building a recruitment calendar, not a figure published earlier in the year.
C. LMIA to Support Permanent Residence (PR)
An LMIA can support a permanent residence application instead of a work permit, or both at once. This is known as a dual-intent LMIA.
This route mainly benefits Express Entry candidates, for whom a job offer supported by an LMIA adds points, and Quebec files that go through the Quebec Selection Certificate (CSQ). Our complete PSTQ guide explains how the Quebec Skilled Worker Selection Program treats work experience gained in the province.
D. Specialized Streams: Agricultural Stream, Caregivers and Global Talent Stream
Four streams follow their own rules. The agricultural stream and the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program cover the eligible types of production, with housing and transportation obligations. The in-home caregiver stream governs care for children, seniors and people with medical needs.
The Global Talent Stream targets in-demand occupations in the technology sector and gives access to priority processing.
Employers in the health sector recruit heavily through these routes. We have published an article on helping caregivers immigrate to Canada that details the applicable conditions.
Choose the Right LMIA Stream for Your Hire
The stream is decided before you advertise, not after. We confirm the category, the applicable wage threshold and your exposure to the refusal to process before you commit any fees.
A refused LMIA cannot be undone: it must be resubmitted, with new fees and new processing times.
V. LMIA Exemptions: The International Mobility Program
LMIA exemptions under the International Mobility Program number in the dozens, and LMIA-exempt workers follow a shorter path. No advertising, no proof of a labour shortage, no four-week processing time: the employer submits a job offer in IRCC’s Employer Portal, pays the $230 employer compliance fee and sends the offer number to the foreign worker.
It is the fastest route when it applies: no LMIA processing time and no proof of a labour shortage. You still need to know that an LMIA exemption exists for your position, and most Canadian employers do not.
A. International Agreements, Intra-Company Transfers and Francophone Mobility
Trade agreements account for a large share of exemptions. CUSMA covers American and Mexican professionals, traders and investors. CETA does the same for several European occupations. Intra-company transfers allow a foreign company to move an executive or specialist to its Canadian entity.
Francophone Mobility exempts from the LMIA the hiring of a French-speaking worker for a position located outside Quebec. It has become one of the most widely used routes in the country.
International Experience Canada (IEC) adds the working holiday permit, the Young Professionals category and international co-op internships. These young professionals arrive with a permit already in hand. The post-graduation work permit, for its part, is open and requires no action from the employer.
B. Codes A75, C10, C41 and C61: Reading an LMIA-Exempt Offer
Each exemption carries a code, and the code chosen determines the fees, the duration and whether the application is admissible. An offer submitted under the wrong code leads to a refusal. IRCC maintains the up-to-date index of LMIA exemption codes, and that index is authoritative: the descriptions below are only a starting point.
- A75 covers the bridging work permit, for the candidate who already holds a valid permit and is awaiting a permanent residence decision
- C10 covers significant benefit to Canada, a category that has been narrowed and is closely scrutinized
- C11 is for entrepreneurs and self-employed workers who run their own Canadian business
- C16 identifies Francophone Mobility, for a position located outside Quebec
- C41 covers the spouse of a skilled worker, who obtains an open work permit
- C61 belongs to the intra-company transferee family
The exact conditions for each code are set out in IRCC’s instructions, which are authoritative on the wording to use in the Employer Portal.
Coding changes quickly: codes are retired, others are split, and conditions tighten year after year. A miscoded LMIA exemption ends in a refusal. Confirm the code against IRCC’s index and have it confirmed in writing before you apply.
VI. The LMIA in Quebec: CAQ, Arrima and the Two Levels of Government
Quebec selects its own temporary workers. An LMIA for a position in Quebec is therefore a joint decision: ESDC and the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration (MIFI), Quebec’s immigration ministry, assess the application together.
This two-level system adds a step, a delay and a document. It also adds rules the rest of the country does not have, detailed by the Government of Quebec on its page about the authorizations required to hire a temporary foreign worker (French only). Employers in the Capitale-Nationale region can consult our page dedicated to our services in the Quebec City area.
A. Quebec Acceptance Certificate and the Employer’s Declaration
The Quebec Acceptance Certificate, or CAQ (Certificat d’acceptation du Québec), is the provincial authorization the worker must obtain in addition to the federal permit. For a temporary position, it flows from the temporary selection application filed jointly with the LMIA.
The employer contributes a declaration covering the position, the wage, the work location and its obligations. The worker then files their own application. Our page on the CAQ application describes the required documents and the order of the steps.
B. Facilitated Process and the List of Eligible Occupations
Quebec’s facilitated LMIA process (traitement simplifié) exempts occupations on the list of eligible occupations from the advertising requirement. ESDC publishes the list and its update date: check it every year before planning your hires.
The advertising exemption frees you from nothing else. An eligible occupation located in Montreal or Laval, below the wage threshold, is still subject to the refusal to process low-wage LMIAs. Check both the list and the region before relying on this route.
Prepare Your LMIA Application in Quebec
First meeting free of charge for businesses. We map out your file at both the federal and provincial levels before you advertise the position.
VII. Navigating the Complexities: Getting Legal Advice
An LMIA application is a case built on evidence before it is a form. The difference between a positive LMIA and a negative LMIA often comes down to how the supporting documents are put together.
A. How an Immigration Lawyer Can Help Canadian Employers
An immigration lawyer steps in upstream: choosing the LMIA stream, confirming the applicable median wage, structuring the recruitment efforts and documenting the file for the officer who will read it.
The lawyer also steps in afterward. A refusal gets analyzed, an ESDC inspection gets prepared, a disputed working condition gets defended. Our lawyers represent Canadian employers before the Federal Court of Canada, which consultants cannot do.
The labour shortage is pushing more and more businesses to recruit internationally, a trend we documented in our article on foreign workers and business productivity.
B. Patrice Brunet Avocats: Your Partner in Employer Compliance
Employer compliance does not end with a positive LMIA. You must keep your records for the period set by the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, respect the working conditions you declared and respond to ESDC and IRCC inspections.
Our firm has practised immigration law since 1993 and has handled more than 3,000 files. Our lawyers are members of the Barreau du Québec and work in six languages. You can get to know our team.
Book a Consultation on Your LMIA File
Full 45-minute consultation, $250 plus taxes, with a satisfaction guarantee. You leave with a written strategy rather than a list of forms.
VIII. LMIA FAQ
The questions employers ask us most often.
How Much Does an LMIA Cost in Canada?
The government fee is $1,000 per position, non-refundable whatever the outcome. Some categories are exempt, including primary agriculture. Under the International Mobility Program, no LMIA fee applies, but an employer compliance fee is charged for each job offer submitted. The candidate then pays their own work permit and biometrics fees. In Quebec, there are also the fees for the CAQ application, filed jointly.
How Long Is an LMIA Valid?
The letter includes an “LMIA validity period” field: it is the deadline by which IRCC must receive the work permit application. An application received after that date is refused. Do not confuse this date with the duration of employment stated in the LMIA, which instead sets the length of the permit issued.
Who Applies for the LMIA, the Employer or the Foreign Worker?
The employer, always. The employer files the application, pays the fee and answers the ESDC officer. The worker comes in at the next step, using the decision letter number to obtain their work permit. That is where our support takes the weight off your shoulders.
Can You Hire in Canada Without an LMIA?
Yes, in the cases covered by the International Mobility Program: trade agreements, intra-company transfers, Francophone Mobility, youth programs and open work permits. An LMIA exemption must rest on a specific code from IRCC’s index, not on an impression. Have eligibility checked before signing an employment contract.
IX. Conclusion
The LMIA rewards preparation. Employers who choose the right stream, document their recruitment and plan the calendar ahead get cleaner decisions than those who file in a hurry.
Next Step for Your LMIA Application
Three questions determine what comes next: does your position require an LMIA or fall under an LMIA exemption, which stream does the wage offered fall into relative to the median wage, and does the refusal to process affect your region?
Answering these three questions before you advertise spares you the costliest scenario: a refusal, lost fees and a recruitment process to start over.
First Meeting Free of Charge for Businesses Recruiting Internationally
We meet employers free of charge for a first meeting. Videoconference consultations anywhere in Quebec and across Canada.
