Labour Market Impact Assessment

The LMIA is issued by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). It requires showing that there is a need for a foreign worker to fill a local job. To get a positive LMIA, it is important to fill the application accurately and effectively with the right process. A small detail or omission in an LMIA application can cause a negative decision and subsequently refusals or delays.

LMIA is followed by a work permit which is an employer-specific. A work permit is an authorization
granted by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) that allows a Foreign National to work
legally in Canada.
 
 

Some of the work permits are LMIA-exempt. Those occupations include:

​

• Guest lecturers

​

• Visiting professors

​

• Religious Workers

​

• Post-doctoral fellows

​

• Research award recipients

​

• Eminent individuals (e.g., leaders in various fields)

​

• Intra-Company Transfers

​

• Self-Employed Persons

​

• Spouses/Common-Law partners or dependents of Workers or Students (not in all cases, conditions apply)

​

• Permanent Resident Applicants under special Categories

​

• Humanitarian applicants under specific Categories

​

​

​

Note: Being exempt from the LMIA requirement does not mean you are exempt from a work permit.  All categories on the LMIA exemption list still require the individual to obtain a work permit to legally working Canada.

​