What a Canadian employer has to do to get an LMIA approved

An employer who says getting your LMIA is a formality has not read the requirements. The Temporary Foreign Worker Program asks an employer to advertise the job properly, pay a wage set by government data rather than by negotiation, prove the business is real and solvent, sign a contract matching the offer exactly, and stay open to inspection for years afterwards.

You are not the applicant, so none of this is your paperwork. It is still worth knowing. An employer who cannot describe these steps is probably not going to complete them, and several of the requirements exist to stop costs being pushed onto you, which only works if you know they exist.

Recruitment is the application

The whole assessment turns on whether Canadians and permanent residents had a fair chance at the job first. Employment and Social Development Canada does not take that on trust. The employer has to show what they advertised, where, for how long, who applied, who was interviewed and why each Canadian or permanent resident applicant was not hired.

That last part is the one employers underestimate. Saying nobody suitable applied is not evidence. The file has to account for the applicants who did apply, in occupation-specific terms. A rejection reason that reads as a preference rather than a requirement, or a requirement that does not appear in the advertisement, turns a genuine shortage into a negative decision.

What the advertising actually has to look like

The rules differ by stream, and the difference is significant. The dividing line is the hourly wage against the published provincial or territorial threshold.

• High-wage positions: at least 3 different recruitment activities, one of which must be a Job Bank advertisement using the Job Match service, plus two more, at least one national in scope. The advertising must run for a minimum of 4 consecutive weeks within the 3 months before the application, and at least one recruitment activity must continue until a decision is issued.
• Low-wage positions: a Job Bank advertisement running for a minimum of 8 consecutive weeks within the 3 months before the application, advertising that targets youth aged 15 to 30, and at least 2 additional methods of recruitment aimed at groups that are underrepresented in the workforce.

The Job Match obligation has teeth. In the low-wage stream the employer must invite every job seeker matched within the first 30 days of the advertisement, rated two stars or more, to apply. An employer who posts on Job Bank and ignores the matches has not met the requirement.

The advertisement itself is prescribed. It has to carry the company name, the business address, the job title, the duties, the terms of employment, the language of work, the wage, the benefits, the work locations, contact information and the skills requirements. An advertisement that omits the wage, or gives a range so wide it says nothing, is a common and avoidable failure. Records of all of it must be kept for a minimum of 6 years.

The wage the employer has to offer

This is not negotiable and it is not what the employer feels the job is worth. ESDC requires the prevailing wage, which it defines as the highest of either the median wage on Job Bank for that occupation and region, or the wage within the range the employer is already paying current employees doing the same work at the same location with the same skills and experience.

Only guaranteed wages count. Overtime, tips, benefits, profit sharing, bonuses and commissions are excluded from the calculation. An employer who tells you the package reaches the required level once tips are included has misread the rule.

The obligation continues after approval. The prevailing wage is reassessed at the start of the period of employment and reviewed annually against updated Job Bank figures. If it rises, the worker's wage rises with it. If it falls, the wage does not: ESDC states the updated wage can never go below the wage identified in the positive LMIA.

Where the position is covered by a collective agreement, the employer must advertise and offer the rates established under that agreement and give the worker the same terms and conditions as Canadian and permanent resident workers. Separately, the hiring must not affect a current or foreseeable labour dispute at the workplace.

Proving the business and the job are real

ESDC calls this business legitimacy, and it is assessed on four things: that the business provides a good or a service in Canada, that the employment offered is consistent with the reasonable needs of the business, that the employer can fulfil all the terms of the job offer including the wages, and that the employer has no compliance issues.

Documents are required, not assertions. A valid municipal business licence or the applicable permit, and Canada Revenue Agency documents such as a T4 Summary, the relevant T2 schedules or a PD7A, are the usual proof that the business exists and operates. Financial documents are used to show the employer can actually pay the wage being promised for the duration offered.

The reasonable needs test is where shell arrangements fall apart. A newly incorporated company with no revenue, no premises and no existing staff asking to hire several foreign workers is not describing a labour shortage. Neither is a business whose stated need does not match its size or activity. The employment also has to be full-time, which ESDC defines as a minimum of 30 hours of work per week.

The employment contract

The employer must commit to providing a completed and signed employment agreement to the worker on or before their first day of work. It has to set out the same occupation, the same wages and the same working conditions as the job offer that was assessed, be written in English or French according to the worker's preference, and be signed by both parties.

Read the contract against the LMIA letter and Annex A line by line before you sign. A mismatch in job title, wage, hours or location is not a clerical detail. It is what an officer notices on your work permit application, and what an inspector notices later.

Transition plans, and when they apply

For high-wage positions, ESDC treats a transition plan as a mandatory requirement. It is the employer's written account of what they will do to recruit, retain and train Canadians and permanent residents, and to reduce their reliance on the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. It must set out 3 distinct activities, and it stays valid for the duration of the worker's employment.

It is not a form to be filed and forgotten. Employers are expected to report on how the plan went if they apply again or are selected for an inspection. Several categories are exempt, including in-home caregiver and health care provider positions, the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program, specialised occupations qualifying for Quebec's facilitated process, and jobs that are time-limited in nature.

One change catches employers out. As of 26 September 2024, positions covered by a dual intent LMIA application supporting a worker's permanent residence are no longer exempt from the transition plan requirement.

After approval: compliance, records and inspections

A positive decision is not the end of the employer's obligations. It is the start of an accountability period. The employer must meet the conditions set out in the LMIA and the decision letter, and keep the supporting documents for 6 years beginning on the first day of the period of employment.

Inspections can be triggered by suspected non-compliance, by a previous violation, or by random selection, and they can reach back up to 6 years after the worker started working. They may be conducted on site or virtually, announced or unannounced, and without a warrant except in a private residence.

Where an employer is found non-compliant, the consequences range from a warning through financial penalties to suspension or revocation of the LMIA and, for serious violations, a permanent ban from the program. Non-compliant employers are published on IRCC's list, warnings excepted. Look the employer up there before you accept an offer.

How long must the job be advertised before the employer can apply?

For high-wage positions, a minimum of 4 consecutive weeks within the 3 months before the application, alongside two further recruitment activities. For low-wage positions, the Job Bank advertisement must run for a minimum of 8 consecutive weeks in the same window, with youth-targeted advertising and at least 2 additional methods aimed at underrepresented groups.

Can my employer pay me less than the advertised wage once I arrive?

No. The wage must match the offer that was assessed and the employment agreement, and ESDC states the wage can never go below the wage identified in the positive LMIA during the employment period. If the prevailing wage rises at the annual review, your wage rises with it.

Do tips and overtime count toward the required wage?

No. Only guaranteed wages count. Overtime, tips, benefits, profit sharing, bonuses and commissions are excluded when the prevailing wage is calculated, so an offer that only reaches the required level with tips included does not meet the requirement.

Who pays for my flight and my health insurance?

In the low-wage stream, the employer pays the round-trip transportation costs and must obtain and pay for private health insurance covering emergency medical care for any period you are not covered by the provincial or territorial system. Neither cost may be recovered from you.

What happens to me if my employer is inspected and found non-compliant?

The employer faces consequences ranging from a warning to financial penalties, LMIA suspension or revocation, and in serious cases a ban from the program, and non-compliant employers are published on IRCC's list. For you the practical risk is an employer-specific permit tied to an employer who can no longer hire you, which is why it is worth checking that list before you accept an offer.

If you want the offer, the contract and the LMIA documents read against each other before you commit to a move, our consultant can do that with you. Book a consultation

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