Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) is the overall name for a group of wide-ranging programs that temporarily allow foreigners to come to Canada. The priority of Canadian employers is to hire available Canadians to work on their companies. When Canadians cannot be found, employers use various Temporary Foreign Worker Program streams to get the workers they need for their businesses.
LMIA applicants require approval by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). We specialize in that process, starting from posting and running advertisements following strict Service Canada standards, preparing the submission of LMIA applications, and filling subsequent work permit applications. LMIA is a verification process whereby ESDC assesses an offer of employment to ensure that the employment of a foreign worker will not have a negative impact on the Canadian labor market. With LMIA applications, employers will be required to provide various business documents and information about the position they want to hire a foreign worker. In most cases, they would need to advertise during a specific period of time following strict ESDC police.
There are multiple types of LMIA such as:
For more information, please contact us.
Premier Visa and Immigration Services assists Canadian businesses in selecting and recruiting excellent Temporary Foreign Workers. We use various Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) pathways and LMIA exempt applications following the unique business needs of our clients.
We work with companies in multiple fields: hospitality, transportation, IT, farming, cleaning, retail, and more. With more than 50 years of combined professional experience in this field, our team is in a unique position to assist you!
We have 2 Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants in our team and we are fully licenced to recruit Temporary Foreign Workers in the Provence of British Columbia (IS-0009115). In addition our company is an authorized national and international Employment Agency operating under License #35422 issued under authority of the Government of Alberta.
As an employer, you will need to prove that your business is legal and is offering goods and services in Canada. In addition, the business needs to be in good financial standing and maintain all employment obligations for the entirety of the period of employment. There are some documents that Service Canada wants to see once you start using the Temporary Foreign Worker program (TFW) such as T2 Schedule 100 & 125, Business Licence, PD7A, and T4 Summary. We will also ask you to fill in a brief questionnaire.
Job Bank is Canada’s national employment service and website where you need to register in order to post your advertisement. We will send you full instructions on what is necessary to create your profile and how to add us as a third party so we can post on your behalf. We will save you time by posting advertisements in accordance with your direction, performing job matching and re-posting on our platforms.
The minimum length is 28 days. In addition, a minimum of 1 platform needs to be active at the time of LMIA processing. Our goal is to have all 4 platforms we use in the process, active and up to date.
The processing time is from 1 – 2 months depending on the stream. Always start the recruitment process well in advance so you don’t have to struggle with your staffing. The official and the current processing time is here: https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/foreign-workers/labour-market-impact-assessment-processing-times.html
Your employee can apply for the work permit application. If we are processing an employee that retained our services, we would start the process well in advance- we don’t waist any time. Our goal is to start preparing applicants for this step during the LMIA process. Once LMIA gets approved, we usually file a work permit the same week. After this step, there is a wait time from 2-6 months depending on the country of residency. Visa-free applicants can apply at the port of entry on the same day. Current processing times are here:
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/check-processing-times.html
Temporary Foreign workers have the same rights and responsibilities as Canadians and PRs. You need to provide the same working conditions such as holiday pay, overtime, etc to all employees equally. During the process, you will sign an employment contract stating the most important obligations but almost all of them are as per your provincial labor standards. For all TFWs under the Low-wage LMIA stream, you will need to pay the transportation cost. You will need to purchase private health insurance for all TFWs until provincial insurance becomes available.
The International Mobility Program lets Canadian employers hire temporary workers without a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). Multiple available streams serve Canada’s broader economic and cultural interests. Positions exempt from requiring an LMIA are those which:
As part of IMP, this option permits multinational companies with a branch, subsidiary, or affiliate in Canada to transfer workers under certain conditions. The primary purpose of this application is to improve the management effectiveness and competitiveness of Canadian companies in the global market.
Canadian and foreign companies should have a qualifying relationship: the Canadian company should be a sister company, a branch, an affiliate, or a foreign company subsidiary. An employee should satisfy several criteria to qualify for this program, starting from professional experience, occupation, knowledge, and skills.
The Intra-Company Transfer (ICT) work permit application provides an excellent pathway for foreign workers to enter the Canadian labour market and gain Canadian work experience. An Intra-Company transferee can be of any nationality. To qualify as an Intra-company transferee:
This is an excellent pathway for both employers and employees because they do not require LMIA for this purpose because Intra-company transferees add significant benefits to the Canadian interests [IRPR 205(a)]
This pathway can lead to obtaining LMIA exempt work permit. Even though this is a temporary pathway, it can be a stepping-stone to get a Permanent Residency in Canada. Your one year of experience gained in Canada will make you eligible for express entry programs if you obtain CLB 5 for NOC B positions and CLB 7 for NOC O and A. The Provincial Nomination Programs are also available to these workers.
To add more to it, you can bring your dependents along with you. Your spouse can also work here in Canada by obtaining an open work permit.
Who is eligible?
A person can get LMIA exempt work permit under the pathways if their position falls in the following capacity:
The initial validity of the work permit:
If an Intra-Company Transferee is coming to Canada to open an office or get employed in a new office, the initial work permit will be issued for up to 1 year. Otherwise, an initial work permit can be issued for up to 3 years.
Renewals of the work permit:
Applicants can extend this worm permit for a period of 2 years with a total duration of 7 years in the case of executives or senior managers and a total of 5 years in the case of a person who is applying under the capacity of having specialized knowledge.
After an Intra-company transferee has reached the maximum duration of the work permit, they must work full-time for one year outside Canada if they wish to reapply.
Multi-national companies that are registered and incorporated at least in one foreign country and Canada. These companies can transfer employees to work in a parent, subsidiary, branch, or affiliate of that company in Canada.
A qualifying relationship term means that Canadian and foreign entity or entities must have a relationship in a form of parent, subsidiary, affiliated, or branch companies. These entities must continue meeting the requirements for the duration of the work permit. Otherwise, any foreign intra-company transferee currently working for the Canadian entity would not qualify to continue working for the new entity.
Initial work permit should be issued for one year. For extensions, further evidence should be provided that:
All positions in an executive, senior managerial, or specialized knowledge capacity; In addition, transferees must have been employed continuously (via payroll or by contract directly with the company), by the company that plans to transfer them outside Canada in a similar full-time position (not accumulated part-time) for at least one year in the three-year period immediately preceding the date of initial application.
Extensions may be granted for up to five years for specialized knowledge workers and seven years for executives and senior managers. After that, workers must complete one year of full-time employment in the company outside Canada if they wish to re-apply as an intra-company transferee.
Even though this program is designed as temporary and limited in duration, you can claim points under the Express Entry system for the job offer after 1 year of full-time work. All employer-specific work permit holders that are LMIA exempt can claim points for the job offer after that period and potentially apply for PR, if they fullfil other requitements.
Agreements such as USMCA, CETA, and FTAs signed with Korea, Chile, Peru, Columbia, and more enable LMIA exempt transfer of employees between Canada and specific countries. These programs are created for more effortless mobility of business visitors, professionals, intra-company transferees, traders, and investors.
In most cases, new applicants can request a work permit at the port of entry, such as when arriving at an airport or crossing the land border into Canada.
The Owner-Operator LMIA is a variation of Labour Market Impact Assessment the most suitable for business owners. You would need to demonstrate majority ownership in the company to be successful. From April 1st, 2021, these applications are not exempt from advertisements requirements. With this type of LMIA, you can get a work permit to work in Canada and further develop your company. Your spouse may be eligible for an Open-Work Permit. The type of person who would be ideal for an owner-operator LMIA may have the following characteristics:
This program has three different categories and it’s based in International Reciprocal youth exchange agreements. Canada has agreements with over thirty countries to make it easier for Canadian youth to work and travel abroad.
Premier Visa and Immigration Services is providing immigration consulting services on various categories of immigration including permanent residence visas and temporary residence visas. We specialize in temporary foreign worker program and business immigration.
Our consultants are registered members of the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants.
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