Foreign workers in these 10 occupations can now be hired faster including
Transport Truck Drivers (NOC 7511)
Employers hiring foreign workers in 10 agriculture, food processing, and trucking occupations can now skip past a time-consuming step in the work permit process.
Canada is now waiving the advertising requirement for the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) in certain high-priority occupations.
To get an LMIA, in most cases, employers need to prove that no Canadian was available to take a vacant position before offering it to a foreign worker. They do this by advertising the position for hire across various platforms for up to three months in some cases.
As of March 20, the minimum recruitment requirements for pending and future LMIA applications will be waived for the following 10 occupations:
Transport Truck Drivers (NOC 7511)
Butchers, meat cutters, and fishmongers-retail and wholesale (NOC 6331)
Agricultural service contractors, farm supervisors, and specialized livestock workers (NOC 8252)
General Farm Workers (NOC 8431)
Nursery and Greenhouse Workers (NOC 8432)
Harvesting laborers (NOC 8611)
Fish and seafood plant workers (NOC 9463)
Laborers in food, beverage, and associated products processing (NOC 9617)
Laborers in fish and seafood processing (NOC 9618)
Industrial butchers and meat cutters, poultry preparers, and related workers (NOC 9462)
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Truck drivers who are situated in a province that has a Mandatory Entry-Level Training requirement must have the certification in their possession at the time they receive their work permit. Provinces with this requirement include B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec.
New electronic LMIA application processing
LMIAs can now be emailed to Service Canada. Employers can email their applications to the appropriate address based on the immigration stream and job location.
For now, agricultural stream high wage and low wage applications from British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Alberta, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon must be sent to the Ontario processing center.
International Mobility Program
The International Mobility Program (IMP) enables Canadian employers to hire temporary foreign workers without the need for a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). While an LMIA is usually required for a Canadian employer to hire a temporary foreign worker, there are several exemptions to the LMIA requirement.
An LMIA-exemption refers to a situation in which a Canadian employer doesn't need to obtain an LMIA to hire a temporary foreign worker. ESDC along with Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) maintains an index of LMIA-exemptions which are organized through the International Mobility Program.
These LMIA exemptions are based on the following conditions:
broader economic, cultural, or other competitive advantages for Canada; and
reciprocal benefits enjoyed by Canadians and permanent residents.
To hire a foreign worker through the IMP, a Canadian employer must follow three steps:
Confirm the position or worker in question qualifies for an LMIA-exemption;
Pay the employer compliance fee of CAD 230;
Submit the official job offer through the IMP’s Employer Portal.
Only after completing these three steps will the foreign nationals be eligible to apply for their work permit. LMIA-exempt workers may qualify for expedited work permit processing through the Global Skills Strategy if their position is NOC Skill Level A or 0 and they are applying from outside of Canada.
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International Agreements
A significant number of LMIA-exemptions are available through international agreements between Canada and other countries. Certain types of employees can transfer to Canada from other countries, and vice versa, if they can demonstrate this will have a positive impact. Canada has negotiated the following Free Trade Agreements, each encompassing a range of LMIA-exemptions:
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
Canada-Chile FTA / Canada-Peru FTA / Canada-Colombia FTA / Canada-Korea FTA
Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA)
General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)
Canadian Interest Exemptions
Another popular category of LMIA-exemptions fall under the broad category of Canadian Interest exemptions. LMIA-exemptions under this category must demonstrate that the exemption will be in the best interest of Canada, either by being of significant benefit to Canadians or through the maintenance of reciprocal employment relationships with other nations.
To qualify for an LMIA-exemption under the category of significant benefit for Canadians, the employment of a foreign national must demonstrate significant social or cultural benefit to Canada. Generally, immigration officers will assess a foreign national’s past track record of success and examine testimony and recommendations of distinguished experts in the foreign nationals field to determine significant benefit.
Intra-Company Transferees
Another means of securing LMIA-exemption for significant benefit is through the provision of LMIA-exemptions for intra-company transferees. Through this provision, certain companies may transfer a foreign national to a Canadian location to improve the quality of their business for the benefit of Canadians.
Additional LMIA-Exemptions
While the majority of LMIA-exemptions are granted due to either international agreements or Canadian interest, there are several LMIA-exemptions outside of these categories. In some cases, LMIA-exemptions are granted for humanitarian and compassionate reasons. As well, certain candidates for Canadian permanent residency may be eligible to apply for LMIA-exempt work permits.