May 14, 2015

LMIA Exempt work permits: No longer a free ride for Employers

Traditionally, if an employer was supporting a work permit application for a worker who was Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) exempt, they were not required to submit any forms or employer application fees to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC).  Since the introduction of new regulations on 21 February 2015, employers now seeking to provide offers of employment to foreign nationals in the International Mobility Program (LMIA exempt workers) are required to:

• Submit their offer of employment directly to CIC; and,
• Electronically pay a new employer compliance fee of $230.

The offer of employment consists of a standardized CIC form (Offer of Employment to a Foreign National Exempt from a Labour Market Impact Assessment) which contains the following required information:

1. The employer’s name, address and telephone number, and fax number and electronic mail address, if any;
2. the business number assigned to the employer by the Minister of National Revenue, if applicable;
3. information that demonstrates that the foreign national will be performing work described in section 204 or 205 or is a foreign national referred to in section 207; and
4. the offer of employment made in the form provided by the Department.

Both the required form and fee must be completed prior to the prospective worker applying for a work permit, either through the visa office or at a port of entry.  This new form now replaces the job offer letter that was formerly used to support most LMIA-exempt work permit application.

For more information on LMIAs/work permits click here.

(Sources)