How long does an LMIA take?

It varies widely by stream and region — from a few weeks for high-wage priority occupations to several months otherwise. Ask the employer to start early.

Does an LMIA guarantee a work permit?

No. A positive LMIA supports your work permit application, but you still have to qualify personally — admissibility, medicals and genuineness of the offer.

Can I change employers afterwards?

A closed work permit ties you to the named employer. Changing usually requires a new permit, which is why open permits are worth so much more than they first appear.

Alle Artikel Arbeitserlaubnis

LMIA, explained: what your employer actually has to do

11. Juni 20262 Min. Lesezeit

A Labour Market Impact Assessment is the government asking your prospective employer a blunt question: why can no Canadian do this job? Everything else about the process follows from that.

What the employer commits to

Advertising the role for a set period on specified platforms
Documenting why Canadian applicants were not suitable
Paying the prevailing wage for that occupation and region
A government processing fee, which the employer cannot pass to you
Being open to an inspection later

The routes that skip the LMIA

Plenty of work permits do not need one at all, and these are usually the better target for a first move.

Route	Who it fits
Post-graduation work permit	Graduates of Canadian institutions
Intra-company transfer	Employees of a company with a Canadian branch
Spousal open work permit	Partners of students and skilled workers
Youth mobility agreements	Young applicants from partner countries, including Germany
Provincial employer streams	Employers pre-approved by a province

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Looking for Canadian work before you arrive: what actually works

Mass-applying from overseas has a dismal success rate. Four approaches that do not, based on what our clients have actually landed.

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