Canada Job Offer
A great way to increase the strength of your application is to have a Valid Job Offer to work in Canada.
What makes a Valid Canada Job offer?
For your job offer to be valid it needs to be:
- full-time
- a non-seasonal position,
- at least one year duration,
- for a skilled job listed as Skill Type 0, or Skill Level A or B in the 2016 National Occupational Classification.
- The offer must be in writing on company letterhead
- The written offer must include your pay, your job duties, your hours of work and any other conditions of employment
In most cases, a valid job offer must be supported by a Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). The employer has to apply for one from Employment and Social Development Canada/Service Canada.
If they get a positive LMIA, they will need to give you a copy and a written job offer that you can submit with your Express Entry application and your Invitation to Apply.
Labor Market Impact Assessment
Claiming that you have a valid Job offer as part of your immigration process to Canada is not as simple as finding an employer to offer you a job. There are specific processes that employers must follow to validly offer a foreign worker a job under the immigration program.
One of these processes is to obtain a Labor Market Impact Assessment or LMIA. Not all jobs offered to foreigners need a LMIA but many do.
What is a Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA)?
A LMIA is a document issued by the Canadian Government that allows a business to employ a worker who is not a Canadian Citizen or Permanent Resident. It shows that an employer has followed the required process of trying to find a Canadian Citizen or Permanent Resident to fill the vacant position, and has been unsuccessful.
Why does the Canadian Government require a LMIA for a Canada Job Offer?
The primary reason is to protect the Canadian Labor market. The Government wants to ensure that jobs that can be filled by citizens or permanent residents already in Canada are filled by them. So following the LMIA process helps to ensure this.
The Government also understands that Canada has labor shortages and that vacant positions need to be filled, so the LMIA process allows employers access to workers from overseas by letting the employer demonstrate that they have tried to hire locally and are unable to do so, and therefore, the Canadian Government allows an international worker to fill the position.
Does my employer need an LMIA for my Canada Job Offer?
Most employers need to obtain an LMIA for the job offer they provide you with to be considered a valid job offer for your immigration purposes.
There are some exemptions. If you are being offered a job in one of the following situations, then your employer is exempt from having to obtain a LMIA for you:
However most employment situations with the Express Entry system will require a LMIA.
How does my Employer obtain an LMIA?
LMIA’s take some time and hassle from your employer. However, the process is achievable and designed to be a moderate requirement and hurdle for local Canadian employers to overcome. It is designed to be a balance between an incentive to hire locally in Canada, and the obvious need to hire internationally due to Canada’s labor market shortage.
Steps for an employer to obtain a LMIA
There are some very specific steps to take for an employer to obtain a LMIA, which a potential international worker can use to obtain their work permit and to submit with their Express Entry application.
The major part of the Labor Market Impact Assessment involves the advertising of the position.
Employers need to advertise the position on three different mediums for four consecutive weeks including either the federal or the provincial Job Bank website, and if the position is for a highly skilled worker, the employer may also need to use the Government’s Job Match service which is within Jobbank.
Where will your employer apply for a LMIA for your position?
Your employer will place their application by going to the LMIA online portal of the Government here https://tfwp-jb.lmia.esdc.gc.ca/employer/
Important points in obtaining a LMIA
There are a few important things to note when your employer is submitting your LMIA.
- Ensure your NOC code is correct and matches the NOC code you are applying under.To do this, the employer needs to make sure that the duties of the position match those that are listed on the NOC website for that occupation.
- The Pay Rate
The employer needs to ensure that they are going to be paying the foreign worker the median prevailing wage in their region for that position.
For example, if an occupation has a median average wage of $28 an hour in the Vancouver region, then they cannot pay an international worker $26.50 per hour, they need to be paying the full $28 otherwise their application will be rejected.
3 – The length of time required for advertising the position
There are advertising variations which can be helpful for an employer.
If you’re hiring in industries where there is a known labor shortage in Canada, you don’t have to advertise the position as long. This list of industries changes regularly so it is best to refer to the Government website for the most accurate and up to date information.
What does a LMIA cost for a Canada Job Offer?
There is a fee of $1000 CAD for your employer to submit an application for a LMIA.
How long does a LMIA take?
It can take as little as 10 days for occupations of high need (such as skilled trades) to progress to the next stage, which is where the Canadian Government interviews the employer. It can take up to 30 days for other occupations.
Why is the employer interviewed by the Canadian Government?
The employer is interviewed because the Government wants to make sure the rules have been followed.
They want to know the advertising has been done correctly, and that there was no Canadian National or Permanent Resident who could have done the job. They will want to ensure there is sufficient work in the pipeline to be certain they can take on an extra full time employee for at least one year, and to find out how long they plan on keeping the person they hire to fill the position.
They’ll usually go through the application with the employer and ensure that the advertising was done correctly and that there really is a need for them to hire internationally for this position. They will also be checking that the company is operational.
They’ll ask about various contracts they have, and how they went about advertising for the position and interviewing candidates. It’s important that your employer answers these correctly so that the application can be approved.
The thing to remember is that many thousands of companies have obtained Labor Market Impact Assessments so it is a well-worn path. The Process has been designed to ensure businesses can fulfill their labor needs in a market with many labor shortages as well as protect Canadian jobs for Canadians as much as possible without stalling growth in the economy.
What do I do once the LMIA has been issued?
Your employer will be issued a letter of approval for the LMIA they requested and on that letter will be a LMIA number. You will need a copy of this letter and the issued LMIA number to submit when applying for Express Entry or to update the system once you have your job offer.
What other documents will I need to prove my valid Canada job offer?
You will also need a letter of offer from the company, the company contact details, the dates of intended employment as well as your pay rate.
How will having a valid Canada job offer help my application in Express Entry?
You will receive extra points for having a valid job offer in the CRS Comprehensive Ranking System.
If your NOC code starts with 00, then you receive 200 points. If your NOC code is any other 0 or level A or B occupations, then you will receive 50 extra points.
The benefit of this is that a higher points score means more chance of being offered an Invitation to Apply and for that invitation to arrive sooner.
