Some foreign workers can apply for a TFWP work permit without an LMIA

If you’re in Canada with a valid work status, you may be able to apply for a work permit under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) even if your employer doesn’t have a positive or neutral Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) in hand.

This can be helpful if your work status is set to expire before your employer can obtain an LMIA, since LMIA processing times can be as high as two or three months.

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Under Immigration, Refugee, and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC) concurrent processing measures, you can submit an application for a work permit through the TFWP while your employer’s LMIA application is being processed.

Normally, an employer must have a positive or neutral LMIA in hand before an employee can submit an application for a work permit through the TFWP.

To qualify for the exception to this rule, you’ll need to meet the following requirements:

Your work permit expires in two weeks or less; and
Your employer submitted their LMIA application with sufficient lead time.

After you’ve applied, if your existing work permit expires before your new TFWP work permit has been issued, you’ll benefit from maintained status as long as you remain in Canada, so you’ll have authorization to continue working under the conditions of your expired permit while your application is being processed.

If you apply through concurrent processing, IRCC will provide you with an additional 60 days to provide proof of your employer’s receipt of the positive LMIA.

If you subsequently fail to provide proof of the positive or neutral LMIA within the 60-day period, your application may be refused.

Low-wage LMIA moratorium

There is currently a moratorium on the processing of LMIAs under the low-wage stream of the TFWP.

If your job falls under the high-wage stream of the TFWP, your employer can apply for an LMIA regardless of the region in which your job is located.

If your job falls under the low-wage stream of the TFWP, your employer will not be able to apply for an LMIA if your job is located in one of the regions with an unemployment rate of 6% or higher, unless your job is in one of the exempt occupations.

Wage thresholds

As of the time of writing, to qualify for the high-wage stream, a position must pay at least the greater of

The wage threshold for the province in which the job is located; or
The range paid to employees working for the same employer, in the same role, in the same location, with the same level of experience.

For your employer to qualify for the LMIA, the hourly wage offered must also exceed the prevailing wage listed in Canada's Job Bank for the occupation in that region, based on the occupation code under Canada's National Occupation System (NOC).

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Regions affected by the low-wage LMIA moratorium

As of the time of writing, the following regions are included in the moratorium:

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
Ottawa-Gatineau, Ontario/Quebec
Belleville - Quinte West, Ontario
Oshawa, Ontario
Toronto, Ontario
Hamilton, Ontario
St. Catharines-Niagara, Ontario
Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo, Ontario
Brantford, Ontario
Guelph, Ontario
London, Ontario
Windsor, Ontario
Barrie, Ontario
Greater Sudbury, Ontario
Regina, Saskatchewan
Lethbridge, Alberta
Calgary, Alberta
Red Deer, Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta
Kelowna, British Columbia
Kamloops, British Columbia
Chilliwack, British Columbia
Abbotsford-Mission, British Columbia
Nanaimo, British Columbia

To look up the region in which your job is located, put the postal code into the government's Census of Population website.

When to use concurrent processing

If at all possible, it’s best for your employer to obtain a positive or neutral LMIA well in advance of when you need to apply for your TFWP work permit.

IRCC recommends applying for a new permit at least 30 days before the expiry of your existing permit.

If your employer cannot obtain the LMIA in time, that’s when you can move forward with concurrent processing.

Even if proceeding with an application under concurrent processing, your employer should apply for the LMIA as soon as possible, to maximize the chance that the immigration officer will consider that the LMIA application had been submitted with sufficient lead time.

Only under exceptional circumstances will IRCC allow for concurrent processing if the LMIA application was submitted immediately prior to the work permit application.

In many cases, your employer will need to have met advertising requirements prior to being able to submit the LMIA application—typically, advertising requirements span for 28 days.

Schedule a Free Work Permit Consultation with the Cohen Immigration Law Firm