Hire a temporary foreign worker in a high-wage position
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If you're facing short-term skills and labour shortages and no Canadians and permanent residents are available, you may be eligible to hire a temporary foreign worker through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.
To hire a temporary foreign worker, you must meet all program requirements, which may vary depending on the position you're requesting, and submit an application for a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). The LMIA determines whether hiring a temporary foreign worker will have a positive or negative effect on Canada's labour market.
To get an LMIA, you must submit an application and all the necessary supporting documents. Your application will be assessed to validate:
- the legitimacy of the business and the job offer, and
- the impact hiring a temporary foreign worker would have on the Canadian labour market
Employers submitting an LMIA application for a high-wage position may request an employment duration of up to 3 years. The employment duration must align with the employer's reasonable employment needs. The duration may be issued for longer in exceptional circumstances whereby the employer provides an adequate rationale.
High-wage positions include:
- the Global Talent Stream
- the high-wage stream, including caregiver positions
- the agricultural stream, and
- applications to support permanent residency
We take the program's integrity very seriously and we have mechanisms in place to verify employer compliance. Employers who fail to comply with all program requirements will be subject to consequences.
Before you apply
Hiring temporary foreign workers in British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan or Nova Scotia
If you’re hiring temporary foreign workers in British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan or Nova Scotia, you must apply for the employer registration certificate with the province first and include a copy of the certificate or proof of exemption with your LMIA application. Your application will be considered incomplete if submitted without the required documentation. Be sure to consider provincial processing times before you submit your LMIA application.
For more information on provincial laws on the employer registration requirement and possible exemptions in the province, visit the following websites:
- British Columbia:
- Manitoba:
- Saskatchewan:
- Nova Scotia:
Hiring temporary foreign workers in Quebec
For positions in Quebec for an employment period of more than 30 consecutive days:
- LMIA applications must be submitted at the same time to Service Canada and Quebec's Ministère de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Intégration (MIFI) (French only)
- failure to do so may have an impact on the processing of your application
For more information, consult Hiring in the province of Quebec.
Note:
On May 12, 2020, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced a temporary public policy. The policy allows some temporary foreign workers who are already in Canada to change jobs before a final decision is made on their work permit application.
Employers hiring these temporary foreign workers may receive priority processing of the LMIA applications. To do so, employers must notify Service Canada in writing that the temporary foreign worker:
- is in Canada, and
- wishes to benefit from IRCC's COVID-19 temporary public policy
How to apply
Apply using LMIA Online. It’s a reliable and secure portal where you can complete and submit online LMIA applications to Service Canada.
Your LMIA application can be submitted up to 6 months before the expected job start date.
Before signing into LMIA Online
You need a Job Bank for employers account to use LMIA Online. For instructions, consult Before you get started.
Submitting your application using LMIA Online
- Sign into LMIA Online using the same log-in information you use to access your Job Bank for employers account
- Create, fill out and submit your LMIA application from the Employer Dashboard
- Upload any required documents
- Pay the processing fee (if applicable)
If you don’t have access to LMIA Online, head to LMIA Online resources for troubleshooting steps.
Apply nowMake changes to your pending application
If you need to make changes to your application once submitted and before the LMIA decision is made, contact the appropriate Service Canada processing centre or the Employer Contact Centre to modify your application and avoid processing delays.
If you need to change the stream you had originally selected, withdraw your application and reapply under the new stream. Processing fees aren’t refunded and cannot be transferred to your new application.
After you apply
Additional information is available to find out what happens after you apply for LMIA for a low-wage or high-wage position.