Modification to a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment

On this page

• Your obligations as an employer
• Minor modification to a positive LMIA
• Material modification to a positive LMIA
• Voluntary disclosure

Your obligations as an employer

Once you receive a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), you’re responsible for ensuring that you remain in compliance with the terms of the positive LMIA letter, the terms of its annexes, and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. If you want to make changes to any of these terms, or you’ve already made changes, you must take appropriate action.

We won’t re-approve or reassess your previously issued positive LMIA letter and its annexes, and under no circumstances provide authorization for a change in these documents. The only way we can determine whether modifications are justified is by conducting an inspection. When unjustified, you may be found non-compliant and subject to consequences such as a warning, an administrative monetary penalty or a ban from the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

Minor modification to a positive LMIA

Once a positive LMIA is issued, there are limits to what you can change without having to apply and pay for a new LMIA. In some cases, you can make minor modifications without submitting a new LMIA. The information below will help you to determine whether your modification is considered minor and whether you need to report the modification to Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC).

Examples of minor modifications that don't need to be reported

• Minor changes in job duties that wouldn’t modify the National Occupational Classification (NOC) code
• Increase in wages equal to or less than the highest of:
  • 2%
  • the prevailing wage^{Footnote 1}, or
  • Statistics Canada’s Consumer Price Index (CPI), annual average inflation rate of previous year. Rate to be used in 2026 is 2.1%
• Increase in wages to comply with federal, provincial or territorial laws

Examples of minor modifications that must be reported without submitting a new LMIA

• Administrative errors (for example, a spelling mistake)
• Changes to your contact information or to the contact information of your representative (either appointed by a third party or by you)
• Information on an employment relationship breakdown (for example, layoff, leave of absence, deportation, or job offer cancellation or refusal)
• Change in work location within the same economic region but no change in work activities or employer
• Global Talent Stream (GTS) only: change in work location when the temporary foreign worker’s wages remain at or above the prevailing wage in the new economic region

Contact ESDC’s Employer Contact Centre to report changes. The employer is responsible for determining whether a modification is considered minor or material. Employer Contact Centre agents can’t advise you on whether a modification is considered minor or material.

Material modification to a positive LMIA

The information below will help you determine whether your modification is considered material. If so, you may need to submit a new LMIA application or voluntarily disclose if changes to a positive LMIA have already been made.

Examples of material changes that don’t respect the terms of the positive LMIA letter and annexes

• Change in occupation or job duties, including promotions or demotions, which would modify the NOC code
• Change in employer
  • This includes assigning workers to another work site owned/operated under a different or affiliated employer for a period of time, even if wages are being paid by the primary employer
• Any decrease in wages
• Increase in wages greater than the highest of:
  • 2%
  • the prevailing wage^{Footnote 1}, or
  • Statistics Canada’s CPI, annual average inflation rate of previous year. Rate to be used in 2026 is 2.1%
• Change in benefits or non-monetary compensation offered
• Change in stipulated hours for temporary foreign workers
• GTS only: change in work location to a different economic region when the temporary foreign worker’s wages fall below the prevailing wage in the new economic region
• Changes that would result in a modification to the LMIA application stream
• Where applicable, changes that would result in failure to meet commitments on or alterations to transition plans (applicable to high-wage stream only)
• Change in educational requirements

Voluntary disclosure

If you’ve already made a modification that doesn’t respect the terms of the positive LMIA letter and annexes, we recommend that you voluntarily disclose this to ESDC.

Visit Voluntary disclosure for more information.