Hire a worker without an LMIA: employer inspections

Inspections

If you hired a temporary foreign worker through the International Mobility Program, you may be subject to inspections.

Inspections make sure you’re informed of, and meet, your responsibilities as an employer. These inspections

We may choose to inspect your business because we

We, or Service Canada, will contact you if we choose to inspect your business.

If there is more than 1 employer

If more than 1 employer was involved in hiring the temporary worker, it’s the employer who submitted the offer of employment who

The officer decides

All employers

These conditions apply even if an authorized representative submitted offers of employment for you.

If you want to use an authorized representative after you received an inspection notice, you must give the inspector

Prepare for the inspection

If we choose to inspect your business, you must:

The documents you need to give to the officer are listed in your inspection notification letter. They could be different for each inspection. We could ask you for:

Removing personal information

You must remove any references to social insurance numbers and other personal information not related to the inspection before sending us your documents.

What happens during the inspection

During an on-site inspection, an officer can:

Any information we collect during an inspection is subject to all relevant privacy laws.

If you think you may have been non-compliant in some way, you’ll have an opportunity to explain what happened.

What happens if we find you non-compliant

Once the inspection is complete, you’ll receive a letter (Notice of preliminary findings) that explains the program violation(s) and the possible penalties you could face.

You’ll have 30 days from the date you receive the letter to write back to us about the violation and/or the penalties before we make a final decision. This is your opportunity to:

Explain your non-compliance

In some cases, you can explain why you were non-compliant based on the parameters set out in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations. For example, you may be able to provide a reason why a violation happened if it was because of:

Before we make a final decision, you should send the officer any information and evidence you have that explains and possibly justifies why you were non-compliant. If the officer accepts your justification, we may find you compliant or compliant with justification, instead of non-compliant.

You can ask for an extension to the 30 days by writing to the inspection agency, if you need more time. We’ll let you know if your request for more time is approved or denied.

Final decision

After the 30-day period for submissions has lapsed, the file will be transferred to a senior decision maker, who will review the entire case and render a final decision on compliance.

If we find you non-compliant, you’ll receive a final notice. This notice will tell you:

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