High-Wage Positions LMIA
Statistics Canada determines the median hourly wage for each province and territory in Canada. Workers who earn the median hourly wage or higher for their occupation in a specific region are considered high-wage workers. Employers who offer a wage equal to or greater than the median hourly wage for their province or territory should apply under the high-wage stream.
Starting November 8, 2024, the provincial and territorial wage threshold used to determine the LMIA application stream (High wage or Low wage) has been increased by 20% of the Provincial or territorial median hourly wage.
Program Requirements:
Advertisement & Recruitment
Employers must conduct recruitment efforts to hire Canadians and Permanent Residents before offering a job to a temporary foreign worker. There are minimum advertisement requirements for the program that need to be followed.
Transition plan
To hire workers for high-wage positions, Canadian employers must submit a ‘Transition Plan’ alongside their Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) application. This plan is necessary to demonstrate that they are actively working towards reducing their dependence on temporary foreign workers over time. The purpose of the transition plan is to ensure that employers are utilizing the program appropriately, as a last resort, and are prioritizing the hiring of qualified Canadians whenever possible.
A transition plan outlines the specific actions and strategies that an employer commits to in order to recruit, retain, and train Canadian citizens and permanent residents, thereby decreasing their reliance on the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. This Transition Plan is a mandatory requirement for hiring temporary foreign workers in high-wage positions and must remain valid throughout the duration of the employment of the foreign worker.
Transition plan exemptions
The transition plan requirement doesn’t apply if you’re requesting:
- in-home caregiver or health care provider positions:
- private household employers (under North American Industry Classification System [NAICS] code 8141) for in-home caregiver positions under NOC codes 31301, 32101, 44100 and 44101
- health care institutions (under 2-digit NAICS 62) for health care provider positions under NOC 31301, 32101 and 33102
- a position under the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP), the agricultural stream and other primary agriculture occupations
- a specialized occupation that qualifies for Quebec’s facilitated LMIA process (applicable only to the first request for the same job at the same work location)
- a position of limited duration where:
- the job is time-limited in nature and the employment duration may range from 1 day to a maximum of 2 years
- there is no reasonable expectation that you could transition the position to a Canadian or permanent resident
- the job won’t be filled after the departure of the TFW as the position will no longer exist (for example, project-based occupations such as consultant for business management, specialized engineer for a dam construction project)
- in some cases, repeat use of the specific position is the norm for the industry, but each employment duration is limited (for example, some film and entertainment positions, emergency repairs and warranty work)
- a position with unique skills: skills or traits that belong to a specific individual and aren’t readily available in Canada (for example, NOC TEER 000 occupations, hiring by a foreign government)
- a position in support of a permanent residency application only (no application for work permit)
Wage
Wages offered to foreign national must be equal to wages paid to Canadians and/or Permanent Residents employed in the same occupation/position and work location, and with similar skills and years of experience.
Provincial/Territorial median hourly wages
Please click the link below to find current Provincial/Territorial median hourly wages
https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/foreign-workers/median-wage.html
Working Hours
The employer is required to extend a job offer to foreign national for at least 30 hours per week.
Business Legitimacy
Employers are required to provide documents along with their Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) application to demonstrate that their business and job offer are legitimate.
Low-Wage Positions LMIA
Employer is required to submit an LMIA application under low-wage occupation if the wages offered to foreign national is below than the provincial/territorial median hourly wage. The employers seeking to hire foreign workers on low-wage positions do not need to submit transition plans with their LMIA application.
If the wages offered to a foreign national by an employer are below the provincial/territorial median hourly wage, the employer is required to submit an LMIA application under the low-wage occupation category. In contrast to high-wage positions, employers who are seeking to hire foreign workers for low-wage positions are not required to include ‘Transition Plans’ with their LMIA application.
The wage offered for a position determines whether an employer must apply for a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) under the high-wage or low-wage stream. Starting November 8, 2024, the wage thresholds used to make this determination has increase by 20% across all provinces and territories. Employers offering a wage at or above the applicable threshold must apply under the high-wage stream, while those offering a wage below the threshold must apply under the low-wage stream. Updated wage thresholds vary by province and territory.
Key Program Requirements
Advertisement & Recruitment
Employers must conduct recruitment efforts to hire Canadians and Permanent Residents before offering a job to a temporary foreign worker. There are minimum advertisement requirements for the program that need to be followed.
Business Legitimacy
Employers are required to provide documents along with their Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) application to demonstrate that their business and job offer are legitimate.
Cap
To restrict access to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), while ensuring that Canadians are always considered first for available jobs, the Government of Canada has introduced a cap to limit the number of low-wage temporary foreign workers that a business can employ. Furthermore, certain low-wage occupations may be refused for LMIA processing. However, there are certain exceptions to the cap. The cap is not applicable if employer is hiring a temporary foreign worker for:
- on-farm primary agriculture positions such as labourers, workers, managers, and supervisors in farming, livestock, harvesting, nurseries and greenhouses for NOC codes 80020, 80021, 82030, 82031, 84120, 85100, 85101 and 85103
- caregiving positions for healthcare institutions (NAICS 62) for NOC positions 31301, 32101 and 33102
- positions in support of permanent residency only (no application for work permit)
- short-duration positions generally of 120 calendar days or less in duration that are:
- truly temporary, meaning for a specific short-term period or singular event where the position won’t be filled after the worker leaves the country, or
- highly mobile, meaning part of a workforce that regularly crosses jurisdictional boundaries (for example, provincial or territorial and/or international)
- low-wage positions in seasonal industries that don’t go beyond 270 calendar days
Transportation Cost
The employer is responsible for paying round-trip transportation cost to temporary foreign worker. This cost includes the temporary foreign worker’s transportation to and from their current country of residence. If the foreign worker is currently in Canada, the employer is also responsible for his/her transportation costs to and from their current location in Canada to the new work location in Canada.
Accommodation
The employer needs to ensure that there is suitable and affordable housing available to the temporary foreign worker near to work location. In certain situations, the employer may also be required to provide the temporary foreign worker with suitable housing.
Health and Workplace Safety
The employer is required to provide private health insurance to temporary foreign worker until he/she is eligible for provincial health coverage. It an employer’s responsibility to register the temporary foreign worker with the provincial/territorial workplace safety board.
Employment Contract
An employment contract must be prepared and signed by the employer and temporary foreign worker to ensure that all parties involved are aware of their rights and obligations. The temporary foreign worker must sign it before arriving in Canada.
Wage
Wages offered to temporary foreign workers should be similar to wages paid to Canadian and permanent resident employees hired for the same job and work location, and with similar skills and years of experience.
How can IMC Immigration help?
- The LMIA rules, regulations and requirements are subject to frequent changes. These changes deal with different categories of jobs, duration, exemptions etc. Continuous research, attention to detail and painstaking hard work is required to obtain a positive LMIA. We help in assessment of our client’s profile and advice them on their eligibility to get an LMIA.
- We also assist our clients/employers with the advertisement posting.
- We help Canadian employers for applying Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) application and legally representing them before ESDC during the procedure.
If you want a professional help for LMIA application! Simply fill our online form and we will contact you to discuss your options!