Canada's LMIA, explained

If you are looking at working in Canada, the acronym LMIA will appear almost immediately. A Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) is a formal document that says hiring a specific foreign worker will not negatively affect the Canadian labour market. One detail trips up many readers: an LMIA is issued by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), not by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). IRCC issues the work permit afterward.

Where LMIAs matter

LMIAs show up in two main places.

Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) work permits. Most closed TFWP work permits require a positive LMIA before the worker can apply to IRCC for the permit itself.

Express Entry. Historically, an LMIA-backed arranged employment offer added a large bonus to your Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score: 50 points for most TEER 0, 1, 2, and 3 roles, and 200 points for senior management TEER 0 roles. As of March 2025, IRCC removed those arranged-employment CRS points entirely. If you are acting on older guidance that still treats an LMIA as a big Express Entry lever, update your expectations: that bonus is now zero.

The main LMIA streams

• High-wage stream for roles paid at or above the provincial or territorial median wage.
• Low-wage stream for roles paid below that median wage, subject to caps on the share of an employer's workforce that can be foreign workers.
• Global Talent Stream (GTS) for fast-tracked processing of specific tech occupations on the Global Talent Occupations List.

Specialized streams also exist for agriculture (including the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program, SAWP), caregivers, and a facilitated Quebec stream that uses its own list. For the full map, see ESDC's Hire a Temporary Foreign Worker page.

LMIA-exempt work permits

Many foreign workers in Canada do not need an LMIA at all. They come through the International Mobility Program (IMP), which covers streams such as intra-company transferees, professionals under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (known as CUSMA in Canada and USMCA in the United States), International Experience Canada (IEC), Post-Graduation Work Permits (PGWPs), and open spousal work permits. See IRCC's International Mobility Program overview.

How the process runs

The LMIA is employer-driven, not worker-driven.

1. The employer pays the LMIA fee. There is no cost to the worker for the LMIA itself.
2. The employer advertises the role in Canada on Job Bank and through other required channels for a minimum period before applying.
3. The employer submits the LMIA application to ESDC.
4. If the LMIA is positive, the worker uses it to apply for the work permit through IRCC.

Validity and processing times

LMIAs are valid for a set period, typically several months, and that window is updated from time to time. Processing is fastest for the GTS, which aims for turnaround of about two weeks, and slowest for standard high-wage and low-wage applications, which can run several months. Check ESDC for current figures.

One more time: the March 2025 change

Since older articles across the web still quote the old 50 and 200 point figures, it is worth repeating: since March 2025, an LMIA-backed job offer no longer adds any CRS points in Express Entry. An LMIA still matters for work permits, and a closed work permit can help you build Canadian work experience that counts elsewhere (for example in the Canadian Experience Class or a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) stream), but its direct CRS value is gone.

Next steps

Curious how you score without the old LMIA bonus? Try the CRS calculator, or run the broader assessment to map your full set of Canadian options.