LMIA-Exempt Work Permits

A Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) is a document that an employer in Canada may need to get before hiring a foreign worker.

Foreign workers may seek employment in Canada without a work permit if they opt for  LMIA-Exempt Work Permits.

 

A positive LMIA is sometimes called a confirmation letter. But many jobs are open to applicants without the LMIA permit.

 

Types of Canadian Work Permits

 

If you get a job offer in Canada as a foreign national, consider it an opportunity you cannot refuse. It can be a very beneficial move for your career and improve your and your family’s quality of life. There are three main work permits, under which there is also a category of work visas. You must have a work permit and a work visa to immigrate to Canada for work purposes.

 

Open Work Permit

 

This work permit is not a job-specific option, meaning you can work for any Canadian employer. It also exempts you from requiring a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) to qualify for a Canadian work visa. Eligible foreign nationals want to work in Canada in the occupation and for the employer of their choice.

 

Employer-Specific Work Permit

 

A work permit is a document that allows foreign nationals to work for a specific employer in Canada, according to the conditions and limitations detailed in the work permit. This work permit limits a foreign national to one employer at a particular location, with a specified duration of employment, whom they are authorized to work for and comply with. 

 

It also requires a labour market impact assessment (LMIA). This work permit is for anyone who wants to work for a specific employer in a specific province for a specified duration.

Jobs Exempt from the LMIA

 

Military Personnel

 

All military personnel who have been given orders to come to Canada do not need a work permit as long as they serve a country designated under the Visiting Forces Act. This work permit exemption applies to military personnel, not "military attachés," who are employed by diplomatic missions.

 

Athletes and team members

 

Foreign-born professional or amateur athletes may participate individually or as a team in Canadian sporting events without getting a work permit. Coaches, trainers, and other essential team members are exempt from the work permit requirement. Spouses of professional athletes working in Canada must have a work permit but are exempt from the LMIA requirement.

 

Public Speakers

 

This category includes special event guest speakers, commercial speakers, and seminar leaders. The speaking engagements for the above must not last more than five days. 

 

The following public speakers, however, must get a work permit and LMIA before entering Canada:

 

1. Commercial speakers who are hired by a Canadian business to provide training services.

2. Guest athletics instructors are coming to teach weekend seminars.

 

Convention Organizers

 

Individuals, committees, and support staff organizing a convention or conference do not need a work permit to work in Canada. Events covered by this exemption include:

 

1. Association meetings

2.The corporate meetings

3. Trade shows or exhibitions

4. Consumer shows or exhibitions

 

This exemption does not apply to "hands-on" workers who provide audio-visual installation, dismantling, show decorating, or exhibit building services. 

 

Clergy

 

A person will be exempt from the permit requirement if their work consists mainly of preaching doctrine, presiding at religious events or providing spiritual guidance. People who do not perform the work above but are engaged in religiously based community service activities must have a work permit but do not need to get an LMIA.

 

People seeking entry to Canada under this category must be able to provide evidence concerning:

 

1. The genuineness of their offer of religious employment

2. The genuineness of the religious group that is offering the job

3. The ability of the clergyman to perform clerical duties for a congregation of the relevant religious group.

 

 In some cases, visa officers may require further evidence to assess the genuineness of the religious job offered.

 

Judges, referees, and similar officials

 

Judges, referees, and similar officials may work in Canada without a work permit if they are involved in:

1. An international amateur sports contest.

2. The contest should be organized by an international amateur sporting association and hosted by a Canadian organization.

3. An international cultural or artistic event or contest.

4. An animal or agricultural contest.

 

Referees for professional sporting leagues are generally required to obtain a work permit and an LMIA. However, referees in certain professional sports leagues such as the NHL, MLB, and NBA are exempt from this requirement due to reciprocal agreements between Canada and the USA.

 

Examiners and Evaluators

 

Under this category, successful academics that guide students and review their work will be allowed to enter Canada without a work permit to check their students' theses and papers. This group includes professors and researchers entering Canada to evaluate academic university programs or research proposals.

Experts, Witnesses, or Investigators

 

A worker does not need to obtain a work permit to enter Canada if they:

 

1. It is entering Canada to conduct surveys or analyses that will be used as evidence before a regulatory body, tribunal, or court of law.

2. Is entering Canada to serve as an expert witness before a regulatory body, tribunal, or court of law.

 

Civil Aviation Inspectors

 

Flight operations and cabin safety inspectors who enter Canada temporarily while inspecting the safety procedures on commercial international flights are exempt from the work permit requirement. Workers under this group must be employed by a recognized aeronautics safety authority and must have valid documentation establishing that they are aviation inspectors.

 

Aviation Accident or Incident Inspectors

 

Accredited representatives or advisors who aid in the investigation of aviation accidents or incidents under the authority of the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board Act are exempt from the work permit requirement.

 

Emergency Service Providers

 

Persons who come to Canada to render services in times of emergency are exempt from the work permit requirement. The troubles may be medical, industrial, environmental, or the result of a natural disaster. Foreign insurance adjusters must prove that they meet all relevant provincial regulatory requirements to be admitted to Canada without a work permit.

 

Implied Status

 

Workers may continue working in Canada under the conditions of an expired work permit as long as they had applied for a new license before the initial work permit expired and they still live in Canada. If the new application for a work permit is rejected, the worker will have to leave Canada.

 

Farm Work

 

A person may work on a farm without a work permit as long as:

 

1. The farm work is on a volunteer basis.

 

2. The person's primary reason for coming to Canada was something other than farm work (such as tourism or visiting family and friends).

 

3. The farm is non-commercial. Non-commercial farms are generally defined as farms where the owner provides much of the capital and labour for the farm and where the farm produce is used to provide for the basic needs of the owner's family, with little extra to sell for profit.

 

Closed LMIA-exempt work permits authorize a foreign national to work in a specific position in a particular employer but don’t require a positive LMIA.