LMIA-simplified process for Québec

Companies in Québec that have never applied for a work permit under the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) category may be exempt from the recruitment and transition plan requirements when filling highly skilled positions.

About LMIA – high wage:

When a company wants to hire a temporary foreign worker, sometimes the only way to do it is to go through the LMIA. This will generally be the case when no LMIA-exempt work permit option is available. Most employers do not like to use the LMIA option because the process takes a lot of time, it is expensive and places a lot of burden on the employers. Namely:

• The LMIA requires employers to advertise the foreign worker’s position for at least 4 weeks before the employer is allowed to file the LMIA;
• Employers must include a transition plan in the LMIA application and explain to the provincial government (or federal government if applying outside Québec) how bringing foreign worker will help employment prospect of Canadian citizens and permanent residents. They are also usually obliged to support the temporary foreign worker with their application for permanent residence.

Simplified process for Québec:

Québec companies that have never used the LMIA can benefit from a somewhat simplified process. They do not have to advertise the position for 4 weeks before submitting the application. They also do not need to provide any transition plans.

This option is open to certain positions only. In other words, the LMIA-simplified process is available to the employers that wish to fill only specifically enumerated positions. Every year the Québec Ministry of Immigration and Francization publishes a list of professions for which there is a labour shortage. The 2020 list was published on February 24, 2020 and it took effect on March 24, 2020. Between February 24 and March 24 the employers were allowed to use the 2019 list. There are more than 150 professions on the currently valid list. Some of the professions for which there is a labour shortage in the province are:

• Financial managers (NOC 0111);
• Library managers (NOC 0511);
• Managers in agriculture (NOC 0821);
• Marketing professionals (NOC 1123);
• Administrative officers (NOC 1221);
• Computer engineers (NOC 2147);
• Interactive media developers (NOC 2174);
• Heavy-duty equipment mechanics (NOC 7312);
• Industrial designers (NOC 2252);
• Construction inspectors (NOC 2264);
• Dentists (NOC 3113);
• Post-secondary teaching and research assistants (NOC 4012);
• Firefighters (NOC 4312);
• Translators (NOC 5125);
• Ironworkers (NOC 7236).

In case the employer has already applied for an LMIA and wishes to hire more highly skilled foreign workers, the employer will be obliged to include a transition plan, but it will continue to be exempt from the recruitment requirement.

CAQ – Québec acceptance certificate for work:

It is very important to bear in mind that if the employer wishes to file any type of LMIA applications, they must also apply for a Québec Certificate of Acceptance or CAQ. As it is the case with Québec study permits and permanent residence applications, prior approval of the Québec government is needed to move forward with the LMIA. The CAQ application must be completed and signed in French and sent to the Québec Ministry of Immigration and Francization. The CAQ and LMIA applications are independent and separate processes, but are usually submitted at the same time. Furthermore, it generally does not take a lot of time to obtain CAQs.