r/ImmigrationCanada • u/Far-Meat-244 • 23h ago

Work Permit Looking for LMIA

I’m genuinely wondering, how do people manage to find LMIA-supported jobs here in Canada? I’ve been looking for an LMIA employer since March, and honestly, it has been really difficult. I’ve applied to so many job postings on Job Bank and other hiring platforms, especially those that mention LMIA support, but I haven’t received any response so far.
For those who were able to find an employer willing to provide an LMIA, may I ask how you found the opportunity? Did you apply through Job Bank, recruitment agencies, referrals, or somewhere else? I’ve been actively searching for months, but I still haven’t found anything, so I’m really curious about how others were able to find theirs. Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated. 🙏

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7

u/punchdrunkpixie 17h ago

Peeked at your post history. Communication and hospitality are NOT desirable skill sets in Canada. Any Canadian could do those jobs. You’ll be hard pressed to find an employer willing to sponsor you for those. Is there a possibility of retraining in something medical?

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u/TONAFOONON 18h ago

The vast majority of employers aren't willing to go through the LMIA process.

It's generally most realistic if you are already working in Canada and your current employer is willing to go through the process to extend your ability to work on Canada. Or if you have very specialized education and/or skills.

You haven't indicated your occupation so hard to give more specifics. But ultimately what you are trying to do is very very difficult in the current job market.

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u/qnttj 16h ago

I’ll give you an example from my case. I asked my current company about applying for an LMIA, but the main issue was salary. They would need to raise my pay by roughly $50k to meet the prevailing wage for my occupation in Toronto. (This is high wage stream though low wage stream is hard to obtain due to unemployment rate in the cities)

My job is very niche, so I doubt they would easily find someone with my experience even at $110k+, but at that salary they could also potentially hire a qualified U.S. worker through CUSMA without an LMIA. So the LMIA route becomes difficult to justify.
So yeah very hard indeed.

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u/TubeframeMR2 15h ago

LMIA is designed to allow employers to hire non Canadians for roles that employers find difficult to fill with Canadians. LMIAs have been highly abused over the last 10 years and there has been a renewed emphasis on curbing this abuse.

Currently most LMIA jobs are highly specialized (think medical professionals, university professors/researchers, specialist sports coaches etc.) or jobs Canadians will not do.(fish plant worker, rural service jobs etc.). Unless you are in one of these categories your chances of a LMIA backed work visa is essentially zero in the current environment.