How to Verify the Authenticity of the LMIA (Confirmation Letter) that Your Immigration Consultant 
Got for You?

A Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) refers to a document that allows a Canadian employer to hire a temporary worker from outside the country.

Also known as Confirmation Letter, LMIA is provided by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), after assessing the offer of employment to ensure that the hiring of a foreign worker will not impact negatively on the Canadian labour market.

What are the Requirements for an LMIA?

An employer needs to get an LMIA before the workers apply for a work permit which serves as proof that no Canadian citizen is available to fill a specific position in Canada. So the employer requires to hire a foreign worker.

The category of the hiring program guides the whole application process for the LMIA. These may be as follows-

• High wage temporary workers
• Low wage temporary workers
• A temporary worker under the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program
• A temporary worker under the Agricultural stream

Why is the LMIA Required?

You can apply for a Canadian work permit only after getting LMIA. However, before applying, you need to investigate that the LMIA your consultant has obtained for you is genuine or not.

How to Identify the Authenticity of the LMIA?

Many a time, we need to contact or hire an immigration consultant who helps us get a job as well as fulfils the legal procedures regarding the application for obtaining the Canadian work permit as well as the LMIA from a Canadian employer.

However, you need to be cautious before selecting the right man as there may be a chance of fraud.

Let’s go through a few fundamental steps to check the authenticity of the LMIA as well as the job offer letter of the Canadian employer.

• IRCC and ESDC are the bodies responsible for identifying whether a job offered by the Canadian organization is original or not.
• LMIA is a document that consists of a specific number. You can take that number and send it to the service of Canada for obtaining information.
• Check for the size and format of the LMIA letter as the government bodies always use a standard size and form for all documents.
• Read the contract conditions to see if these are as per the Canadian standards.
• Match whether the offered wage rate or salary mentioned in the LMIA is the same as it is described by the government bodies of the various Canadian provinces.
• Usually, there  should be minimum of 3 months time duration between LMIA and job offer provided by the employer,
• Check the companies logo and stamp meticulously,
• An LMIA and a job offer consist of an e-mail and contact details of the organization, don’t forget to verify them accordingly,
• If it is an IT-based vacancy, then ESDC might approve LMIA within Ten days only if the employer qualifies under Global Talent Stream.

The Takeaway

Taking cautious steps while applying for the work permit can save you from fraudsters. However, IRCC and ESDC are highly responsible bodies that safeguard the interest of foreign job seekers by identifying the originality of LMIA.

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Shobha Vats

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