Backgrounder - Application for a labour market opinion

The Foreign Worker Program (FWP) is jointly administered by Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC) and Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC). Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR), HRSDC is required to provide an opinion to Citizenship and Immigration (CIC) or to an employer on the likely impact hiring a foreign worker will have on the Canadian labour market. This is called a “Labour Market Opinion” or LMO. In addition, most foreign nationals who wish to work in Canada temporarily require a work permit from CIC.

As of April 1, 2007, employers will be able to completely fill-in and submit their Foreign Worker Application (the “Application for a Labour Market Opinion” form) over the Internet at www.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/epb/lmd/fw/onlineappintro.shtml. This is the only FWP application form which will be available to be submitted online at present. Employers will still be able to access the PDF “fill and print” version of the application form via the FWP forms page at: www.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/epb/lmd/fw/forms.shtml. All other FWP application forms (e.g. seasonal agricultural worker program, live-in caregivers) will also still be available in the PDF “fill and print” format via the FWP forms page.

For security reasons, when completing the online version of the “Application for a Labour Market Opinion”, employers must fill out the entire online form at one time (in a single session) — it cannot be saved and returned to later. The online version of the form is in a questionnaire format and each question is accompanied by additional information and a “Help” button that provides specific instructions on completing each question.

Once all the questions have been answered and the form has been successfully submitted electronically, employers will receive confirmation of their submission and a tracking number for the employer to keep (for future reference). In addition to the online application, employers will be required to submit the following: a printed and signed copy of the “Declaration of Employer” page; a printout of the page showing the tracking number; and any additional supporting information. All these documents must be submitted to the Service Canada office before the application can be fully processed. This tracking number must be included on all supporting paper documents, or information that they submit regarding the application. To reduce processing time, employers are encouraged to submit all supporting paper documents using one method: either all by fax or all by mail.

Depending on the complexity of an application, completing and submitting the Foreign Worker Application (Application for a Labour Market Opinion) form online will save employers time and will reduce processing time in most cases.

For more information, visit www.hrsdc.gc.ca.