 "A girl stands outside an immigration consultant office at a market in Amritsar, in the northern state of Punjab, India, September 22, 2023. Reuters")
Canada is ending the privilege granted to applicants applying for permanent residency who have job offers supported by a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).
The Immigration Ministry has announced that the Express Entry points system for job offers backed by LMIA will soon be removed.
The latest move aims to curb fraudulent practices tied to job offers.
Here’s how it will impact Indians.
What is LMIA?
It was first introduced in 2014 as part of reforms to the temporary foreign worker (TFW) programme.
The Stephen Harper administration viewed it “as a last and limited resort to full acute labour shortages on a temporary basis when qualified Canadians are not available.”
Under the initiative, if an employer wants to hire a foreign worker in Canada, they will need to first complete an LMIA application and receive a positive response from the federal government. They will also need to confirm that there are no Canadians or other permanent residents to do the job. Once it is approved, the prospective applicant will need the LMIA, a job offer and a contract to apply for a work permit.
As per Financial Post, over 71,300 LMIAs were approved in the first quarter of this year, compared to 63,300 during the same period last year. Most of the employment consisted of work in food service, agriculture, transportation and construction.
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How does it work?
The Express Entry System is the online application portal that governs the federal skilled worker and trades programmes, and the Canadian experience class programme.
Candidates are awarded points under the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) for education level, work experience, age, and English and French capacity, among other factors. The highest score a prospective immigrant can score is 1,200 points.
A job offer that is backed by an LMIA awards them 50 points, or 200 for a senior, higher-paying position.
What has Marc Miller announced?
During a press conference in Ottawa, Immigration Minister Marc Miller revealed that applicants with a job offer backed by LMIA would no longer receive additional ranking points.
“We are implementing further measures that will reinforce programme integrity and reduce potential LMIA fraud, such as removing additional points that candidates receive under Express Entry for having a job offer,” Miller said during a recent television appearance.
The exact date of implementation has not been announced.
He also announced efforts to end “flagpoling” and give Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada more authoritative power over immigration documents when it comes to dealing with cases of fraud or security risks.
Also read: How Canada’s restriction on temporary work permits will affect Indians
Why is Canada removing the Express Entry system?
Miller said the measures are meant to “reinforce programme integrity and reduce potential LMIA fraud.”
“This measure is expected to remove the incentive for candidates to purchase an LMIA, resulting in increased fairness and integrity in the express entry system and taking some of the value out of the fraud already being perpetrated in the LMIA system.”
Recently, several media outlets, including the Financial Post, highlighted how some employers and some immigration agents were exploiting the system by illegally selling LMIAs to immigrants or those looking to boost their CRS score for getting permanent residency.
These frauds were priced anywhere from $10,000 to $30,000, in some cases even $70,000 or $180,000, as per National Post.
Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, “No person shall… import, export, or deal in such a document.”
Also read: Why is Canada cutting immigration by more than 20% in 2025? Is it a setback for Indians?
How will it affect Indians?
According to The Times of India, India continued to be the top country for receiving invitations to apply for permanent residency under the Express Entry system.
Last year, nearly 52,100 Indians (47 per cent of the total invites) were invited to be permanent residents.
The latest move, when introduced, could affect Indians who aspire to become permanent residents in Canada.
It will be difficult even for genuine candidates, as it will now be challenging to meet the CRS cut-off score and obtain permanent residency.
Naresh Chavda, Globayan Immigration Corporation President, advocated for an improved screening process instead of removing the LMIA category entirely, as per Hindustan Times.
Is there an alternate option?
With the elimination of LMIA points, provincial nominations (worth 600 points) may be an alternate option for boosting the CRS score.
The target for the Provincial Nominee Programme (PNP) is 55,000 for each of the three years starting in 2025. The last PNP draw, held on December 16, had a CRS cut-off of 727 and Ottawa issued 1,086 invites for permanent residency.
This programme aims to focus on converting temporary residents in key sectors to permanent ones in order to avoid new arrivals and increased pressure on the country’s housing sector.
Under this, over 40 per cent of temporary residents will be converted to permanent residents.
For those uninitiated, Canada has significantly dropped its permanent residency targets recently. For three-year period starting next year, it has decreased the numbers to 11.4 lakh permanent residents.
With inputs from agencies