Immigrating on Pre-arranged employment? Check LMO validity date.

One of the fastest way to immigrate to Canada is to have an offer of pre-arranged employment. Normally the immigration consultants themselves help to arrange pre-arranged employment for you; albeit at some extra cost.

These prearranged employment offers for immigration need a Labor Market Opinion that certifies the requirement of the job. These are issued by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC).

As per guidelines issued by HRSDC, these LMOs have to be used within six months to apply for a work permit (WP). This is because the six months period is considered as accurate assessment of the prevailing labor market conditions and that a LMO should not become an open ended instrument to invite anybody to the country.

This six month period of LMO is also known as expiry date of the LMO. Any application for immigration received on the basis of pre-arranged employment offer on the basis of LMO older than six months is deemed to have expired and can no longer be used to support a WP application. These applications will be returned as incomplete.

If your consultant is offering you an LMO, check the dates. The LMO expiry date is indicated in the Annex to the LMO under “Opinion Expiry Date”. The date indicated in the “Offer Valid To” field is the date by which the worker must use the LMO in order to apply for a WP.

The instructions on the LMP very clearly mention that the “Offer Valid To” date (LMO expiry date), will not be extended. Applicants initiating a WP application at a port of entry are required to have a valid LMO expiry date.

For the expired LMOs, the employers will be required to apply for a new LMO if they still wish to hire a temporary foreign worker (TFW).Old LMOs will not be extended in any case.