Engineers
My company is looking for engineers. How do I hire an engineer from another country as a temporary foreign worker?
Before applying for approval to hire an engineer from abroad, you should consider the following facts related to skilled foreign workers:
- If an internationally trained engineer needs to have a professional designation in Alberta, he/she must be licensed by the Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta (APEGGA).
- American and Mexican citizens who are qualified engineers would be exempt from the Labour Market Opinion (LMO) requirement under the provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) . Please refer to the NAFTA scenario.
As an employer, you need to decide if the foreign worker program is your best choice in addressing a labour shortage. You can make an informed decision after learning about the process required for hiring workers from abroad. The following are the steps in that process:
Step 1: Fill out the Foreign Worker Application - Labour Market Opinion form
Obtain a copy of the Foreign Worker - Labour Market Opinion Application from the Government of Canada.
Complete the application and include the following information and documentation:
- Proof that you have advertised on the national Job Bank for a minimum of fourteen (14) calendar days, or conducted similar recruitment activities consistent with the practice within the occupation (e.g., advertise on recognized Internet job sites, in journals, newsletters or national newspapers or by consulting unions or professional associations) for a minimum of three (3) months prior to apply for a Labour Market Opinion.
- An offer of employment that respects federal and provincial legal and regulatory requirements and collective agreements.
If you know the name of the person you want to hire, please include his/her name, date of birth and country of birth in the designated section of the application.
If you don’t know the name of the person you want to hire, indicate on the top of your LMO application “PRE-APPROVAL ONLY” in order to get approval in principal. This will allow you some time to identify a foreign worker you want to hire. Usually Service Canada allows you between six and 12 months to identify a foreign worker and provide them with the worker’s personal information to get a final approval.
If you are hiring more than one foreign worker for the same type position (e.g. five civil engineers) you can submit one application for all of them. On the LMO application, you must indicate the number of foreign workers you want to hire.
Step 2: Send application to Service Canada
Apply online, or fax your completed Foreign Worker - Labour Market Opinion application and supporting documents to Service Canada at 780-495-2738. You can also mail the application to:
Service Canada Foreign Worker Unit
Suite 1440 Canada Place
9700 Jasper Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta T5J 4C1
Step 3: Labour Market Opinion (LMO)
Service Canada’s role is to assess and provide their opinion on how the hiring of temporary foreign worker will impact the Canadian labour market. If your application for a temporary foreign worker is approved, you will receive a confirmation in writing. This confirmation letter permits a specific position to be filled by a specific foreign worker for a specific time period. This document is not a work permit.
Step 4: Labour Market Opinion (LMO) approval and job offer
After you obtain a LMO confirmation letter, send a copy of the letter to the recruited temporary foreign worker - engineer, along with your job offer. The job offer must indicate how long you are offering a job to a temporary foreign worker – LMO is issued for the same period of time. The job offer must be signed by you, the employer, before it is sent to the temporary foreign worker.
Step 5: Work permit, visas, medicals
Once a job offer has been made and accepted and the LMO letter has been sent to a temporary foreign worker, the worker must apply for a work permit. In most situations, the foreign worker must apply for a work permit from outside of Canada, usually at the Canadian visa post in their home country. In some instances, the temporary foreign worker may apply for a work permit at a port of entry upon his/her arrival in Canada (under NAFTA).
Temporary foreign workers from some countries must also obtain a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) before arriving in Canada. The applications for a TRV should be submitted when the application for a work permit is submitted. TRV and work permit applications will be considered at the same time. Temporary foreign workers are responsible for providing all documents that may be requested by the immigration officer to prove that they are qualified to meet the job requirements. They must also meet health, criminality and security admissibility criteria to be admitted to Canada.
In some cases, before coming to Canada, temporary foreign workers may require an immigration medical examination.
Please note that the time required to complete the process of bringing a temporary foreign worker to Alberta may be depend on Canadian visa post and work permit processing times, which vary from country to country.
What do I do if I want to extend the foreign worker’s contract?
If you want to extend your foreign worker’s contract for another term you need to apply for an Extension of a Labour Market Opinion (select EMP5354B). Once you get the LMO extension give a copy to the foreign worker so that he or she can apply for an extension of a work permit.
What do I do if I want to keep my temporary foreign workers permanently?
After an engineer has worked for you for a period of time (usually a probationary period), you can decide to make him / her an offer of permanent employment and nominate him or her through the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP) for permanent resident status. This Canada – Alberta program facilitates a fast-tracked process in obtaining a permanent resident status in Canada. Check the information on AINP for skilled workers.
Date Updated: Mar 20, 2009
RDP-662
