Phaedru5

Does anyone here have any experience in how to begin the process of employing someone from abroad? The company I work for is expanding and struggling to find suitable people in BC. I have several ex colleagues in the UK who we would love to employ, but with no other formal means of moving to BC (through family, etc). If a company specifically wants to employ someone from the UK, and i know would have to prove their skills & qualifications and reason for selecting this person over a Canadian, how would one go about it?
Do I have to approach immigration from the company, or do we make a job offer and then the person approaches immigration with job offer in hand?
How long does the process usually take. Could i have them working for me in as little as, say, 6 months?
Can anyone help steer me in the right direction?
Thanks

christmasoompa

You'll need to apply for a LMIA for them. Pay the $1000, provide proof of advertising and the people who've applied (and why they're not suitable), and then hopefully it's granted within about 3-4 months. Once you've got the LMIA you give it to the employee and they can then apply for their work permit.

Start here - https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-...dian-wage.html

HTH, good luck.

Awain

I went through the Temp Work Visa process last year. The initial application was started by my company/lawyers in May 2018, the LMIA was completed in November 2018 and I qualified for 10 day processing after that - I got my visa in Feb 2019. This is Ontario rather than BC, but the delays were with Canada Immigration so perhaps a useful guide on timelines.

Siouxie

Depending on the job, it's often possible to get the work permit at the port of entry once the LMIA has been approved, contacts signed etc., thus negating the need to wait for Immigration to process.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration...apply/poe.html

rivingtonpike

I'm applying for a LMIA for one of my US Directors who I want to be able to also work in Canada. Luckily the guy I want over here is one of the world's leading neuro scientists, so I haven't received a single resume that holds a candle to his suitability. Needless to say I had the HR department and the immigration lawyers "craft" the job spec to specifically reflect his skills! I think the whole process, including the $1000 fee to the government, is costing me $4,500. I haven't really had to do anything except sign off on bits and pieces. The Immy lawyers have done it all, so I'm actually not complaining at the cost.