Employers

• Employers must apply for an LMO before hiring a single foreign worker with an HRSDC visa. This also applies to preapprovals for hiring large numbers of foreign workers. The foreign worker will need a copy of the positive LMO in order to continue the process of applying for an HRSDC visa or any work visa to Canada.
  
  

Validity

• An LMO is valid for a maximum of six months. If a prospective employee has not applied for an HRSDC work visa before the end of that period, the LMO becomes invalid. This means that the prospective employer must go through the process of obtaining an LMO once more before the visa can be applied for.
  
  

Jobs

• The types of jobs for which a foreign national can come in on a visa to perform must be validated as jobs that cannot be performed by Canadian nationals. This is the purpose of applying for the LMO. HRSDC will investigate the positions and company involved to ensure Canadian jobs will be protected, even if a foreign worker performs a specific job.
  
  

Advertising

• To have an LMO issued for an HRSDC visa, the employer must meet minimum advertising standards showing that the job was advertised to Canadian nationals before a foreign national was hired. This includes advertising on the National Job Bank and proof of industry-standard recruitment techniques, such as newspaper ads or Internet job postings, being used.
  
  

Preapprovals

• Canadian employers who will be looking to perform prolonged recruitment for certain positions may apply for a positive LMO in a precertification process. The application will be marked as a preliminary application and does not contain information about any specific employees. If the preapproval is successful, each individual foreign employee will be issued with an LMO to be used in applying for their visa.