Work Permit by Owner Operator LMIA
Index
- Introduction
- Requirements
- Application Procedure
- Program Merits
- Processing Time
- Q&A
- Fees
Introduction：
The Canadian Owner Operator LMIA is a work visa program for foreign owners of Canadian companies. It is a project that has been evaluated by the Canadian Ministry of Human Resources and allows foreign owners who hold Canadian companies but do not have Canadian status to apply for a work permit, accumulate relevant work experience in Canada, and then apply for an immigration program. If the foreign owner of the enterprise holds more than 50% of the shares, it can be regarded as the enterprise owner. Entrepreneurs can use the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) approval to apply for a work permit to come to Canada.
Requirements：
The Owner Operator LMIA is not open to all foreigners interested in investing in a business in Canada. To qualify as an Owner Operator, you must meet important requirements related to business control, such as purchasing at least a 50% equity interest in an existing Canadian business or opening a new business in Canada and bringing benefits to Canada through job creation or skills transfer.
- Business Control
The Owner Operator needs to have control over the business. This means that if the business is a partnership or corporation, you must be the sole owner or have a majority stake. The simplest indicator of business control is whether you can be fired from your position in the business. If you control the business then this is obviously impossible.
2. Benefit to Canada – Job creation or Skills transfer
Merely buying a business and appointing yourself as an employee does not qualify you as an Owner Operator. A very important parameter is whether your presence and involvement in the business in Canada will create or retain employment for Canadians, or result in the transfer of skills or knowledge To residents of Canada.
3. Actively Participate in Business Management
The Owner Operator work permit is almost the same as the investment immigration program, because the applicant must actively participate in the management of the business. You must have extensive business experience and a proven track record in creating and maintaining successful businesses. You must develop a detailed business plan for the business and must play a key role in executing the plan in Canada. USCIS will analyze your business plan to assess its viability and verify your business expertise and level of control over your business or enterprise to assess whether you meet the requirements to actively manage your business.
Application Procedure：
- Pre-application of Owner-Operator LMIA
Since you will be entering Canada as a skilled worker under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, your employer (i.e. your business) must apply for a Labour Market Impact Assessment. You can only be appointed Owner-operator if you have an approved LMIA. There are many important factors to be considered during the LMIA assessment, and they will vary depending on whether you are acquiring an existing business or establishing a new one.
1.1 Purchasing an Existing Business
If you are buying 100% of the business and are the sole owner, the LMIA assessment will depend on how you will create and retain jobs for Canadians and the extent of knowledge transfer through a transition program. If the completion of the purchase is contingent on your LMIA and work permit, then you can demonstrate your intent by finalizing a share purchase agreement and setting up an escrow account for the buying business. In this case, you can complete the purchase and then apply for an LMIA, or the existing owner can apply for an LMIA, appoint you, and complete the sale of the business.
1.2 Partnership or Partial Equity Purchase
In the case of a partnership or partial equity purchase, the authorities will consider the following factors before granting LMIA approval.
In the case of a partnership or partial equity purchase, the authorities will consider the following factors before granting LMIA approval.
a. Should you hold a majority stake in the business?
b. Whether your appointment as an employee can be terminated without your consent/consent.
c. The extent to which existing shareholders will continue to play an active role in the management of the business.
d. Whether the business is profitable enough to pay the investor-employee salaries regardless of the additional capital brought in by the investor-employee.
e. Investor – Responsibilities and obligations of the employee upon appointment.
1.3 Setting up New Business
When opening a new business in Canada, it is important to realize the factor of “active participation in the management of the business”. When applying for the LMIA and work permit, you can demonstrate this by highlighting your role in various tasks related to setting up a business.
which includes:
a. Negotiate various contracts related to establishing a business, including venue rental agreements, equipment contracts, appointment of other workers, etc.
b. Apply for a Business Number (BN) registration with the Canada Revenue Agency and complete other regulatory formalities, licenses and permission to establish a business
c. Develop a detailed business plan that demonstrates your understanding of the business and your involvement in the planning process for establishing a joint venture.
In addition to the various factors detailed above, authorities should also consider your level of English and/or French. Ideally, you should take a valid language test and score at least a CLB 5.0 or higher in all four sections.
2. After the LMIA application is approved
To obtain a work permit and start working as an employee for your own business, the process for obtaining a work permit after LMIA approval is the same as any other applicant under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Once your work permit is approved, you can start working for your business and start gaining Canadian work experience like any other experienced worker.
3. Apply for immigration
To obtain a work permit and start working as an employee for your own business, the process for obtaining a work permit after LMIA approval is the same as any other applicant under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Once your work permit is approved, you can start working for your business and start gaining Canadian work experience like any other experienced worker.
Program Highlights：
- Processing time: generally, it takes about 5-8 months to approve the work permit. When the applicant enters Canada to work on the business owner’s work permit, the spouse can apply for the spouse’s open work permit (SOWP) to go together, and the children can also hold school. Sign up to enjoy free high-quality public education in Canada.
- The requirements is moderate: among the conditions for applying for a work permit, the Canadian Immigration Service has no specific statutory requirements for the scale, registered capital, turnover, number of personnel, operating history, and tax payment of the business owner’s investment enterprise. In other words, any Canadian business owner can apply, as long as the shares reach more than 51%, they can acquire other companies, partner with other companies, or create new companies.
- English language requirements: there is no mandatory language score requirement when applying for a work permit, which is different from most other business immigrants and skilled immigrants, but our company recommends applicants to have appropriate language scores, because immigration officials The case has absolute discretion. Most Canadian language scores for business or skilled immigrants are provided at the time of application, and ideally you should take a valid language test and obtain at least a CLB 5.0 or higher in all four components. Before the whole family landed in Canada, in the process of applying for a work visa, there is no rigid language requirement for the applicant of the business owner work visa, but our company recommends that the applicant should have appropriate language scores, because the immigration officer has absolute discretion in the case. It is possible for applicants to obtain a work permit and operate a business in Canada without language requirements. In the process of working and living in Canada, there is enough time and language environment to improve language performance and increase the success rate of immigration.
- Cost savings, the main cost of the applicant for this project is investment money, which is used to acquire and create a business in Canada. As long as the project is properly selected and the operation is done properly, it can achieve two birds with one stone in starting a business and applying for immigration.
Processing Time：
It generally takes 5-8 months, including the processing time of the work permit application, the business operation for 1 year, and the application through the fast track to become a permanent resident of Canada.
The project processing time will be updated every week, please refer to the latest time announced by the IRCC.
Q & A:
A: The applicant needs to hold at least 50% of the shares in the business, as a business owner or executive, and after arriving in Canada, the applicant needs to operate and manage the business in Canada.
A: The Canadian business owner work visa has no specific size and quota restrictions on the investment enterprise, but it needs to provide a practical business plan, have a substantial office or workplace, maintain existing jobs, and have the ability to create jobs.
A: There are roughly 3 differences between the Canadian business owner work permit and the PNP entrepreneur:
The Owner-operator’s LMIA work permit pathway offers some significant advantages over the Entrepreneur application through the Provincial Nominee Program. Owner-Operator’s LMIA is handled through the federal Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Additionally, you can apply for PR through the federal route, which means you are free to settle in any province of your choice. Regardless of whether other provinces have better opportunities, PNP applicants must settle in that particular province.
2. The Business Owner Work Permit sets minimum net worth and investment requirements. Owner-Operator LMIA allows you to invest and help you apply for PR even if your net worth is not large.
3. Applying through the PNP Entrepreneur is much more complicated than the Business Owner Work Permit. You must first submit a Letter of Intent, undertake a preparatory business visit to the province, finalize a business performance agreement upon receipt of an ITA, deploy your investment, and obtain a work permit for 18-36 months before applying for permanent residence status. Immigration The project processing time will be updated every week, please refer to the latest time announced by the Immigration Bureau.
Fees：
- Our company only charges service fees, which do not include government fees, translation fees, notarization fees, courier fees and other third-party fees.
- The service fee is charged according to the customer’s situation. If the customer’s situation is more complicated, there may be additional fees (refer to customer evaluation).