Canada work permits: IRCC will no longer refuse applications while an LMIA is pending

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has told its officers not to decide a work permit application until the employer's Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) has been decided. The change, made on 28 October 2026, means workers will no longer be refused simply because Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) is slow to process the LMIA, ProPakistani reported on Thursday.

What changed

The rule covers concurrent processing: a worker already in Canada applies for a new Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) work permit while the employer's LMIA is still pending.

• Before: officers held the work permit application for a maximum of 90 days (raised from 60 days on 21 August 2026) and could then refuse it if no LMIA decision had arrived.
• Now: officers wait for the LMIA decision, however long it takes.

IRCC made the change in the public version of its officer instructions, titled "Labour Market Impact Assessment review: Temporary Foreign Worker Program".

Who qualifies for concurrent processing

• Your current work permit must expire in two weeks or less.
• Your employer must have filed the LMIA early enough that ESDC could reasonably be expected to decide it before your permit expires.
• An employer needs a positive or neutral LMIA, which confirms no Canadian citizen or permanent resident is available for the job, before you can get a new TFWP permit or extend one.

If you applied before your permit expired, you keep maintained status and can go on working under your old permit's conditions until IRCC decides.

The low-wage LMIA ban still applies

Employers in 30 urban areas with unemployment of 6% or more cannot apply for LMIAs for non-exempt jobs paying less than 120% of the provincial or territorial median wage. Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa-Gatineau, Halifax, Fredericton and Regina are covered from 9 October 2026 to 7 January 2027.

What it means for Pakistanis

For Pakistanis in Canada on employer-specific permits, and anyone whose employer has an LMIA in the queue, the risk of a refusal while ESDC catches up has gone. It does not help with the low-wage ban: a job under the wage threshold in one of the 30 cities still cannot get a new LMIA until January.

Before you pay any agent in Pakistan for a "Canada work permit", check that the job has a real LMIA or an LMIA exemption on IRCC's site. Canada's application fees are paid in Canadian dollars; convert them on our currency converter. Pakistan and Canada also held their third round of investment treaty talks this month (our report).