Potential clients with great qualifications who are eligible to enter the pool of candidates for Express Entry program but are not able to obtain Comprehensive Score Rating (“CRS”) score required to meet the threshold cut-off can apply for Owner Operator LMIA.
The Owner Operator LMIA is a suitable option to facilitate admission to Canada, as it helps in improving CRS by 200 points for senior managerial positions, or 50 points for the above- mentioned Candidates. There are two options available to apply for an Owner Operator LMIA, first option is to establish a new business in Canada and second is to purchase an existing business. There are several requirements for the foreign worker to own and operate a business in Canada to be qualified for an Owner Operator LMIA:
- Hold majority of shares (holding at least 1% shares) and/or establish that they have a controlling interest in their business and cannot be dismissed
- Create employment opportunities and transfer skills to Canadians and permanent residents
- Demonstrate financial resources to hire and pay wages, the ability to fund the business and outline the financial plane and creation of employment These information need to be included in a business plan. The business plan also must demonstrate the genuineness of the business, the employment of the Owner Operator Candidate and its positive or neutral effect on the Canadian labour market.
- Proof active management of the business and being “actively engaged in the business” by having qualifications for the position within the business and earning a wage equal to or greater than the median wage requirements
Notes for Start-up Option:
- For start-up Owner-Operator LMIA, the candidate must demonstrate that the business is prepared to operate by submitting documentations such as articles of incorporation, business license, lease agreement and employment
- If the client decides to choose the start-up option, obtaining a Work Permit under R205(a) Significant benefit exemption codes ( under C10 or C11) can be an The candidate may apply for the Owner Operator LMIA after establishing and operating the business.
Notes for Purchasing an Existing Business Option:
- When the candidate purchases an existing Canadian business, supporting documentations such as shareholding and ownership documents must be provided along with the LMIA application
- Other documentations such as past financial statements, publicly available information about employees and pictures of the business can be included with the
Pathway to Main Goal, Permanent Residency of Canada
After obtaining the positive LMIA a 1-2 years’ work permit is issued to the applicant. This approved LMIA usually puts the candidate in a position to have enough points to gets invitation to submit a permanent resident visa Express Entry Program. Although the points for an approved LMIA have been reduced from 600 points, but the current 200 or 50 points in most cases give enough points to the applicant to receive an “Invitation to Apply”.
Although applicant’s language ability does not play an important role to the success of the LMIA, but the applicant should be able to provide English/ French langue ability proof when the permanent residency application will be submitted to meet the minimum language requirement or obtain more points.
A final note to consider on Owner Operator LMIA is when the applicant needs to obtain more points by having Canadian work experience while working in his business. As self-employed work experience is not acceptable to obtain Canadian work experience points, the officer may not accept the Canadian work experience gained through an Owner Operator LMIA/ work permit.
Here we answer all your questions about LMIA, just contact us through the following link
