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LMIA Cost: The $1,000 Fee and Why a Worker Cannot Be Charged

An employer applying for a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) pays $1,000 for each position requested. ESDC's page says the fee cannot be paid by, or recovered from, the temporary foreign worker, and a recruiter acting for the employer cannot recover it or recruitment costs from the worker either. It is not refunded if the application is withdrawn, cancelled or the LMIA is negative.

"LMIA cost" is a search that two very different people make. One is an employer who wants to know what a Labour Market Impact Assessment costs to apply for. The other is a worker abroad who has been asked to pay for one. The rule for both is the same, and it is written into federal regulations: the employer pays the government fee and the worker does not.

This guide sets out the $1,000 processing fee, what else an employer must do and pay for, the regulation that forbids charging the worker, and what ESDC says about refunds. It describes the rules. It cannot tell you whether a particular job offer qualifies for an LMIA or whether a specific demand for money is lawful in all details; for that, see a licensed adviser or the relevant authority.

It does not list job vacancies, and nothing here is an offer of work or a promise of a job.

What an LMIA is, in one paragraph

A Labour Market Impact Assessment is a document that Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) issues to an employer who wants to hire a temporary foreign worker. ESDC's foreign workers page (page date 7 October 2026) lists the streams under which employers apply: high and low-wage positions, primary agriculture positions, applications to support permanent residency, the Global Talent Stream, caregiver positions, foreign academic positions, hiring in the province of Quebec, and the Recognized Employer Pilot.

The employer applies to ESDC. If the result is positive, the worker can then apply to IRCC for a work permit based on it. The LMIA is therefore the employer's application, and the work permit is the worker's. The two have separate fees and separate payers.

That split is why the question of who pays is clear on the page: ESDC's fee is the employer's.

The $1,000 fee

ESDC's requirements pages for both the low-wage and high-wage streams (page dates 22 September 2026 and 18 September 2026) use the same wording: "You must pay $1,000 for each position requested to cover the cost of processing your LMIA application."

The fee is in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations too. Section 315.2(1) states: "A fee of $1,000 is payable for the provision of services in relation to an assessment from the Department of Employment and Social Development that is requested by an employer or group of employers ... for each offer of employment in respect of which the request is made." Section 315.2(2) says the fee must be paid at the time the request is made.

Three things follow.

It is per position, not per application. An employer asking for three positions in one request pays for three offers of employment. A single LMIA for several positions is multiplied.

It is paid up front. The regulation says at the time the request is made.

Primary agriculture is treated differently. Section 315.2(3) says no fee is payable if the request relates to work under an international agreement on seasonal agricultural workers or other work in the primary agriculture sector. The section defines primary agriculture in subsection (4), and it has its own detail, so read it in the regulation if that stream applies.

ESDC's page lists accepted payment methods: major credit cards, certified cheques, money orders and bank drafts, with cheques, money orders and drafts payable to the Receiver General for Canada.

Who cannot be charged

This is the rule workers most need to know. ESDC's page says: "The processing fee can't be paid by nor be recovered from temporary foreign workers." It adds that a third-party representative cannot demand or recover "the processing fee or other costs related to recruiting" from the worker.

The regulations back this up. For employers hiring under LMIA-based work permits, section 209.3(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations sets conditions the employer must comply with during the worker's employment. Among them, the employer "must not, directly or indirectly, charge or recover from the foreign national the fees referred to in subparagraph (xiii) or subsection 315.2(1) or any fees related to the recruitment of the foreign national," except for certain fees listed in the section. A matching condition requires the employer to ensure that any person who recruited the foreign national for the employer does not charge or recover those fees either. Section 209.2(1) sets a parallel condition for employers whose workers come without an LMIA, covering the separate employer compliance fee.

In plain terms:

  • The government fee for the LMIA belongs to the employer.
  • The employer cannot pass it to the worker, directly or indirectly.
  • Recruitment fees are covered too, not just the LMIA fee.
  • A recruiter or agent working for the employer is also bound.

An employer who breaks these conditions can face consequences under the regulations. Our guide to unlicensed immigration consultants explains how to check whether a person offering immigration help is entitled to do so, and how to report concerns. If you have been asked to pay an "LMIA fee," the regulation and ESDC's page both say the worker is not the one who pays it.

What else employers must do and pay for

The $1,000 is the government processing fee. ESDC's pages describe other obligations that carry costs of their own, and they differ by stream.

Low-wage positions (page date 22 September 2026). The employer must advertise on Job Bank, target youth, and use at least two additional recruitment methods that each reach a different underrepresented group. The advertisement must run for at least eight consecutive weeks within the three months before the LMIA application is submitted. The employer must pay the prevailing wage, which ESDC defines as the highest of the Job Bank median wage and the wage the employer pays current employees in the same job, location and experience level. The page also describes a cap: low-wage temporary foreign worker positions are limited to 10% of the workforce at a work location, with a 20% cap for certain sectors and occupations, and applications above the cap may not be processed.

High-wage positions (page date 18 September 2026). ESDC calls a transition plan "a mandatory requirement to hire temporary foreign workers in high-wage positions," valid for the worker's full employment period. The employer must run at least three different recruitment activities before applying, one of them a Job Bank advertisement and at least one of the others national in scope. The prevailing wage rule is the same.

Health insurance and other conditions. Section 209.3(1)(xiii) of the regulations, as read, requires employers to obtain and pay for private health insurance for the foreign worker in specified circumstances, except in certain agricultural-agreement cases. Read the conditions that apply to your stream.

Advertising, a transition plan and compliance work have their own costs, which vary and are not government fees. We do not give figures for them.

Refunds: when the fee comes back

ESDC's low-wage requirements page says: "The processing fee won't be refunded if your application is withdrawn, cancelled or if your LMIA is negative." It adds that refunds apply only when a fee was collected in error.

So the $1,000 is, in practice, the price of having the application assessed, not a deposit. A negative result does not return it. An employer who withdraws a request does not get it back.

This differs from the IRCC fee list, where the right of permanent residence fee is refunded if a permanent residence application is withdrawn or refused. The two systems are separate: ESDC's LMIA fee is not on the IRCC list.

The worker's own costs

A worker does have costs of their own, which are different from the LMIA fee. From the IRCC fee list (date modified 21 September 2026), the work permit application is $155.00 per person, and biometrics are $85.00 per individual. A worker applying for an employer-specific permit may also have a medical exam, police certificates and travel costs. These are paid to IRCC or to third parties, not to the employer for the LMIA.

Two cautions follow from the regulations above.

"Recruitment fees" are covered by the same rule. If someone says you must pay a recruitment fee as a condition of an LMIA-based job offer to the employer or its recruiter, the regulation prohibits the employer from charging or recovering recruitment fees from the foreign national, with the exceptions the regulation lists. Read section 209.3 for the exceptions before drawing conclusions about a particular fee.

A job offer is not a visa. A positive LMIA is an employer's document. The worker still has to apply for and receive a work permit from IRCC, and IRCC can refuse it. Our guide to work permit refusals explains the options.

Nothing on Migratio lists jobs, finds employers or promises placement. If someone is charging you for a job offer, check who they are. Under IRPA section 91, only licensed consultants, lawyers and a few others may be paid to advise or represent you on an immigration application, and our guide to checking an RCIC licence shows how to verify one.

Employer compliance fee: a different $230

Employers sometimes confuse the LMIA fee with another charge. The employer compliance fee is $230.00 on the IRCC fee list (date modified 21 September 2026), and section 303.1(1) of the Regulations says an employer who has made an offer of employment to a foreign national in respect of certain LMIA-exempt work must pay it. It is payable before the foreign national applies for a work permit or renewal (section 303.1(2)).

The $230 applies to offers in LMIA-exempt categories described in the regulation, not to an ordinary LMIA application. The conditions in section 209.2 for those employers also say they must not charge or recover that fee from the worker. In short: two different fees, two different systems, and in both cases the worker does not pay.

When to get regulated help

Employers sometimes use licensed consultants or lawyers to prepare LMIA applications, and workers use them for the work permit. A licensed adviser must give you a written consultation agreement stating the fee before starting work (Code of Professional Conduct, section 23). That adviser's fee is separate from, and can never be a substitute for, the government processing fee the employer pays.

If someone asks you, as a worker, to pay the "LMIA fee," ask to see the regulation or ESDC's page. You may also contact ESDC or the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants if the person claims to be a licensed consultant.

If you want a regulated adviser to look at your own documents, the Migratio directory lists licensed Canadian immigration consultants (RCICs) and lawyers, with their College or law society details so you can check the register yourself. Migratio is a directory and booking service. It is not an immigration consultant and does not give advice on individual cases.

Questions people ask

How much does an LMIA cost?

ESDC's pages say the employer must pay $1,000 for each position requested to cover the cost of processing the LMIA application. Section 315.2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations sets the same fee. No fee is payable for certain primary agriculture requests.

Can an employer charge the worker for the LMIA?

No. ESDC's page says the processing fee cannot be paid by, or recovered from, temporary foreign workers, and the regulations bar employers from charging or recovering it, or recruitment fees, from the foreign national, directly or indirectly.

Can a recruiter charge me for the LMIA fee?

ESDC's page says a third-party representative cannot demand or recover the processing fee or other recruiting costs from the worker. The regulations also require the employer to ensure any person who recruited the worker does not charge those fees.

Is the LMIA fee refundable?

ESDC says it will not be refunded if the application is withdrawn, cancelled or the LMIA is negative. Refunds apply only when the fee was collected in error.

Is the LMIA fee the same as the employer compliance fee?

No. The LMIA processing fee is $1,000 per position and goes to ESDC. The employer compliance fee is $230 on the IRCC fee list and applies to certain LMIA-exempt offers (Regulations section 303.1).

Sources

Last checked 2026-10-09.

Related guides

  • Canadian Immigration Fees 2026: The IRCC List, Explained — The IRCC fee list (date modified 21 September 2026) sets the government fees for most applications: for example $100 for a visitor visa, $150 for a study permit, $155 for a work permit, $1,590 for an economic permanent residence application including the $600 right of permanent residence fee, and $653 for an adult citizenship application. Medical exams, language tests, police certificates and representative fees are not on it.
  • LMIA explained: what it is and which Temporary Foreign Worker Program streams employers use — A Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) is an assessment by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) that an officer uses when deciding on an employer-specific work permit. The employer applies for it and pays the $1,000 fee per position. Workers cannot be charged for it or for recruitment. A positive LMIA does not by itself guarantee a work permit.
  • LMIA-exempt work permits: how the International Mobility Program works — The International Mobility Program lets employers hire temporary foreign workers without a Labour Market Impact Assessment. The legal basis is sections 204 and 205 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations. For most employer-specific permits the employer pays a $230 compliance fee, submits an offer of employment through the Employer Portal and gives the worker a 7-digit number.
  • Work Permit Refused in Canada: What Happens Next — There is no appeal from a work permit refusal. IRCC's two stated options are to apply again with new information or to seek judicial review in the Federal Court, which has a 15-day deadline for decisions made in Canada and 60 days for decisions made outside it. If you were in Canada, your right to keep working usually ends on the day of the decision.
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  • How to check an RCIC licence on the College's Public Register — Search the consultant on the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants Public Register (register.college-ic.ca). Only people with an "Active" status and "Yes" in the "Entitled to Practise" column may legally give you immigration advice for a fee. Then contact them using the details on the register, not the ones in an ad or a message.
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