What we file, end to end
- Eligibility & wage: confirmation your role's NOC is on the Global Talent Occupations List and the offered wage meets prevailing wage.
- LMIA Online application: all sections, business legitimacy documents, and the fee step handled correctly the first time.
- Labour Market Benefits Plan: mandatory benefit plus two complementary benefits with measurable, defensible targets, plus a progress-review register so the commitments don't bite later.
- Work permit handoff: the worker's permit application once the LMIA issues.
What decides your timeline
ESDC's published service standard is 10 business days, met 80% of the time, which is where the two-week figure comes from. It is a target rather than a promise, and it is not automatic. Four things account for most of the delay we see in employer filings, and an HR team can settle all four before counsel is retained.
- NOC accuracy. The role has to match a NOC on the Global Talent Occupations List. An internal levelling title such as "Engineer III" is not a NOC. Officers assess the duties written in the job description, not the title.
- Prevailing wage. The offer must meet or exceed the prevailing wage for that NOC and region. Check the Job Bank median before the offer letter goes out. Repapering an offer costs more time than the filing does.
- Business legitimacy documents. Incorporation documents, recent T4 summaries or PD7A remittances, and a lease or utility bill. Assemble these once and reuse them across hires.
- The Labour Market Benefits Plan. Commitments carrying numbers and dates, not intentions. This is the piece employers most often underestimate.
Our fastest employer approval came in five business days. That was one file. ESDC volume varies through the year, so treat it as what a clean file makes possible rather than a date you can plan against.
Common questions
How fast is the Global Talent Stream?
ESDC's published service standard for a GTS LMIA is 10 business days, met 80% of the time. The worker's permit is meant to be expedited too, but that has been less reliable: in one of our files the LMIA took five business days and the permit still took about three months. Our fastest employer approval came in five business days. That was one file. Timelines vary with ESDC volume and with how complete the filing is.
Which roles qualify?
Category B covers in-demand tech occupations on the Global Talent Occupations List: software developers and engineers, data scientists, cybersecurity specialists and similar NOCs, paid at or above the prevailing wage.
What is a Labour Market Benefits Plan?
Every GTS employer must commit to a Labour Market Benefits Plan: one mandatory benefit (job creation or skills investment) plus two complementary benefits, each with measurable targets. We draft it and the tracking register as part of the filing.
For a fuller walk-through of the two-week standard and what actually keeps a file on it, read The two-week LMIA explained.
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