Canada updated processing times for six LMIA streams

On September 10, 2026, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) updated the processing times for the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) applications under various streams. Based on statistics from all processing centres, the average LMIA processing time has increased for all streams except the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program and the Global Talent Stream.

• Global Talent Stream - 10 business days

• Agricultural stream – 25 business days (+2 days)

• Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program - 6 business days (-2 days)

• Permanent Residence Stream - 156 business days (+70 days)

• High-wage Stream - 90 business days (+2 days)

• Low-wage Stream - 82 business days (+9 days)

#esdc, #service_canada, #lmia #tfwp, #work_permit, #agricultural_workers, #caregivers