On October 9, 2025, 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 current average LMIA processing times have decreased or remained the same for all streams, except for the Permanent Residence Stream and High-wage Stream.
Global Talent Stream - 8 business days
Agricultural stream – 13 business days (-3 days)
Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program - 7 business days (-1 day)
Permanent Residence Stream - 260 business days (+1 day)
High-wage Stream - 38 business days (+1 day)
Low-wage Stream - 41 business days (-1 day)