Canada Work Visa from Pakistan: LMIA, Work Permits and Fake Job Offers
Canada work permits from Pakistan: how the LMIA works, LMIA-exempt routes, 2024–2025 limits on low-wage jobs and spouses, the steps, costs and refusals.
Last checked against official sources on 25 September 2026
QUICK ANSWER
How much does a Canadian work permit cost from Pakistan, and how long does it take?
An employer-specific work permit costs CA$155, plus CA$85 for biometrics; where the job needs an LMIA, the employer applies and pays for it. IRCC's estimate for work permits from Pakistan was 8 weeks on 7 October 2026, and it changes often.
Checked on the official sites on 13 October 2026. Fees and times change, so confirm them on the linked page before you pay. Visa centre charges and any consultant's fee are extra.
Most Canadian work permits are tied to one employer, and most of those need a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA): the employer shows Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) that it could not find a Canadian or permanent resident for the job. Only then do you apply to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for the permit itself.
The decision rests on the employer's LMIA and on whether the officer believes you can do the job and will leave when the permit ends. Canada has cut back hard on low-wage foreign workers since 2024, and fake LMIA job offers circulate in Pakistan. An employer may not charge you for an LMIA, and nobody legitimate sells a job offer or a visa.
Most refusals come down to one of four
01A genuine LMIA and offer
02The job's requirements met
03Leaving when the permit ends
04A valid medical
CACanada · Work visaFACT SHEET
What you get
A work permit tied to one employer, one job and one location
Most jobs
Need a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) from ESDC first
Low-wage jobs
Not processed in cities with high unemployment since September 2024
Medical exam
Required from Pakistan for any stay over six months
Working holidays
International Experience Canada is not open to Pakistani citizens
Applying on the wrong visa is one of the quickest ways to a refusal, so read both lists before anything else.
You’re in the right place if you are
A skilled worker with an LMIA-backed offer
Skilled workers with a job offer from a Canadian employer that holds a positive LMIA for the position.
Hired through the Global Talent Stream
Tech workers hired through the Global Talent Stream, where ESDC's standard for the LMIA is 10 business days and IRCC aims to process the permit in two weeks.
Transferred, or in an LMIA-exempt job
Staff moved by a company with offices in Pakistan and Canada, and other workers whose job is LMIA-exempt, with an offer the employer submits through IRCC's Employer Portal.
Checking whether an offer is real
Anyone who has been offered a Canadian job and wants to know whether it is real.
In the order it happens. Each stage waits on the one before it, so the date you start decides the date you finish. Ranges, not promises — the mission owns the clock.
1First
Check the offer and the LMIA
A genuine offer names the employer, the job, the wage and the location, and rests on a real LMIA or an Employer Portal submission. The employer, and anyone recruiting for it, may not charge you a recruitment fee or recover its LMIA costs from you. If anyone asks you to pay for the LMIA or the job, the offer is not real.
2Weeks to months
The employer gets the LMIA
The employer advertises the job, applies to ESDC and pays the processing fee. Since September 2024 ESDC has not processed most low-wage LMIAs in cities where unemployment is high, and it limits the share of low-wage foreign workers an employer may have. LMIA-exempt jobs skip this step.
3
Apply online to IRCC
You apply from Pakistan through your IRCC account, with the LMIA number or the offer of employment number, your contract and your documents, and pay the work permit and biometrics fees. IRCC does not ask for HEC-attested degrees for a work permit.
4Within 30 days
Biometrics and medical
IRCC sends a letter asking for biometrics, which you give at a visa application centre in Pakistan within 30 days. Book the medical with an IRCC panel physician; it is needed from Pakistan for any stay over six months.
5IRCC's live times
The decision
If you are approved, you receive a port of entry letter of introduction and a visa in your passport. The letter is not the permit: an officer issues the work permit when you arrive in Canada, and you should check that the employer, job and dates on it are right before you leave the counter.
6Days to 2 weeks
Protector, then travel
Register with the Bureau of Emigration before you fly; FIA checks it at the airport. Travel while the letter of introduction and your visa are still valid.
The official figures are in the quick answer at the top, as checked on 13 October 2026. They change without notice, so each line here says what a cost depends on and where the current figure is published.
Paid by the employer
The LMIA fee
The employer pays the LMIA processing fee — or, for an LMIA-exempt job, the employer compliance fee — and may not recover it from you. Charging you any recruitment fee, directly or through a recruiter, is prohibited.
FIGUREESDC
Paid with the application
Work permit and biometrics fees
You pay the work permit fee and the biometrics fee, at the amounts on IRCC's fee list.
FIGUREIRCC
Paid to third parties
Medical, police and tests
The medical exam, police certificates and any language test are paid to whoever provides them, and Protector registration to the Bureau of Emigration at its published rates.
FIGUREEach provider
If you pay an adviser
Licensed representatives only
If you pay anyone to represent you before IRCC, they must be a licensed Canadian immigration consultant or a lawyer.
This is general guidance. Rules change, sometimes without notice, and your case will have specifics this page cannot know about. Check anything decisive on the official pages, or send us your situation and we will tell you where you actually stand.
Read before you apply
Why Canada work visa applications are refused
The grounds that come up most on files from Pakistan. Most of them can be dealt with before you submit.
REFUSED
01
A fake or bought LMIA
A fake or purchased LMIA or job offer. It is misrepresentation, and it carries a five-year ban from applying to Canada.
02
The offer's requirements not met
Not meeting the requirements written into the LMIA or the offer — the language level, the experience or the qualification.
03
Doubt that you will leave
An officer not satisfied that you will leave Canada when the permit ends.
04
An LMIA not processed or withdrawn
A low-wage LMIA the employer could not get processed, or an LMIA withdrawn or revoked before you apply.
05
Medical inadmissibility
Medical inadmissibility, or a medical exam that was never done or has expired.
06
An undeclared refusal or removal
A previous refusal, overstay or removal from any country left undeclared.
07
Your spouse's permit, not eligible
For your spouse's open work permit: your job is not in an eligible category, or your permit has less than 16 months to run.
Already been refused?
Send us the refusal letter before you do anything else. It states the grounds, and they decide whether applying again is worth it or would just cost you the fee a second time.
Two agents cover WhatsApp between them, so this reaches a person rather than an inbox. The first assessment is free and you get a straight answer, including when that answer is no.
YOUR MESSAGE PREVIEW
ApkaVisa · live agentonline now
Assalam-o-Alaikum! I'd like a free assessment.
Service: Work Visa
Destination: Canada
(ref: form-guide-work-visa-canada)
Almost never from Pakistan. Employer-specific permits need an offer, and International Experience Canada — the working holiday route — has no agreement with Pakistan. Open work permits exist mainly for the spouses of some workers and students, and for graduates already in Canada.
No. The employer applies for the LMIA and pays for it, and it may not recover the cost, or any recruitment fee, from you. An LMIA or job offer sold for money is forged or tied to a job that does not exist, and using it is misrepresentation, with a five-year ban. Nobody legitimate sells a job offer or a visa.
Your spouse can get an open work permit only if your job is in TEER 0 or 1, or in one of the TEER 2 or 3 occupations IRCC lists, and your permit has at least 16 months to run when they apply. Since 21 January 2025 dependent children cannot get open work permits under this measure, though they can come as students or visitors.
It depends on the stream and on IRCC's current times for Pakistan, which it publishes and updates. The Global Talent Stream is the fastest: ESDC's standard is 10 business days for the LMIA, and IRCC aims to process the permit in two weeks. Most other streams take much longer.
It can help. Skilled work in Canada counts towards the Canadian Experience Class, and some provinces nominate workers already employed there. Since March 2025 a job offer no longer adds Express Entry points. See the Canada immigration guide.
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