Hiring a Japanese Chef in Canada: LMIA and Working Holiday

Hiring a Japanese chef in Canada through the formal route usually means going through an LMIA (Labour Market Impact Assessment). The employer applies to the federal government (ESDC) and shows that no one could be found in Canada and that hiring a foreign worker will not harm the Canadian labour market. Only after a positive result can the chef apply for a work permit.

This article is for owners of Japanese restaurants in Canada and staff at Japanese head offices. It covers the practical side of the LMIA (wage streams, advertising, fees and obligations) and how to use people on a working holiday under International Experience Canada (IEC). The content was checked against official Government of Canada pages in September 2026.

1. LMIA basics: the dividing line is the hourly wage, not the occupation

In the NOC 2021 occupational classification, Chefs are 62200 (TEER 2) and Cooks are 63200 (TEER 3). Which set of rules the LMIA follows is decided not by this code but by the hourly wage you offer.

• At or above the provincial or territorial wage threshold: high-wage stream
• Below the threshold: low-wage stream

The threshold is set at the provincial median hourly wage plus 20% and is revised regularly. As explained below, the low-wage stream is effectively unavailable to Japanese restaurants in major cities as of September 2026, so the first thing to decide is whether you can offer terms above the threshold.

2. Wage thresholds by province and annual equivalents

The table shows the provinces with the most Japanese restaurants, from the thresholds effective 17 July 2026 (the full list for all provinces is in our comparison of overseas work visas for cooks). Annual figures are a simple reference calculation at 40 hours a week for 52 weeks.

Only guaranteed wages count towards the hourly rate. Overtime, tips, bonuses and commission are excluded. Assume that arguing the job "really pays more" once tips are included will not help in the assessment.

3. The high-wage stream in practice

Recruitment (required before applying)

Before applying, you must carry out at least three recruitment activities.

1. Advertise on Job Bank (the federal government's job site). Use the Job Match feature and invite every candidate rated 4 stars or higher to apply within 30 days of posting
2. At least two additional recruitment methods, one of which must be national in scope and accessible to residents of every province
3. Ads must run for at least 4 consecutive weeks within the 3 months before applying

Ads must include the company name, address, job title, duties, terms of employment, language of work, wage (including raises and bonuses), benefits, work location, contact information and required skills. If the terms in the ad differ from those in the application, you will be asked to explain. For writing the posting, see also how to write a job posting for overseas hires.

Transition Plan

The high-wage stream requires a Transition Plan setting out how you will recruit, retain and train Canadians and permanent residents to reduce reliance on foreign workers. For a Japanese restaurant, concrete measures might include skills training for local staff, creating apprentice positions or working with local culinary schools. The plan applies for the whole employment period, and you may be checked later on how it has been carried out.

Duration and extra provincial steps

You can request an employment period of up to 3 years and apply up to 6 months before the planned start date. British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia require a provincial registration certificate, and Quebec requires a concurrent provincial application.

4. Why the low-wage stream is hard

As of September 2026, the low-wage stream used when the wage falls below the threshold has the following restrictions.

• No processing in major cities: since 26 September 2024, LMIAs are not processed for low-wage positions in census metropolitan areas (CMAs) with an unemployment rate of 6% or higher. For 10 July to 8 October 2026, the list includes Toronto (7.3%), Vancouver (6.7%), Montreal (6.8%), Calgary (7.0%), Edmonton (7.2%) and Ottawa–Gatineau (6.7%), among others. The list is updated every three months.
• 10% cap: at each work location, low-wage foreign workers may make up no more than 10% of total staff. A workplace with fewer than 10 employees in a sector with the 10% cap can have no more than 1 (updated 18 August 2026).
• Longer advertising: you need Job Bank (inviting candidates rated 2 stars or higher to apply within 30 days), recruitment aimed at young people aged 15 to 30, and two additional methods aimed at under-represented groups, with ads running for at least 8 consecutive weeks within the 3 months before applying.
• Employment of up to 1 year. The employer must also pay round-trip travel and ensure affordable housing (less than 30% of pre-tax income).

As a temporary measure from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027, the cap has been raised to 15% outside metropolitan areas (rural areas) in participating provinces. Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Quebec have said they will take part; Alberta, Ontario and Nunavut are not taking part.

5. Costs and obligations for the employer

Once the LMIA is issued, set out clearly in the contract who pays for the chef's work permit application and how travel and housing costs are handled. For how to think about overall hiring costs, see the cost of hiring Japanese cuisine staff abroad.

6. Using the working holiday (IEC)

The only IEC category open to Japanese nationals is the Working Holiday.

• Age: 18 to 30 at the time of application
• Stay: up to 12 months
• Work permit: an open work permit, allowing work for almost any employer in Canada
• For the employer: no LMIA needed. The employer compliance fee (C$230) required for IEC Young Professionals and Co-op does not apply to the Working Holiday either
• Quota: 6,283 people a year according to Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (as of 1 April 2026)

A medical exam is required for work in health care, child care, education and elder care, but restaurant kitchen jobs are not among these. On the number of times a person can participate, Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs says that from 1 December 2024 Japanese nationals can take part in Canada's programme twice in their lifetime. When hiring, always check the expiry date and conditions on the person's work permit.

How a Japanese restaurant can use it

• Treat the 12 months as a trial period to assess the person's skills and willingness to stay
• Meanwhile, prepare a high-wage LMIA so you can keep employing them after the working holiday ends (work backwards from the advertising and processing times)
• With an age limit of 30, it suits hiring young kitchen assistants and future sous chef candidates rather than experienced head chef candidates

For hiring working holiday makers, including a comparison with Australia, the UK and New Zealand, see our guide to hiring working holiday makers.

7. How to build a hiring plan

1. Decide the wage first: whether you can pay at or above the provincial threshold largely determines which routes are open.
2. Advertise in a way that meets the requirements: build in Job Bank and a national channel from the start, running in parallel with your search for candidates in Japan.
3. Make the Transition Plan something you can actually deliver: developing local staff helps with the assessment and also protects the restaurant against staff shortages. Our article on the programme for developing Japanese cuisine talent may also help.
4. Check the list of metropolitan areas every quarter: whether the low-wage stream is available changes every three months.

This article is general information prepared after checking official Government of Canada information as of 22 September 2026. It is not legal or immigration advice. Wage thresholds and the list of affected metropolitan areas are revised regularly. For individual cases, consult a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC) or a lawyer in Canada.