LMIA for a Cook, Step by Step: Ads, Documents and Timing (2026)

To get an LMIA for a cook, confirm ESDC will process your stream in your city, register with the province if you are in BC, Manitoba, Saskatchewan or Nova Scotia, then advertise on Job Bank and two other channels for 4 consecutive weeks (high wage) or 8 (low wage). File on LMIA Online with the C$1,000 fee. ESDC's recent average is 82 to 90 business days, so allow about eight months from first ad to first shift.

1. Before you spend money: four checks

1. Stream. Compare the guaranteed hourly wage with your provincial threshold (C$36.92 in Ontario, C$38.40 in BC from 17 July 2026; the full list is on the routes and costs page). At or above it you file high-wage; below it, low-wage. If you change streams later you withdraw and pay a new fee.
2. Refusal list. Low-wage files are not processed for jobs in a census metropolitan area with unemployment of 6% or more. The date that counts is the day you submit, not the day you started advertising. With 8 weeks of ads, you will usually submit under the next quarter's list. The current window and next update are in the dated box at the end of this page.
3. Cap. Low-wage foreign workers can be at most 10% of staff at the location, or one person under 10 employees.
4. Hours. A low-wage job must be at least 30 hours a week.

2. Step 1: Accounts and documents

• Job Bank for employers. You need it to advertise, and the same login opens LMIA Online, where ESDC wants applications filed.
• Business documents. ESDC's pages name your most recent business licence and most recent Canada Revenue Agency tax documents for the business legitimacy check. Have them as PDFs before you start.
• Provincial registration. BC, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia require the employer to register with the province first. BC quotes about 6 weeks. On whether to attach the certificate, the two governments word it differently: ESDC's pages (modified 16 September 2026) ask for a copy of the certificate or proof of exemption and call a file without it incomplete, while BC's page (updated 25 June 2026) says you need not send a copy because its public registry is the official record. Attach the copy anyway and check the registry entry is correct.
• Quebec. A joint federal and provincial file; see Montréal.
• Forms. LMIA Online builds the application from your answers. We could not confirm a current paper form number on ESDC's pages, so we do not quote one.

3. Step 2: The advertising rules

ESDC raised the low-wage run from 4 to 8 weeks on 9 July 2026 and tightened review of food services. Older templates are wrong on this.

Every ad must show the operating name, business address, job title, duties, terms, language of work, wage (with any raises or bonuses), benefits, work location, contact details, and skills, education and experience. A wage range is allowed if its bottom meets the prevailing wage. English or French are the only languages you may require.

Provincial posting laws apply on top: see the Toronto and Vancouver pages.

4. Step 3: Ad wording for a Japanese kitchen

You cannot ask for Japanese, but you can describe the work so precisely that the right cook recognises it. Use the same title, duties and wage in every channel and in the application.

Job Match invitation, sent through Job Bank to each qualifying match in the first 30 days:

Log every applicant, your reply date, and why anyone was not hired, in terms of the skills in the ad.

5. Step 4: Wage, contract and obligations

The wage must be at least the prevailing wage: the higher of the Job Bank median for the occupation and region and what you pay your own staff in the same job at the location. Only guaranteed pay counts.

In the low-wage stream you also commit to:

• pay round-trip transportation, not recoverable from the worker;
• provide or confirm suitable, affordable housing, meaning under 30% of the worker's pre-tax income;
• buy private emergency medical cover until provincial cover starts, where the province requires it;
• register the worker with the provincial workplace safety insurer from day one;
• give a signed employment contract on or before the first day, in English or French as the worker prefers, matching the job offer.

High-wage files need a transition plan for recruiting, retaining and training Canadians and permanent residents. It runs for the length of the permit and can be checked later, so write only what you will do, such as a paid apprentice post. See the contract checklist for the rest.

6. Step 5: Filing on LMIA Online

• When: once the minimum ad run is complete, and no more than 6 months before the start date.
• Fee: C$1,000 per position. It is not refunded and cannot be moved to a new application, and you cannot recover it from the worker.
• Attach: proof of every ad (screenshots with dates, Job Bank job number), the Job Match invitation log, business documents, the provincial certificate where required, and the transition plan for high-wage.
• Wait: ESDC's average for August 2026 was 90 business days high-wage and 82 low-wage. Answer ESDC's questions the same day.

7. Step 6: After a positive LMIA

1. Send the worker the LMIA decision letter and Annex A, and a copy of the signed job offer. Note the date by which the permit application must be made.
2. The worker applies for an employer-specific work permit: C$155, plus C$85 for biometrics.
3. Japanese citizens are visa exempt. IRCC says they may apply at the port of entry with a positive LMIA, but advises applying before travel. We could not record a reliable processing time for applications from Japan; check IRCC's tool on the day.
4. On arrival: social insurance number, provincial health registration, bank account, housing. See onboarding a chef from Japan.

8. Backward schedule from a start date

Worked example for a cook starting on Monday 7 June 2027, using ESDC's August 2026 averages. Business days exclude public holidays, so processing over Christmas runs about a week longer in calendar time.

At week 26 you submit in December 2026, under the list ESDC publishes on 9 October 2026. For a June start, the low-wage clock starts this week.

9. Where applications fail

• A low-wage file submitted under a list that includes the city.
• Four weeks of low-wage ads, or a gap in the run.
• Asking for Japanese, or different duties or pay in different ads.
• Missing Job Match invitations in the first 30 days.
• Charging the worker any fee. ESDC ran 1,488 inspections from April 2025 to March 2026, found 12% of employers non-compliant and banned 30; penalties reach C$1 million a year.

General information gathered from official sources in September 2026, not legal or immigration advice. ESDC changes requirements at short notice. For a specific file, speak to a regulated Canadian immigration consultant or lawyer.