Alberta Significantly Reduces the Number of Occupations Eligible for an LMIA
Alberta-specific Immigration News
Refusal to Process List Significantly expanded
Shortly on the heels of the Government of Canada announcing the increased Immigration levels plan, the province of Alberta has significantly limited the number of occupations that will be eligible for LMIAs.
What does this mean?
If your National Occupation Classification (NOC) is not on the list of 27 (or eligible for one of the exemptions), your employer cannot apply for an LMIA in the province of Alberta.
The full list of eligible occupations that can be found here, but include many tech occupations, graphic designers, some agricultural workers and a few management occupations:
| List of exempt occupations that will be processed: | ||
| Number | National Occupational Classification code | Positions eligible for processing |
| Management occupations | ||
| 1 | 0213 | Computer and information systems managers |
| 2 | 0432 | Fire chiefs and senior firefighting officers |
| 3 | 0821 | Managers in agriculture |
| Natural and applied sciences related occupations | ||
| 4 | 2147 | Computer engineers (except software engineers and designers) |
| 5 | 2161 | Mathematicians, statisticians and actuaries |
| 6 | 2171 | Information systems analysts and consultants |
| 7 | 2172 | Database analysts and data administrators |
| 8 | 2173 | Software engineers and designers |
| 9 | 2174 | Computer programmer and interactive media developers |
| 10 | 2175 | Web designers and developers |
| 11 | 2271 | Air pilots, flight engineers and flying instructors |
| 12 | 2281 | Computer network technicians |
| 13 | 2283 | Information systems testing technicians |
| Health occupations | ||
| 14 | 3111 | Specialist physicians |
| 15 | 3112 | General practitioners and family physicians |
| Occupations in education, law and social, community and government services | ||
| 16 | 4011 | University professors and lecturers |
| 17 | 4312 | Firefighters |
| 18 | 4411 | Home child care providers |
| 19 | 4412 | Home support workers, housekeepers and related occupations |
| Occupations in art, culture, recreation and sport | ||
| 20 | 5131 | Producers, directors, choreographers and related occupations |
| 21 | 5241 | Graphic designers and illustrators |
| Trade, transport and equipment operators and related occupations | ||
| 22 | 7371 | Crane operators (only All-Terrain Crane Operators) |
| Natural resources, agriculture and related production occupations | ||
| 23 | 8252 | Agricultural service contractors, farm supervisors and specialized livestock workers |
| 24 | 8431 | General farm workers |
| 25 | 8432 | Nursery and greenhouse workers |
| 26 | 8611 | Harvesting labourers |
| Occupations in manufacturing and utilities | ||
| 27 | 9462 | Industrial butchers and meat cutters, poultry preparers and related workers |
As of November 2, 2020 and until further notice, Alberta’s ESDC office will refuse to process LMIAs if the position an employer is seeking to fill is not listed above, unless there is an exemption.
You can access the full, up-to-date list of still processed occupations, continue to monitor the official website here, as the above list was printed from the November 2nd announcement and is subject to change without notice.
What are the exemptions to the refusal to process?
1) Short-term Duration technical work
2) LMIA applications supporting Permanent residence (or Dual Intent LMIAs)
3) Global Talent Stream
4) In-home caregiver positions
