LMIA for Sale: What CBC's Undercover Investigation Found

LMIA fraud is the illegal buying and selling of Labour Market Impact Assessments, the federal approvals Canadian employers need to hire many foreign workers. In 2024 a joint CBC News and Investigative Journalism Foundation (IJF) investigation found dozens of online ads selling LMIA-approved jobs to migrants "for up to $45,000 apiece", with some sellers offering "the job with LMIA or just LMIA without job" (CBC News/IJF, 30 October 2024). Charging foreign workers any money for an LMIA is illegal, and lawyers told CBC that buyers can face a misrepresentation finding and a five-year ban. Ottawa responded by removing Express Entry points for job offers in March 2025. From 3 November 2026, job offer points return only for high-wage occupations, and an LMIA no longer adds a single point (IRCC, 16 October 2026).

That is the short answer. If someone is offering you a Canadian job for a fee, or a "high-wage job offer" for Express Entry, read this before you transfer anything.

Imagine you are 24 and just finished a college diploma in Brampton. Your post-graduation work permit has fourteen months left. Your CRS score is twenty points short. You scroll Kijiji at midnight and see it: "LMIA available. Food service supervisor. Serious buyers only." You call. In under five minutes the man names his price: $25,000. He asks if you want the real job, or just the paper.

Your parents in Punjab have already sold land once to pay your tuition. They say they will find the money again. Everyone in your WhatsApp group knows someone who did it this way.

This page sets out what the public record shows about the LMIA trade: the prices, how the deals work, who has been convicted and disciplined, what changed in the rules, and why the person who pays usually carries the biggest risk.

Key facts about the LMIA black market

What CBC's undercover reporter was offered

The investigation was led by IJF journalist Apurva Bhat, who "went undercover to contact more than 20 online sellers." She posed as a recently graduated international student who wanted work and permanent residence (CBC/IJF, 30 October 2024).

What the sellers offered:

• A price in minutes. "It took less than five minutes on the phone for a man selling a job on Kijiji to name his price: $25,000."
• A job, or just the paper. The same seller asked if she needed "the job with LMIA or just LMIA without job."
• Jobs she was not qualified for. After she said she had no relevant experience for skilled positions, "she was still pitched LMIA-approved job offers for prices between $25,000 to $45,000."
• A place on the payroll with no work. One seller "explained how our reporter could pay to be added to an employer's payroll, after clarifying there was no actual work available."
• Fake proof of experience. The schemes came "with a choice of a 'real' position or a 'fake' one, complete with supporting documentation, such as fraudulent pay stubs and tax slips."
• Staged recruitment. One seller said the fee included $3,000 to post the job on job boards "to show that we have done our best to hire" Canadians first, which is what an employer must prove to get an LMIA.

When rules tightened in September 2024, the sellers did not stop. They got more careful. They declined to discuss details by phone and asked the reporter to come to an office in the Greater Toronto Area, "cash in hand." One said: "If I don't trust you, how can I tell you?"

The volume grew. CBC/IJF counted 29 ads in July 2024 and 97 by September, "more than tripled."

Their side. Two sellers who made detailed offers were contacted for comment and "did not respond to multiple requests" (CBC/IJF).

Why people paid: the 50 and 200 points

Until 2025, a job offer backed by an LMIA added 50 points to an Express Entry score, or 200 for some senior management roles. A regulated consultant told CBC/IJF that these points had become "highly coveted": "What's going to set them apart now is that 50 points of arranged employment or potentially 200 for a senior manager LMIA."

So the LMIA was being sold for two different things at once. A work permit to stay in Canada. And points to jump the permanent residence queue.

On 23 December 2024 IRCC announced that Express Entry candidates "will no longer receive additional points for having a job offer", saying this "will reduce fraud by removing the incentive to illegally buy or sell labour market impact assessments" (IRCC, 23 December 2024). Then-Immigration Minister Marc Miller said the measure would take "some of the value out of the fraud already being perpetrated in the LMIA system" (CBC News, 19 December 2024). The points were repealed on 25 March 2025.

What changes on 3 November 2026

This is the newest part of the story, and sellers will already be adapting their pitch.

From 3 November 2026, IRCC is bringing back points for job offers, but in a new form (IRCC, 16 October 2026):

Three details matter for anyone being sold a job:

1. An LMIA adds nothing to your score. IRCC says: "you don't need a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) for a job offer to qualify for program eligibility or CRS points" and "having an LMIA will not give you more CRS points or give your profile priority."
2. The occupation decides, not the salary on your letter. Points depend on the median wage of the occupation across Canada, using NOC codes. A food service supervisor offer with a generous salary does not become "high-wage".
3. IRCC checks the job. An officer must decide the offer is genuine, including whether the employer is "actively engaged in the business", whether the offer reflects its "reasonable employment needs", whether it can meet the terms, and whether "the candidate is qualified and able to perform the work." A job offer that is revoked no longer counts.

So if someone sells you "an LMIA for PR points" in 2026, they are selling something that does not exist. If they sell you a "high-wage job offer", ask yourself what kind of business pays a stranger's agent for a senior engineer or doctor it has never interviewed, and how that will look when an officer checks.

Who has been convicted or disciplined

The public record shows enforcement against sellers and consultants, though it is far smaller than the market CBC found. ESDC told CBC it "does not publicly release figures on LMIA fraud."

Balkaran Singh, Winnipeg: a regulated consultant convicted

In January 2021, Balkaran Singh, a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant, came to the Emerson border crossing to get work permits for three foreign nationals he said he had hired to work at a gurdwara near Winnipeg. Officers refused the permits and referred the case for criminal investigation. A forensic search of his devices "revealed that he had created and procured fraudulent documents for clients of his immigration consultancy." On 2 October 2024 he pleaded guilty to one count of counselling misrepresentation. He was sentenced to two years less a day of house arrest, a ban on giving immigration advice, 200 hours of community service and a $50,000 fine (CBSA, 4 October 2024).

Balvir Singh, Saskatoon: up to $40,000 for "sponsorship"

CBSA investigators started in 2018 after border officers saw "unusually large numbers of immigration applications for a Saskatoon-based non-profit." They found Balvir Singh was counselling foreign nationals to misrepresent employment information, including "falsified pay stubs, offers of employment and other supporting documents related to non-existent employment in Canada." The CBSA says he was "charging foreign nationals up to $40,000 for immigration sponsorship." He pleaded guilty on 2 April 2026 and on 8 July 2026 received a two-years-less-a-day conditional sentence, a $10,000 fine and 40 hours of community service (CBSA, 10 July 2026).

Notice what the CBSA found next: many of the people who came in on those papers "began engaging in unauthorized work outside of the scope of their permit." The buyers ended up in the same file as the seller.

Rishi Kumar Mittal, Alberta: licence revoked for life

On 25 June 2026 the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants permanently revoked the licence of Rishi Kumar Mittal and fined him $25,000, in a case covering four of 45 complaints. The decision said the complaints "disclose a disturbing pattern of unprofessional conduct, conduct unbecoming and a profound lack of regard for the interests of clients" (DiscoverAirdrie, 5 August 2026).

The agreed facts, as reported, show the pattern of a job-offer business:

• Clients were offered fast food and retail supervisor jobs they had "not applied for" and never interviewed for.
• One client paid retainers of US$8,000 and then US$8,500, was refused twice at the border because she did not meet the job's requirements, and did not get a refund.
• A chef came from Australia on a closed work permit, and two months later was told the employer was "overstaffed and could not provide the job." A staff member suggested he work for cash.
• In one LMIA application, the employer's filing said the worker had applied through an online ad, been interviewed and been offered the job on a set date. The agreed facts state those representations were false.
• A client said he paid two $15,000 cash payments to third parties in India. Mittal did not admit receiving that money.

His side. According to the decision, Mittal "accepted full responsibility for the misconduct he admitted", co-operated and complied with interim restrictions. He maintained "that the fees charged were for immigration services alone."

Why the buyer pays the highest price

In a typical scam, the victim is only a victim. LMIA buying is different, because a real document goes into a real application.

Lawyers told CBC/IJF that "both temporary foreign workers who pay for these deals and individuals who sell them could be charged with misrepresentation or counselling misrepresentation," with fines of up to $100,000 and up to five years in jail. Toronto lawyer Ravi Jain said migrants "pay the highest price", financially and because they are complicit. If they report the scheme, "they risk deportation and a five-year ban from entering Canada."

There is a real difference between the two situations. If you paid for a job that never existed and nothing was filed, you are a fraud victim. If a bought job offer went into your application, you are part of the misrepresentation. Our guide paying for a job offer or LMIA is a crime explains that line in detail, and five or ten year misrepresentation bans explains what follows a finding.

The employer side: penalties are rising

ESDC says it now applies "increased administrative monetary penalties (AMP) for non-responsive employers when it is determined through an inspection that the business does not exist or if they appear to be engaging in LMIA misuse, from $15,000 to up to $45,000 with a 5-year program ban", applied "to every position on the LMIA" (IRCC briefing for the Immigration Committee, 30 October 2025).

In 2024 to 2025, ESDC carried out 1,435 employer inspections and found 10 percent non-compliant. Penalties more than doubled to $4,882,500, and 36 employers were banned from the program. One long-haul trucking employer was fined $150,000 "for failing to genuinely operate a business" (ESDC, 6 October 2025). Banned employers are listed publicly by IRCC.

If your future employer is on that list, or has a history of "jobs" that disappear after arrival, you will find out the hard way.

Red flags in a Canadian job offer

Run the offer through our free checker. It flags warning signs such as a fee to the worker, no interview, and an offer that arrived through social media.

How to report LMIA fraud in Canada

• Service Canada confidential tip line: 1-866-602-9448. For abuse of temporary foreign workers and misuse of the TFW Program. ESDC says reports are confidential and "your employer will never be told who made the report" (ESDC, 6 October 2025).
• CBSA Border Watch: 1-888-502-9060, or the CBSA secure web form, for immigration fraud such as false documents.
• College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants, for complaints about a licensed consultant.
• If you are being abused at work, ask about the open work permit for vulnerable workers. One of Mittal's former clients got one in April 2024 without his firm's help.

If you already paid and are worried about your own file, speak to a lawyer or a licensed consultant you choose yourself before you make a statement. Our guide an agent took your money covers recovering money.

The honest lesson

The LMIA market grew because one piece of paper did two jobs: it let people work, and it bought points. Ottawa has now cut the points away from the paper. That makes most "LMIA for sale" offers worthless for PR, and dangerous for everything else.

The honest routes are slower. Raise your score with language results, education credentials and Canadian experience. Look at provincial programs. Or look at a different country where your skills score better. A real employer who wants you will never ask for your parents' land.

If you want a person to compare your Canadian options with two other countries, with no commission from any employer or agent, our plan check does that.

Frequently asked questions

Is buying an LMIA illegal in Canada?

Yes. Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act it is illegal to charge a foreign worker for an LMIA, and employers cannot pass recruitment costs to workers. A worker who uses a bought or fake job offer in an application can be found inadmissible for misrepresentation, which lawyers told CBC carries a five-year ban.

How much does an LMIA cost on the black market?

CBC News and the Investigative Journalism Foundation found online sellers asking $25,000 to $45,000 in 2024, with some deals including an "employer cost" of $27,000 or more. In a 2026 conviction, the CBSA said a Saskatoon man charged foreign nationals up to $40,000 for "immigration sponsorship."

Does an LMIA give CRS points in 2026?

Not from 3 November 2026. IRCC says an LMIA is no longer needed for job offer points and "having an LMIA will not give you more CRS points." Points of 50, 70 or 100 apply only to genuine job offers in eligible high-wage occupations. Between 25 March 2025 and 3 November 2026, no job offer gave points.

How do I report LMIA fraud in Canada?

Call the Service Canada confidential tip line at 1-866-602-9448 or use its online reporting tool for misuse of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Report document fraud to the CBSA Border Watch line at 1-888-502-9060. Complain about a licensed consultant to the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants.

What happens if I already paid for an LMIA?

It depends on whether anything was filed. If you paid for a job that never existed and nothing went to IRCC, you are a fraud victim. If a bought offer went into your application, you face misrepresentation risk. Speak to a lawyer or licensed consultant you choose yourself before contacting authorities or making any statement.

Who has been convicted of LMIA-related fraud?

Public examples include Winnipeg consultant Balkaran Singh, who pleaded guilty to counselling misrepresentation in October 2024 and was fined $50,000, and Balvir Singh of Saskatoon, sentenced in July 2026 for counselling misrepresentation involving fake job documents. Consultant Rishi Kumar Mittal's licence was permanently revoked by the CICC in June 2026.

Can an employer charge me for an LMIA job?

No. Employers cannot recover recruitment or LMIA costs from foreign workers. ESDC can fine employers who misuse the program up to $45,000 per position with a five-year ban, and has issued much larger penalties for abuse. If an employer or agent asks you to pay, report it.

Are LMIA jobs on Facebook and Kijiji real?

Some ads may link to real employers, but CBC/IJF documented more than 125 online ads in 2024 selling LMIA jobs for cash, including offers with no real job attached. Any ad that asks you to pay for the job or the LMIA is offering something illegal. Find employers yourself and apply the normal way.

Related guides

• Paying for a Job Offer or LMIA Is a Crime: What Follows
• LMIA vs Employer Sponsorship: What the Employer Must Do
• Ghost Consultants: The Adviser Whose Name Never Appears
• Brijesh Mishra Case: Canada's Fake Admission Letter Scam
• Free job offer scam checker