How difficult is it to get an LMIA for a software developer? (I am the employer)

[HoloPed]

There is a person I want to bring to Canada, he is a software developer and I have a software company in Toronto.
How difficult is it these days to get an LMIA?
What does a company need to be eligible to apply for one?
The requirements on CIC about getting an LMIA are vague, do they tend to be difficult with approve it?

Thanks.

 

[PlasmodiumVivax]

disclaimer.. not an expert but I do have some idea.

Based on what you're saying, it seems that you are looking for ways get a specific person in. If this is the case, you may have a hard time.
For one to get an LMIA approval, you need to prove to ESDC that you have exhausted all efforts in finding a person who is capable of doing the work that is required. This means that you need to show proof that you had advertised the position for 2 months (i think). And also if there are applicants, you also need to document the applicants the reason why they were not hired. You cannot tailor your requirement to that specific person you are looking for. If you are genuinely having issues looking for a person who has the skillset that you need. Then it would be easier.

You may want to start reading detailed info here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/employers/apply-who.asp

 

[scylla]

Unless you are looking for extremely specialized and rare capabilities, LMIAs for software developers tend to be difficult to obtain since it's very difficult to prove no Canadian could be found for the role. As you know, Toronto is full of developers (you pretty much can't swing a dead cat without hitting one).

To qualify for an LMIA, you'll need to start by advertising the job for at least a month to prove no Canadian could be found for the role (you'll need to make sure you advertise in enough places to meet the LMIA requirements - so expect the advertising alone to cost you several hundred dollars). Once you've completed the advertising bit, you submit the LMIA application for processing which can take over four months in some cases to complete. If Human Resource Canada feels you should reasonable have been able to find someone with those capabilities locally based on current employment statistics, the LMIA will be refused.

So before you go through all of the time, cost and trouble, make sure it's for a role where the expertise is difficult to obtain locally.