 Hi guys, I am Shirin. I am a lawyer in Ontario, Canada. I try to discuss about Canadian immigration and de-cutter it. If you like my channel, please like, share, comment and subscribe to it. So my today's video is about owner operator which is a category of LMIA. It gets you a work permit. So this whole video is about the process, who is it for, what are the criteria for it, for qualifying for it and how does it help you in your express entry profile. Like say about it, if you get through all of this then you have a hike of 50 to 200 points in your express entry profile. So I am sure you do not want to miss it and you know I have given you all the crisp and the brief steps through it. But there are a lot of nitty gritty. So this is also a disclaimer that do not conclusively depend on this but also do your own research. This is my interpretation and my step by step process for you guys. Like, subscribe and share my video because you know I am doing a lot of hard work for this. Let us start by understanding that what is owner operator, LMIA pathway and how does it help you to move to Canada. Though this is a part of business immigration, this is what this is not is this is not investment immigration and this is not entrepreneurial stream. This categorically as I told you for foreign business people who wish to either establish or purchase a business in Canada and they have the capability to manage it from Canada. This is the two stage process. First is you will be issued a work permit which is an LMIA positive work permit. The second is the pathway to permanent residency due to this work permit. What is labour market impact assessment? The Government of Canada's official website says that LMIA is a document that an employer in Canada may need to get before hiring a foreign worker. LMIA has certain exemptions. Owner operator being one. Now let us discuss the process. There are two steps. Either you can purchase a business or you can have a startup. You need to evaluate what is good for you. The business is usually less risk because it is easy in terms of establishment because it is already there and the startup though it is 100% ownership yet it is not in operation in Canada and therefore more consideration needs to be given on business plan, leasing the place of operation and stuff like that. Basically everything depends that you have to prove service Canada that everything is genuine and verified. There is actual intent for you to settle and operate the business here in Canada. The next step is to prepare the business plan. This is usually done by professionals because they know the guidelines of service Canada. Once everything is ready the documents are submitted to service Canada for LMIA approval. This is done by the owner or the employer company. In this case you are the owner and you are the operator and hence your company will issue the LMIA for you. Now once the LMIA is approved then you apply for your work permit. Your work permit is usually valid for 2 years. The key point is that ESDC or Service Canada will verify each detail at this stage again. The work permit issued to you now would have a duration of it with a specific employer that means it will be a close work permit and there will be working conditions mentioned in it like for example the remuneration hours and wages. Now let's discuss the qualifying criteria for this owner operator pathway. The first thing is that you must have a controlling interest in the business. Second is that you will retain the services or you will create some employment opportunities for Canadian or PR, a minimum of 1. You must have a superior position that means nobody can take you out of your own company. I am dealing with the business plan separately also because there are certain guidelines that the business plan needs to have in it to be passed by Service Canada. Although this is prepared by a business professional yet there are certain guidelines by Service Canada and by ESDC that need to be mentioned like it should be a detailed business plan. The financial aspect should be very clearly stated in it. The timeline of even should be there. Creation of employment should be there. There should be active employment of the owner. There should be sufficient funds to pay the salary of the owner operator. Coming on to the benefits of this pathway. First and foremost is that this is federal. You do not have to apply to any particular province but just a province where you want to come and settle. Second main point is that it has low investment in comparison to business immigration or to entrepreneur's free. Third is that there is a hike in your CRS score. So this is very good for the people who have low CRS score and want a hike in their score. The last is that you can move with your family and enjoy all the health benefits of Canada. So although this looks easy on the face of it but believe you me there is a lot of paperwork in this and a lot of diligence work in this so I highly recommend that you hire the services of some professionals for this. I hope this video was useful for you and if you have any question where you are concerned I would like you to put it in the comment section or you can get in touch with me on Instagram or LinkedIn. I have put the link in the description box. Bye for now. Stay home, stay safe and I'll be back with the next vlog if you want me to vlog about something specific to put it in the comment section. Okay guys, bye-bye.