CANADA WORK PERMIT

You are eligible for an open work permit if you are in one of the following situations mentioned below:

• Permanent residence applicants who have applied to an office in Canada,
• Dependent family members of permanent residence applicants,
• Spouses and common-law partners of workers and international students,
• Refugees, refugee claimants, protected persons and their family members,
• Some temporary resident permit holders,
• Some young workers participating in special programs.

In each of these situations above, you are required to meet additional criteria to be eligible.

A work permit can be granted when you land into Canada in case you are from a visa-exempt country with a valid medical certificate or if you are eligible to apply for an open work permit.

The general requirements are –

• You must be able to prove that you will leave the country when your work permit expires.
• You must not work for any employers who have failed to comply with the employment standards or businesses who engage in sex trade such as strip clubs, escort services, or erotic massage parlours.
• You must get your security and background check done and submit your police clearance certificate.
• You must get your medical exam done.
• You must have sufficient funds to support yourself and your family members for the entire stay in Canada.

Applications for a work permit made outside of Canada are processed based on your country of residence or origin. Applying for a Canada work permit from India is done through your visa office. They will guide you on the documentation, fee and procedure. You will need to get your police clearance certificate issued from your consulate and medical examination conducted by a designated medical officer there.

This processing time tells you how long it takes to process most complete applications. You can check the processing time here.

Yes, the possibilities are endless when considering to apply for an open work permit. Having the temporary resident visa granted is an advantage as it allows you to be in Canada while you start the process of applying for a work permit. There are some important aspects that you need to take into consideration, however it is quite a simple process.

Your spouse or common-law partner and dependent children can come with you to Canada or visit you in Canada, if they:

• meet all the requirements for temporary residents to Canada.
• satisfy an immigration officer they will only stay in Canada temporarily.
• can prove they have no criminal record, if necessary.
• meet all the conditions for getting a temporary resident visa, if they are from a country or territory whose citizens require a visa in order to enter Canada as visitors.

A post-graduation work permit (PGWP) may be valid anywhere between eight months and up to three years. The length of your permit will depend on the length of the study program you completed in Canada. The permit won’t be longer than the length of your study program.

How applying online helps you –

• No courier fees or mail delivery time.
• It helps you make sure your application is complete before you submit it.
• You can quickly submit more documents online (if required).
• You get updates on the status of your application directly in your online account.

You can work in many different areas. It depends on what you want to do and how hard you want to look for a job. Many participants find work in the tourism and hospitality industries (restaurants, pubs, and hotels), where employers are willing to offer temporary work for shorter periods of time.

If you have the right education, experience or certifications, you can also work in fields such as:

• science
• law
• health
• education
• commerce
• communications

A work permit allows you to live and work in Canada for a specific time period. Having a job in Canada is usually an eligibility requirement for some provincial nomination programs. So the answer is basically, YES.

The post-graduation work permit allows students who have graduated from a participating Canadian post-secondary institution to gain valuable Canadian work experience. Work obtained through the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program may help support your application to become a permanent resident of Canada. One year of study in Canada grants 1 year of open work permit and 2 years of study allows 3 years of work under the open work permit specifications.

There are two primary ways foreign truck drivers can work in Canada which is through a positive LMIA for either high-wage or low-wage position under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Most companies tend to have LMIA’s for high-wage positions which basically means the foreign truck driver will be paid the equivalent or higher of the current median wage for that position. Long-haul truck drivers which are classified under NOC code 7511 must obtain a job offer and positive LMIA number from an employer in Canada.

The overall process for applying for a work permit to work in Canada is largely the same as other work permit applications but there may be specific requirements based on the job offer you receive.

Your Canadian tourist/visitor visa cannot be converted to work visa. The two visas are separate things. If you are an Indian Passport holder, you have to return to India to have the visa stamping. (It is assumed here that you have a job offer in Canada which means your employer would sponsor your work visa). You have to get the visa stamping from your home country. That would involve medical examination, a police verification and clearance apart from sponsorship of your company and other documents. Finally, your personal presence at the consulate. Rules can be different in different countries.

Canada Work Permit enables Indian Passport holders to live and work in Canada for a specified duration under certain conditions. Applicants can choose to carry out either online or offline (paper) application based on their requirements and preferences. Based on the specific program, applicants are required to submit the application form along with specific documents. Only the approved employers in Canada are allowed to hire foreign employees.

The official portal of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) – www.canada.ca provides all the necessary information pertaining to working in Canada, extending a work permit, and also to hire a foreign worker. IRCC is a department of Government of Canada which is responsible for handling and managing Citizenship, Immigration, and Refugees in Canada.

Eligibility requirements for all applicants

There are specific requirements you need to meet depending on where you are when you apply for your work permit. But regardless of where you apply or which type of work permit you apply for, you must:

• prove to an officer that you will leave Canada when your work permit expires
• show that you have enough money to take care of yourself and your family members during your stay in Canada and to return home
• obey the law and have no record of criminal activity (you may be asked to give a police clearance certificate),
• not be a danger to Canada’s security
• be in good health and have a medical exam, if needed
• not plan to work for an employer listed with the status “ineligible” on the list of employers who failed to comply with the conditions
• not plan to work for an employer who, on a regular basis, offers striptease, erotic dance, escort services or erotic massages.

Yes, in most cases, your spouse can work in Canada. However, they will usually need a work permit to work in Canada. They must apply for their own work permit.

In some cases, your spouse or common-law partner may be able to apply for an open work permit—allowing him or her to accept any job with any employer.

In other cases, your spouse or common-law partner must apply for a work permit for a specific employer. The employer may have to get a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). An LMIA allows an employer to hire someone for a specific job. Find out if your spouse or common-law partner’s employer needs an LMIA to hire them.

You may be eligible for an open work permit if you:

• are an international student who graduated from a designated learning institution and are eligible for the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program.
• are a student who’s no longer able to meet the costs of your studies (destitute student).
• have an employer-specific work permit and are being abused or at risk of being abused in relation to your job in Canada.
• applied for permanent residence in Canada.
• are a dependent of someone who has applied for permanent residence.
• are the spouse or common-law partner of a skilled worker or international student
• are a refugee, refugee claimant, protected person or their family member
• are a temporary resident permit holder.
• are a young worker participating in special programs.

In each of these situations, you must meet additional criteria to be eligible.

The government of Canada has created a special category of work permit that offers a facilitated route through which majority owners of a company can acquire the right to work in Canada legally.

For many businesspersons around the world, Canada is the logical choice to embark upon a new business venture or expanding an existing business. The favourable economic climate, the work ethic of the people, and the diversity of the population are all factors that contribute to making Canada an ideal environment to operate a business.

If business owners had to go through the same work permit process as other foreign nationals, they would most likely be dissuaded from considering Canada as a viable option for the location of their company.

Generally, to obtain a work permit, a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) must first be conducted and approved. As part of the LMIA process, Canadian employers must demonstrate that employing a foreign worker will have a positive or neutral impact on the Canadian labour market, and that there is currently no Canadian citizen or permanent resident available to fill the position, which is typically done by advertising the position on several venues. Because of the reluctance to hire a foreigner for a position that could, presumably, be performed by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, these applications are heavily scrutinized and are often refused if they do not conform precisely with requirements set forth by the government.

However, majority business owners (over 50% ownership) may be eligible for a work permit under the Owner/Operator stream, and as such, exempt from the advertising requirements of the LMIA. This facilitates the process greatly, as this is usually the most difficult hurdle of a LMIA and its ancillary work permit application.

The main purpose of this LMIA stream is to provide a facilitated route through which foreign nationals can enter Canada to run their business. Quite understandably, most business owners are protective of their company and are adamant about personally overseeing its operation in order to ensure it is running according to his/her specifications. If entrepreneurs had to surrender the helm of their Canadian company due to a lengthy and convoluted work permit application process, most of them would look elsewhere to start or expand their business. Fortunately, the government of Canada understands this and has had the foresight effectively address these concerns with the Owner/Operator LMIA stream.

A visa is an entry document, used only for travelling into the country. W-1 visa identifies the holder as that entering the country, as a worker and to the Immigration officers at the Port of Entry, to process further the traveller for issuance of his/her work permit. Conditions of work if there are, are stated on the work permit not on the visa.

While valid, a multiple entry visa will let you travel to Canada for six months at a time as many times as you want. It will be valid for up to 10 years or one month before your passport expires, whichever is shorter. You must arrive in Canada on or before the expiry date on your visa.

You can only apply for a work permit from inside Canada if:

• you, your spouse or parents have a valid study or work permit,
• you have a work permit for one job but want to apply for a work permit for a different job,
• you have a temporary resident permit that is valid for six months or more, or
• you are in Canada because you have already applied for permanent residence from inside Canada. You will have to pass certain stages in the main application process before you can be eligible for a work permit.

There are other requirements as well.

If you are already in Canada as a visitor, you may not apply within Canada. You must apply for a work permit at a Canadian visa office. You may be asked to go for an in-person interview at that office. If so, make sure you have all the documents you need to enter that country.

Although there are some exceptions, as a general rule, foreign workers require a work permit to work in Canada on a temporary basis.

Obtaining a Canadian temporary work permit is a multi-steps process that can take several weeks. There are a number of different ways to secure a work permit. Depending on one’s nationality, occupation, and intended work in Canada, there may be possibilities for expediting the process.

In order to be granted a temporary work permit, Canadian employers will need to provide foreign workers either an approval from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) or an Offer of Employment number issued by Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Depending upon their country of citizenship, foreign workers may need to obtain a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) to travel to Canada.

• Employer applies for either Labour Market Impact Assessment or Labour Market Impact Assessment Exemption, if necessary.
• Employer extends Temporary Job Offer.
• Foreign Worker applies for Work Permit.
• Work Permit is issued.

There are an incredible amount of immigration “consultancies” in India, but very few have the credentials and the Authorization to practice. Only ICCRC members and Canadian lawyers have the right to charge for immigration advice. It is a criminal offence to practice without authorization. Many Indians might think that Canadian law doesn’t apply in India or prefer to go with big “consultancies” who have several offices but when doing that one is encouraging fraud and their rights are not respected. “Consultants” in India make a lot of empty promises but one has to understand that they have no control whatsoever over what is happening at the Canadian embassy and furthermore, they are not allowed to contact the embassy on the client’s behalf if they are not authorized. Check out the video below to understand the reality.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=32&v=TviXiHd152o