What is Work Permit?
Work permit is for people who wish to work in Canada temporarily and are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents. Every year over 150,000 foreign workers come to Canada to work temporarily on a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV). Many of these workers fill skill shortage in many Canadian companies, while others work as live-in caregivers. However, there are some jobs that do not require a work permit or HRSDC approval. To obtain a TRV, visa offices have specific local instructions about the documents you must submit along with your application. Contact us so we can inform you about these required documents and the procedures to be followed to obtain a work permit.
Individual and persons traveling as a family must complete and sign the necessary forms. Those who are under the 18 years of age must have their forms signed by a parent or guardian. When the application is accepted, the work permit is issued. Work Permits are always temporarily, but also can often be extended from inside Canada.
Work Permits for Students
If you are on a study permit, you can apply for a student work permit to work in Canada. The student work permits are of different types which include permit for work on campus, off campus, as a co-op and intern, or after graduation. You can also help your spouse or common-law partner obtain a work permit.
Getting a Job Offer in Canada
A Canadian employer who offers you a job in order to hire you must apply for a Labour Market Opinion (LMO). This LMO is an approval letter from HRSDC (Human Resources and Skilled Development Canada) which authorize a Canadian employer to hire a foreign worker, and it indicates that the proposed employment will not adversely affect Canadian workers.
Work Permits may be issued by Canadian immigration officials without the LMO requirement in a limited number of situations, as follows: Under international agreements, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA); Due to the significant economic, social or cultural benefits the work activity will bring to Canadians; As part of reciprocal agreements Canada and its provinces/territories have entered into with other countries, such as youth and teacher exchange programs; So that international students studying in Canada can fulfill academic requirements, known as co-op placements; To allow the spouses/common-law partners of Work Permit and certain Study Permitholders in Canada to work in Canada; Because the nature of the work is charitable or religious; In recognition that certain persons in Canada for reasons other than the above-mentioned, such as the making of a refugee claim, need to support themselves.
Labour Market Opinion Processing Time
Employer must correctly complete the appropriate LMO application to prevent any delays in processing of the application. The employer should also include the National Occupation Classification matrix. No government fees are required from the employer. The processing time to get a LMO varies from a few weeks to six months depending on the province of employment and the type of employment.
Applying for a Work Permit
When the employer has received a positive Labour Market Opinion, a copy will be sent to the employee. S/he will apply for a visa that will allow him/her to work in Canada. The prospective employees can bring their families under the work permit visa. These work permits are only for temporary work in Canada.
Police Clearances and Medical Report
The prospective employee must obtain and submit police clearances from all countries where he/she has resided in for more than six-months since turning 18. Medical exams should be done through physicians authorized by the Canadian foreign mission. All applicants who are married and have children must also have their spouses and children go for medical exams and police clearances (if applicable).
Note: A temporary work permit visa may be a step forward to get the Canadian permanent residency. Once you are here on a temporary work permit, you may qualify for the Canadian permanent residency under the Canadian experience class (CEC). It can be through a skilled worker category or the provincial nominee program (PNP).
General information about work permits
Some types of work permits which are exempt from prior validation are such as: work permits for entrepreneurs and intra-company transferees, and other individuals whose employment will bring a significant benefit to Canada. In addition, there is an exemption for foreign students who have completed their study in Canada. These students can apply for an open work permit as they can work for any employer willing to offer them a position. North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA Work Permits) also excludes workers from certain countries to require the approval of human resources department to obtain a Canada work permit. For example, citizens of the United States and Mexico may apply for work permits under the NAFTA if they are professionals, business visitors, intra-company transferees, or traders or investors. Citizens of countries that are signatories to other treaties such as the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and the Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA) are also eligible for Human Resources approval-exempt work permit.
The Live-in Caregiver category is a type of work permit application for those who have an offer of employment as a caregiver with a Canadian who is willing to let the caregiver live in his or her home. Individuals employed in this field will usually be taking care of small children, elderly persons, or disabled persons on behalf of the Canadian employer. To qualify under the live-in caregiver category you must have completed at least 12 years of education, be able to speak English or French well enough to communicate in an unsupervised setting, and have either completed at least a six-month training program related to care giving, or have at least one year of full-time experience as a caregiver. The caregiver after working for two years in Canada may apply for permanent residence and may include their family members in this application. As a live-in caregiver, any extended time you spend outside Canada will not be counted towards the period of employment which is required to apply for permanent residency. As such, if you leave Canada for longer than the period of vacation time allotted in your employment contract, that time will not be counted towards the employment requirement. If you work for your employer outside Canada at any time, for example, on a family vacation, this will also not count towards the employment requirement.
Open work permit
An open work permit allows you to work for any employer for the time period specified on the work permit. Once you receive your first stage approval (approval in principle) of your application, it can only be granted for your permanent residency. If you send your open work permit application along with your permanent residence application and you continue working for the same employer reported on your current work permit while the permanent residence application is pending, then you will not need to extend your work permit even if it expires. If you want to change your employer after sending your application, you will need to submit a new application for a work permit along with a new positive Labour Market Opinion issued by HRSDC or Service Canada to your employer and pay the appropriate fees.
Bridge extension
If a live-in caregiver becomes temporarily unemployed, is between jobs or whose work permit is about to expire, he/she may apply for a bridge extension. Bridge extension is an interim work permit which is usually for a period of two months. This application does not authorize one to work for a new employer, but it allows he/she to remain in Canada legally.
Your job is extended or changes
If your job is extended or changes, before your work permit expires you must apply to extend or change the conditions of your existing work permit. If you are offered a different job in Canada, do not start your new job without a new work permit. A work permit allows you to work in Canada temporarily. If you want to live and work in Canada permanently, you must qualify under one of the permanent residency categories (such as skilled worker category or others). If you leave Canada after temporarily working and then want to re‑enter to work, you must have a valid passport or travel document and a valid work permit. You must have a valid entry visa to return to Canada, if you are a citizen of a country that requires a temporary resident visa to travel to Canada, unless you are returning to Canada from the United States, Greenland or Saint-Pierre et Miquelon and the period initially authorized for your entry or any extension to it, as a visitor, student or worker has not expired.
Work Permit Renewal and Extension
Each work permit is issued with specific terms and conditions. A work permit has a validity date beyond which the foreign worker is no longer authorized to work in Canada. However, an employer can extend the term of employment beyond the original work permit. The foreign worker can apply from within Canada to extend or change the terms of the original work permit before the expiration of the previous work permit. If the original work permit needed to be approved by Labour Market Opinion (LMO), then the employer must extend the LMO before the foreign worker can extend the work permit.
A temporary Social Insurance Number (SIN) will be issued to a foreign worker that expires when the work permit expires. It is important that both the employer and employee decide in advance whether the position will be extended or not, so that the application for extension is submitted on time. It is an offense for the foreign national to work in Canada without proper authorization and also, for Canadian employer to employ a foreign national who does not have valid authorization. It can take several weeks to a couple of months to receive the work permit extension. A foreign national can continue working on the same terms and conditions which is listed in the original work permit when the application for extension is pending. As long as the work permit extension has been filed before it expires, in this case the foreign national will have “Implied Status”. The foreign workers under the Implied Status should be careful if they travel outside Canada before the extension has been issued. If the foreign worker receives a job offer from a different employer, the new employer should apply for its own Labour Market Opinion. If the work is LMO-exempt, then the foreign worker can apply as long as the original work permit is still valid.
The foreign worker can change the terms and conditions to the new employer, position, and/or location. If your work permit expires before you submit an application to extend, you can restore your status within 90 days the after expiration. If you fail to do so, you would have to leave Canada. It is important to consider the options for gaining permanent resident status while working in Canada. Once the foreign worker gains permanent resident status, there is no longer restriction on work, study or the length of time the foreign national can remain in Canada. Our company’s work permit services can ease this process for both Canadian employers and foreign workers.