If you are interested in working2 temporarily in Canada, you have to apply for, and meet, the requirements of a work permit. You must also meet the requirements generally related to temporary residence in Canada, which are discussed in more detail in Chapter 9.

You may be particularly interested in acquiring work experience in Canada if you foresee that you may one day apply for permanent residence – Canadian work experience is an important factor in a skilled worker permanent residence application, covered in Chapter 03.

7:1 THE STEPS INVOLVED IN OBTAINING A WORK PERMIT

The following are the key issues in obtaining a work permit:

• a.An employer must offer you a job.

• b.Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) will provide an opinion as to whether a foreign national may take the job, unless you qualify for HRSDC exemption3, in which case you will not have to obtain and submit an HRSDC opinion.
• c.You may then apply for a work permit.

Before discussing in more detail the three steps mentioned above, it should be noted that there are certain categories of employment for which one does not need a work permit issued by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC). These particular categories are listed below in Figure 16.

7:1.1 The job offer

To get to the point of receiving an offer from a Canadian employer, you must obviously first go through the steps that were discussed in Chapter 02: research the jobs available and potential employers, prepare your cover letters and resumés, and apply for jobs. If a Canadian employer wishes to hire you, then the employer must make you a formal job offer. The job offer can be a written letter or a more formal employment contract.

7:1.2 The HRSDC process

Once an offer is secured, your employer must, unless you qualify for HRSDC exemption (see section 7:1.2(b)), seek ‘confirmation’ from HRSDC. The employer must provide to HRSDC the following information in order to seek confirmation:

• the title of the job offered;
• a description of the duties and responsibilities of the position offered;
• a list of education, skills and experience that a worker must have in order to fulfil the job requirements; a list of the licences and professional credentials required should also be included;
• the start and end dates for the position to be filled; please note that the position must be offered for a limited time, it cannot be held by the foreign national indefinitely;
• information regarding the salary that is being offered, including wages and other forms of payment (for example: room and board or commission);4

• the name and address of the employer, and the address where the foreign worker will be working; the offer should also include the name and phone number of a contact at the business who is who is familiar with the job offer, so that CIC and HRSDC can make the necessary inquiries.

As noted above, in order for you to qualify for a work permit, the offer of employment must be one of temporary employment, meaning for a definite period of time. Note that if you intend to apply, or have already applied for permanent residence in Canada, an employer may make you an offer of indeterminate employment. Please see Chapter 03 in this regard.

If you need to get a better sense of the information that needs to be provided to HRSDC, see Figure 17 for a sample temporary foreign worker application form.

7:1.2.a HRSDC’s considerations

HRSDC is involved in this process for two reasons. First, they will assess the genuineness of the offer of employment. Secondly, HRSDC will weigh the likely effect that the employment of a foreign national will have on the Canadian labour market. If HRSDC is satisfied on these issues, they will then issue an opinion (also known as ‘confirmation’) advising CIC with regard to this matter.

Under current law, which came into effect in June 2002, the considerations of HRSDC have broadened as compared to previous law; they now include the following:

• whether the work is likely to result in direct job creation or job retention for Canadian citizens or permanent residents;
• whether the work is likely to result in the creation or transfer of skills and knowledge for the benefit of Canadian citizens of permanent residents;
• whether the work is likely to fill a labour shortage;
• whether the wages and working conditions offered are sufficient to attract Canadian citizens or permanent residents to, and retain them in, that work;
• whether the employer has made, or has agreed to make, reasonable efforts to hire or train Canadian citizens or permanent residents;
• whether the employment of the foreign national is likely to adversely affect the settlement of any labour dispute in progress or the employment of any person involved in the dispute.

If HRSDC issues a ‘confirmation’/market opinion letter,5 you can then apply for a work permit. The employer should advise you if and when HRSDC confirms that you, a foreign national, may fill the job. The employer should also provide you with a copy of the opinion letter from HRSDC. You will include it, together with a copy of the formal job offer, in your application to CIC for a work permit.

7:1.2b HRSDC confirmation-exempt work permit applicants

There are certain categories of temporary workers who do not need to obtain and submit HRSDC opinions in order to apply for work permits. Please find below a description of some of the more common HRSDC-exempt work permit applications.

7:1.2b(i) International aggreements

There are various agreements allowing entry of certain persons to work in Canada. Certainly, the most frequently used is the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which provides for American and Mexican professionals, traders, investors and others to work in Canada without a confirmation from HRSDC. Other such agreements include GATS (General Agreement on Trade in Services) and CCFTA (Canada – Chile Free Trade Agreement) which provide similar benefits for other nationalities. Please see Schedule 10 (page 250) for a list of GATS signatory members.

7:1.2b(ii) Intra-company transfers

Intra-company transferees are persons being transferred by corporations with branches in Canada and abroad. Such persons must have one year of experience in the company as an executive, manager, or as a person with specialised knowledge in the field. Intra-company transferee provisions may fall under GATS, NAFTA, CCFTA or the general regulatory provisions (IRPR).

7:1.2b(iii) Significant benefit

Under this broad category there are various situations where CIC may forego confirmation from HRSDC. For instance, certain religious workers, entrepreneurs, researchers and people whose employment may provide reciprocal benefit to Canadians may qualify under this category.

7:2 APPLYING FOR A WORK PERMIT

In most cases, you must apply for a work permit at a visa office abroad. In some cases you may apply at a port of entry, or inside Canada. The following are the considerations in determining where you may apply.

7:2.1 Applying for a work permit at a port of entry

You can apply at the port of entry/border if:

• a.you are a citizen of the USA, Greenland or St Pierre and Miquelon; or
• b.you are a person who does not need a temporary resident visa to come to Canada (see Schedule 3 on p. 227) and the job you will be doing in Canada does not require confirmation from HRSDC (see section 7:1.2b above).

7:2.2 Applying for a work permit from inside Canada

You may also make an inland6 application for a work permit if:

• a.you or your parents have a study permit or work permit; or
• b.you are authorised to do one particular job in Canada without a work permit, and you want to obtain a permit to do another job; in that case, you can apply for the work permit within Canada provided that:

• i.you have worked in Canada for three months in a row, and
• ii.you are not a business visitor (for more information on business visitors, see Figure 16); or
• c.you have a temporary resident permit that is valid for six or more months, or
• d.you are in Canada because you have an inland application for permanent residence (please note that in this case you will have to pass certain stages in the permanent residence process before you are eligible to receive a work permit).

Such an inland application would be made to the Inland Case Processing Centre in Vegreville, Alberta, using the form found in Schedule 9 (page 247).

7:2.3 Applying for a work permit outside Canada

If you do not fall into any of the above criteria, your application will be submitted to a visa post, using the form found in Figure 18. As noted at the beginning of this chapter, in order to qualify for a work permit you must meet the requirements for temporary residence7, as well as the requirements for the issuing of a work permit. You do not have to apply separately for a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) when you apply for your work permit. It is included in your work permit application.

If your application is approved, you will receive a letter confirming the approval. This letter is not your work permit. When you arrive in Canada you must show this letter to a Canadian officer at a port of entry.

7:3 WHAT THE APPLICATION FOR A WORK PERMIT SHOULD INCLUDE

As mentioned in Chapter 01, your application will have to include the fees, completed forms and the supporting documentation. With regard to the supporting documentation, please note that a copy of the job offer must be included with the worker’s application for a work permit. It must be identical to the job offer that was sent to HRSDC, and it has to be accompanied by the HRSDC confirmation letter.

See Figure 19 for a sample Checklist of items to be included in an application for a work permit.

7:4 CONDITIONS ON THE WORK PERMIT

An officer may impose, vary or cancel conditions when issuing a work permit. These may include one or more of the following:

• the type of employment in which you may work;
• the employer for whom you may work;
• where you may work;
• how long you may continue to work.

7:5 AMENDMENTS TO/RENEWALS OF WORK PERMITS

Once in Canada, you may need to apply to change your permit if:

• you change jobs, or
• you wish to work beyond the period provided in your initial work permit.

If you wish to change any condition of your work permit or you wish to renew it, you must make an application to the Inland Case Processing Centre in Vegreville, Alberta. The forms, including the applicable checklist, and accompanying guidelines can be found at www.cicgc.ca/english/applications/visitor.html. For samples of the main form and Checklist, see Schedule 9 (page 247). Please note that such amendments still require meeting of relevant conditions, such as HRSDC reconfirmation.

7:6 SPECIAL PROGRAMS

Citizenship and Immigration Canada offers several programmes to facilitate the application process for work permits in industries with a greater need for skilled workers. Currently there are two such programmes in place:

• Facilitated Processing for Information Technology Workers;
• Tool and Die Machinists in Ontario.

Please note that these special programmes change. For updated information with regard to the special programmes in place at a particular time, please visit www.cic.gc.ca, select ‘Choose Canada to Work’ and further select ‘The Employer’s Role’.

7:7 THE LIVE-IN CAREGIVER PROGRAM

A live-in caregiver is someone who provides care to children, the elderly or the disabled in a private household. After working two years as a live-in caregiver, you can apply to be a permanent resident in Canada. To become a live-in caregiver, you must speak English or French, have a high-school diploma and have appropriate training or experience. You will still need an employer to ‘sponsor’ you, as with any work permit application. For more information, visit www.cic.gc.ca/english/pub/caregiver/index.html.

7:8 SPOUSES AND DEPENDANTS

If your family members wish to follow you to Canada at a later date, they must make a separate application for admission. It is important to know that spouses, common-law partners and dependants who accompany a foreign worker to Canada need to have their own work permit if they want to work in Canada. They may, however, apply from within Canada. And provided that you, the foreign worker, are:

• a.authorised to work in Canada for six months or longer; and
• b.doing a work that is listed in Skill level O, A or B in the NOC8,

your spouse or common-law partner may apply for a work permit without having to obtain an HRSDC job confirmation. The work permit obtained by him or her will be valid for as long as the principal applicant’s permit.

This concludes our overview of the relevant aspects of an application for a work permit. Please ensure coordination of all employer and employee aspects of an application for smooth processing.