Work Permit
Canada is one of the leading countries when it comes to attracting foreign workers and the issuance of work permits. It offers more than 100 type of work permits.
It is extremely difficult to choose which work permit to apply for. We do encourage you to seek SKI Immigration assistance when applying for your work permit. Choosing the wrong option will cost you the application fees and valuable time, and your employer may not hold the position you were promised for a long time. Here, at SKI Immigration, we have worked with a number of employers assisting them with LMIA applications and few colleges assisting their students in obtain their PGWP.
Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA)
Employers who could not find Canadian citizen or Permanent Resident for the required position, may need to seek for some help from the outside of full fill the Canadian labor market – they will try to hire a specialist from outside Canada.
The potential employer starts the process by submitting an LMIA application to IRCC to find a suitable foreigner for the required job position.
The goal of LMIA process is to show that it is impossible to find a perfect candidate from within Canada and because of that reason the employer is given a chance to hire one from outside Canada.
Most work permit applications fall under the LMIA work permit category.
Once LMIA is approved by IRCC the designated employee can apply for the work permit.
The Unwanted Truth
LMIA applications are complicated and consist of multiple steps that must be done in sequence. The primary step is to prove that a Canadian candidate was not found for the job published on multiple websites. The LMIA process itself must be done in a certain way to be accepted by IRCC (Immigration, Refugee, Citizenship Canada), it has several requirements which are different from province to province and from position and salary offered by an employer. It will consume time (few months) and IRCC fees ($1000 CAD).
If rejected, the employer must start the process from the beginning (which consume time and money) as having the refusal history under the employer’s name may affect future applications.
With the next re-application it will be more difficult to be approved as now on each LMIA package must explain why a company had a refusal before and what was changed in company requirements ever since.
LMIA is not about posting the advertisement online on recruitment websites, if you are unaware of the specific process regarding LMIA, we do strongly encourage you to contact us to avoid having any refusals under your company’s name.
PGWP (Post Graduation Work Permit)
PGWP is granted to graduates from Canadian educational institutions. It is the international student’s pathway and chance to seek employment after graduation of educational institution in Canada. PGWP is granted up to 3 years and it depends on the number of years of study.
Canada values international students and their part in helping the Canadian economy thrive. That’s why it is one of the easier pathways for a PR since the applicant studied then worked in Canada obtaining valuable points towards their express entry application
Contact us once your final semester starts so we can have an early start and prepare your application beforehand. Once you finish your final semester your application should be ready for submission.
The Unwanted Truth
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International students must always be full time during their studies in order to apply for their PGWP. Any part time semesters taken may affect the application and may lead to a refusal. But fear not, we are able to assist you in finding a solution to this problem like we did for many applicants before you.
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What most students do not know is that study permits expire after 90 days from your graduation even if you have more than 3 months left on your study permit.
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This means applying for PGWP early with us may give you another chance to apply and restore your status before the 90 days period is over.
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If the 90 days period pass and you haven’t applied for your PGWP and you did not switch on other status, you may not be able to reapply again as you have lost your status in Canada, and you must leave the country.
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LMIA Exempt Work Permits
French Mobility Program
Canada, being a bilingual country, is working to promote French language across the whole territory. French speaking applicants have a chance of working in Canada without applying for LMIA as their French skills are considered to be in the benefits of National Canadian interests.
This program applies to all Canadian provinces except for the province of Quebec.
Self Employed Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurs who wish to start a business in Canada may be LMIA exempt if they meet certain requirements such as being the sole owner (majority owner) of the business they wish to establish and/or operate.
Academics
Professors, researchers, and lecturers (Guest lecturers at seminars and other major venues) may be exempt from LMIA.
Intra-Company Transfers
This stream applies to transferee between company branches from outside Canada (transfer between the mother company and subsidiaries and vice versa). It Is applicable for high managerial positions and those whose specialized knowledge is essential to the functionality of the company. In order to apply for this stream, the applicant might have worked for at least 3 years in the company.
Dependents of foreign workers
Dependents of foreign workers are exempt from LMIA requirement when they apply for their open work permits.
Provincial exempt LMIA
Workers under the PNP (nominated by the province for PR) may be exempt from LMIA.
Province of Yukon and Prince Edward PNP programs are exempt from LMIA. The difference between these 2 provinces and the rest of Canada is that PNP for the rest of Canada may or may not require LMIA.
Working Holiday
This program allows foreigners to come and work in Canada for 1 – 2 years with an employer accepted by this program.
Since this program is for young professionals and graduate students, it is an exchange program in between the countries binding by international agreement, therefore it is exempt from LMIA.
Charitable Work
Charity workers coming from outside of Canada to work under a Canadian charity organization may be exempt from LMIA.
Religious Work
Some Religious workers may be exempt from LMIA as the nature of their work is more spiritual in nature.
