questions on employment pass/work permit

[kaishen]

ignorant over such matter so need help from beyond.ca ppl here

okie i understand that if you are not a canadian and you need to get a job here in calgary, you need to get an employment pass. within the process of applying for the pass, you should not be staying in the country itself until you get the pass

lets say, if you are already employed and have a working pass for a company and u decide to switch jobs

1. would you have to repeat the entire process of gg back to the motherland until you obtain the pass while the company is processing it.

2. would it be faster if you are processing subseqent passes?

3. what are the procedures the company need to go through to make an employment pass?

[kaishen]

anyone?

[ryaraines]

www.cic.gc.ca

[Mikaldor]

1. You can apply at a Canadian consulate on foreign soil. I.e. Send the application to Buffalo USA for processing. You may be required to visit the consulate, so chose where you are applying carefully.

2. Renewals when all the conditions are the same are quicker, and you can do those in country. New visas, changing companies etc, will be processed as if they were brand new, and are subject to the same process and processing times.

3. The company would have to go through the full application process. Depending on your circumstances and the company's circumstances, there are a number of options that can be pursued. Shortest processing time possible is about 2 -3 weeks. I have seen the government take up to 10 months to process and issue a visa as well. The shortage of labour is affecting the government as well as the private sector.

And of course, check CIC for relevant details, or, if in doubt, hire an immigration specialist to handle the details for you.

[kaishen]

hey mikaldor thanks for the reply. was hoping that someone would reply

so that would mean if i were to change job with a different job nature, i could stay in the country BUT subjected to the same long wait of 3 months or more?

i understand that the first company that does the application would have to pay a processing fee for the application. DO subsequent companies need to do that or it's only needed to be done the first time only

[kaishen]

anyone?

[lilmira]

You can apply to change the status of your permit within Canada, that includes your employer, location of employment and the term of your permit, extension........ Just make sure that you have a valid permit still and make sure that you apply for the change in advance so that you'll get the new one before the last one expires. You wouldn't need to do medical and you wouldn't need to prove that you haven't been convicted again. You should probably apply couple months in advance just in case.

You are responsible to pay for the application, not your employer, though your employer will probably take care of it.

Your employer may have to consult Human Resource Canada again.

There should be plenty of info on the CIC website.

[kaishen]

lilmira, how did u know all these? r u an employer or did i apply for a pass years ago?

[lilmira]

I have gone through all that shit years ago. Immigration can be a bitch to deal with if you don't do exactly what they ask. We also have a foreign employee working in our office and he'll become permanent resident soon.

My advice, if you want to stay in Canada, you might as well apply for permanent resident at the same time. Once you become permanent resident, you don't have to worry about your status in Canada and you can switch job any time you want.

[Mikaldor]

Originally posted by kaishen
hey mikaldor thanks for the reply. was hoping that someone would reply

so that would mean if i were to change job with a different job nature, i could stay in the country BUT subjected to the same long wait of 3 months or more?

i understand that the first company that does the application would have to pay a processing fee for the application. DO subsequent companies need to do that or it's only needed to be done the first time only

Sorry, I'm on beyond only infrequently.

The work visa situation is not pretty. If you change jobs, period. You have to reapply to get a new work visa, and wait for up to 3 months to get the new visa approved. A change in job means any of the following:

1. Change in employer
2. Change in job nature

During that change, if you are not employed still by the current company with which your visa is valid, you technically have no status in Canada and have to leave the country.

There is one exception to the above for status expiration, and that exception is that if you have an application in process, before the expiration of your current visa, you have implied immigration status until that application is ruled on by the government.

As a result, I advise my clients, who are looking to stay in Canada, to start the Permanent residence application as soon as the arrive in Canada, if they have any intention of staying in Canada long term, as that process can take up to 36 months.

As soon as that application is recieved and is being processed, then additional work permits, work permits as a result of employment change etc, should be expiditied, as a result of the implied status situation.

The PR application is pretty expensive, but is worth it in my mind for the time that it saves in work permit extensions, and in the freedom that it will give you in terms of being able to change jobs, which under a pure work permit situation, you are prohibited from.

[kaishen]

i see. hmm miklador, are you working in a PR signup agency? you seem to know prety much stuff. I understand that for skilled workers, you need to have 1 year of working experience. i dont really have that, so that means i cant apply under that? am thinking of coming over right after i graduate. so fresh out of sch with a bachelor degree in electrical engineering

[gkAeris]

Originally posted by kaishen
ignorant over such matter so need help from beyond.ca ppl here


lets say, if you are already employed and have a working pass for a company and u decide to switch jobs

1. would you have to repeat the entire process of gg back to the motherland until you obtain the pass while the company is processing it.

who said that you have to go back to the mother country....when you apply for a workign visa (to look for jobs in canada) usually the permit 3months (some up to 6 months) to stay in canada while you are lookign fora job... after that time is up you have to go back to your mother land and reapply...if during that time you find a job then your good....

[gkAeris]

Originally posted by kaishen
i see. hmm miklador, are you working in a PR signup agency? you seem to know prety much stuff. I understand that for skilled workers, you need to have 1 year of working experience. i dont really have that, so that means i cant apply under that? am thinking of coming over right after i graduate. so fresh out of sch with a bachelor degree in electrical engineering

so wait till you get a job for one year and then apply....?

[kaishen]

haha
miss gkaeris..long time no see! hee...yep...