You are on the right page if you want to learn how to apply for Canada Work Permit in 2021 or beyond. Here, we will tell you everything you’d need to know about the Canadian work permit and how to easily apply for it, to enable you to live and work in Canada.
If you are wondering what a Canadian work permit means, it’s simply a license or permission granted usually to a foreign individual by the Canadian government which allows the individual to freely work in Canada.
Every foreigner in Canada traditionally requires a Canadian work permit in order to freely work in Canada. But there are some occasions where most foreign individuals are not required to have a work permit to work in Canada.
What are the Types Of Canadian Work Permits?
Wanting to have a Canadian work permit is one thing, but applying for the right one is another thing. Canada has two (2) work permits: the Open Canadian work permit and Employer-specific work permit.
EMPLOYER SPECIFIC WORK PERMIT:
The employer-specific work permit permits you to work in Canada in line with the conditions listed on your work permit, like the:
- How long you can work
- Name of the specific employer you can work for
- The location where you can work (if applicable)
An employer-specific work permit needs your potential employer to fulfill certain steps and either gives you an employment number or an LMIA (Labour Market Impact Assessment) which you’ll have to add to your application before you are going to be qualified to submit your work permit application.
CANADIAN OPEN WORK PERMIT
The open work permit is different from the regular work permit and this is because it doesn’t assign to you a particular job or a specific employer.
Generally, the job and employer are both indicated on the regular Canadian Work Permit, this restrains the holder to those circumstances while they are in Canada.
An Open Work Permit offers the holder the liberty to work for any employer or company in Canada as well as in almost any capacity.
If you are applying for an Open Work Permits, you don’t need an Employment Number or a positive LMIA (Labour Market Impact Assessment).
Below are the following people that can apply for Open Work Permits according to Canadian immigration regulations:
- The common-law partners or spouses of foreign students engaged in a full-time study;
- Common-law partners or Spouses of temporary foreign workers in a level 0, A, or B occupation, according to NOC (National Occupation Classification);
- International students that just recently graduated from any Canadian post-secondary institution.
Virtually everyone going into Canada’s labor market is needed to possess a Canadian work permit, unless on some exceptions. Possessing a Canadian work permit makes you qualified to join the over 180,000 foreign workers who are migrating into Canada almost every year.
Duration of a Canadian Work Permit
All Canadian work permits have an expiry date; whether employer-specific or open work permit. If you want a work permit without an expiry date, then you will need to have a Canadian permanent residence. That’s the only way to go about it.
The Canadian Federal government imposed a specific limit on the length of the Canadian work permit and the accumulated length of time that individuals that are not Canadians can work in Canada.
The longest number of months a person can possibly work in Canada — Regardless if you’re working consecutively or with gaps between permits is four years (48 Months).
As soon as your four (4) years Canadian work permit is exhausted, you will be required to leave Canada and will be required to stay outside of Canada for at least 48 months (4 years) before you can be qualified to work in Canada again.
Requirements for Applying for a Work Permit in Canada
Depending on where you are applying from, there are certain requirements that you must satisfy before you will be eligible to apply for a Canadian work permit.
There are certain requirements you will need to satisfy before you will be able to apply for a Canadian work permit, depending on where you are applying from. However, the kind of work permit you are applying for doesn’t matter because you must do the following:
- Proof to the Canadian immigration officer that you’ll leave Canada immediately your work permit expires;
- Proof that you have money enough to take care of yourself and your family members while you are working in Canada;
- Your police record should be clean (Have no criminal activities) and you obey the law;
- Make sure you are not in any way going to be a danger to Canadian security;
- Take medical examination and be in good health (if necessary)
- Don’t have intentions of working for an employer who has been declared “ineligible” on the list of employers who have failed to meet with the conditions;
- Present to the immigration officer any other documents they may need in order to prove that you’re eligible to enter Canada;
- You don’t have intentions of working for an employer who always offers striptease, erotic dance, escort services, or erotic massages.
How Do I Apply for a Canadian Work Permit?
There’re two (2) steps you will definitely take if you desire to apply for a Canadian work permit. Usually, the applicants are asked to first have a job offer before they can apply for a Canadian work permit.
1st Step: The first step is to apply for an LMIA (Labour Market Impact Assessment) from ESDC (Employment and Social Development Canada). Sometimes you may be required to prove that no Canadian residents or citizens are qualified for the job position at hand.
2nd Step: After you are given a positive LMIA, the applicant can proceed to apply for a Canada work permit on that basis.
NOTE: Unless you have an open work permit, if not, you will be left with an employer-specific work permit. Should in case you decide to change your employers, then you will bee to obtain a fresh Canadian work permit to be eligible to take any other job in Canada.
Steps to Apply for Canada Work Permit:
Step 1. Check your Eligibility:
Step 2. Choose Your Work Permit Type: Employer Specific Work Permit or Open Work Permit.
Step 3. Gather Supporting Documents: A valid passport or travel document, Police clearance certificate, etc.
Step 4. Complete Application Form:
Step 5. Pay Visa Fees:
Step 6. Go Ahead and Submit Your Application Form:
Once you have submitted your application form you will be sent a notification that contains the location and time for your biometrics. You will be required to pay a fair fee for both the application processing and the biometrics.
If you have traveled to Canada within the last 10 years as well as provided biometrics, then you wouldn’t be required to do it again.
NOTE: Make sure that you submit the proper document and information if not, your application could likely be returned to you unprocessed. You could possibly be asked to visit an immigration officer for a possible interview and will also be required to go for a medical test.
If your application becomes finally successfully approved, a confirmation letter to prove your eligibility to work in Canada will be sent to you. Note that the letter is not actually a worker permit.
You will need to make your visa and travel to Canada where the actual Canada Work Permit will be given to you by a Canadian immigration officer at the POE (Port Of Entry).
Canadian Work Permit Exemptions
Below is a list of individuals qualified to enjoy the Canadian work permit exemption. They include:
- Clergy.
- Public speakers.
- Implied Status.
- Performing artists.
- Business Visitors.
- Civil aviation inspectors.
- Foreign representative.
- Convention organizers.
- News reporters, media crews.
- Health care students.
- Foreign government officers.
- Examiners and evaluators.
- Judges, referees, and similar officials.
- Athletes and team members.
- Military personnel.
- Transportation Crew.
- On-campus employment.
- Expert witnesses or investigators.
- Aviation accident or incident inspector.
- Family members of foreign representatives.