Identity Status Work Permit and Immigration
Status – Employer Specific Work Authorization
If you are a temporary foreign worker under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), your status in Canada is derived from an employer-specific work permit. This type of permit gives you the right to work for a single employer, whose name appears on the work permit. The work permit also includes information about the length of time you can work in Canada and sometimes the location where you are assigned to work.
Application for work permit
You can apply for an employer-specific work permit online or by mail. Applying online is usually faster than applying by mail. Approval of a work permit usually takes several months. You can check the waiting time on the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) website.
Your employer in Canada will also need to submit documentation applying to hire you as a temporary foreign worker. On the employer’s part, the employer will obtain a Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) document from Social Development Canada/Service Canada, which allows the employer to hire workers through the temporary foreign worker program. When making your work permit application, your prospective employer must provide a copy of the Labor Market Impact Assessment and a letter or contract offering your job.
Labor Market Impact Assessment – Employer Responsibilities
Your employer in Canada must obtain a favorable Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) before hiring you through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. In order to obtain a labor market impact assessment document, the employer must apply to the Department of Social Development/Service Canada and pay a fee of $1,000. As this is the responsibility of the employer, the employer cannot require you to contribute any proportion of the LMIA application fee. (The Atlantic Provinces Immigration Pioneer Program does not require this labor market impact assessment document).
Some labor market impact assessment documents are “open”, which means that employers have favorable labor market impact assessment documents and can choose the workers they need. Most Labor Market Impact Assessment documents are named, meaning the employer has filled in the name of the worker on the application document. When such a named labor market impact assessment document is approved, the document may only be used to hire named workers.
Work permit renewal
Before your current work permit expires
If your employer has a favorable labor market impact assessment document, you can renew your work permit at an Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada IRCC site. You must pay a fee to renew your work visa.
It is important to apply for a new work permit before your current work permit expires. Because you have submitted an updated application, you are in “waiting period status” and you can continue to work under the same conditions.
Waiting Period Status
While the new work permit is still in the process, you are considered a temporary resident while in the waiting period. While you are in waiting period status, you are expected to continue to stay in Canada and you can continue to work under the same conditions until your application for a work permit is approved or denied. If your employer does not offer any job, you can enjoy the benefits of applying for unemployment insurance if you are in the waiting period. If you have a Prince Edward Island health card, the card will be valid for the same period as your original work permit and you will not be able to get a new health card until you receive your new work permit.
If the employer has submitted a new labor market impact assessment application but has not yet been approved, you should ask the employer for the application number of the labor market impact assessment document and include the application number in the new application. If you have not yet received a new Labor Market Impact Assessment document number, please retain your old number and include a letter explaining why. When you get a new favorable Labor Market Impact Assessment document, you must send the new number in as soon as possible. Because, until this information is sent, your application information is incomplete. If the data for your application remains incomplete for too long, your work permit will be denied. For information, see the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) website
After your current work permit expires
If your work permit has expired, or your application to renew your work permit has been denied, you have 90 days to apply for “restoration of status.” You must pay a reinstatement fee and a new work visa application fee. When making an application, you will need to submit the employer’s Labor Market Impact Assessment document. While the “restoration of status” application is still in process, you cannot legally work and you must continue to stay in Canada until the process is completed. Applying to renew your work permit online is faster than applying by mail. In addition, you can change jobs if you receive a job offer and labor market impact assessment documentation from a different employer.
Temporary Residence Visa (TRV)
If your work permit is about to expire and you are unable to apply for a new work permit, you may be able to apply for a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) to extend your stay in Canada. The Temporary Resident Visa is for people staying in Canada on vacation and is valid for 6 months. You must pay the application fee, and you must prove that you have enough money in the bank to support your stay in Canada. The required amount is not specified, but it must be at least $5,000 Canadian dollars, and the higher the better. If you have a friend in Canada who can accommodate you, and he/she can also write a letter of support for you, stating that they will provide you with accommodation and support your other living expenses, this will help you obtain a temporary resident visa.
When you hold a temporary resident visa, you will not enjoy the medical insurance or unemployment insurance benefits of the Prince Edward Island Health Card, but you can stay and travel freely within Canada. Once you find another job and obtain a favorable Labor Market Impact Assessment document.
Important matters
It is important to understand and renew the work permit process to ensure your rights are protected. You can apply to renew your work permit on your own, or seek help from an agency or community organization.
Before taking action, if you are getting advice from an agency or if you are working with an agency, it is important to ask what fees they will charge. As part of your application documents, you must complete a Representative form (IMM5476). . If your previous visa has expired, you must pay to renew your work visa.
If an agency charges significantly more than the amounts mentioned above, you should consider finding another agency. Before you start applying to work in Canada, you can first contact the Canadian embassy in your country to ask whether the relevant agency is a legal agency. Alternatively, when you apply to renew your permit while staying in Prince Edward Island, you can contact the Prince Edward Island Association for Newcomers to Canada (PEIANC) to assist you in applying for a work permit. This service is free of charge.
Change employer
You can change employers, and your employer cannot penalize you for looking for a new job. However, you will need a new work permit to switch to a new employer, and obtaining a new work permit can take some time.
In order to switch to a new employer, you must:
Find a new employer
Your new employer must obtain a favorable Labor Market Impact Assessment document
You must obtain a new work permit Once your new work permit is approved, you can start working for your new employer. If you would like someone to assist you with this process, you can contact the Prince Edward Island Association for Newcomers to Canada for assistance. If you leave your job for any reason and you still have a valid work permit from your old employer, you can still stay in Canada until your work permit expires.
If you have been maliciously mistreated by your employer, you can apply for an open work visa as a vulnerable worker.
Ceilings for low-wage jobs
Employers can only hire less than 10% of the total labor force for temporary foreign workers who are hired at lower wages than the provincial median wage. Under the old law before June 2014, employers were stipulated that the quota for low-wage positions could be up to 20%, so temporary foreign workers hired before June 2014 could still be employed.
exemption clause
The proportion of low-wage temporary foreign workers can exceed 10% of the total labor force when the following conditions exist:
- Applicable to businesses across Canada with fewer than 10 employees
- Low wage positions in seasonal industries of not more than 180 calendar days
- NOTE: The exemption may only be used once per duty station per application period. For example, 2018 applications received between January 1 and December 31, 2018, and 2019 applications received between January 1 and December 31, 2019.
study
While you are working in Canada under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, you can register for non-credit courses in less than six months. Without a study permit, you cannot study academic, professional or vocational courses leading to a diploma or university degree. However, you can take courses online without a study permit.
You can learn more about applying for a study permit at the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada website.
permanent resident
Temporary foreign workers at low-skilled levels have two possible ways to obtain permanent resident status: the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) and the Atlantic Immigration Pioneer Program (AIPP). Both programs require employer support.
Provincial Nominee Program
- The scarce worker stream category in the PEI Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) in Prince Edward Island is for temporary foreign workers to obtain “intermediate skills” Canadian National Occupational Classification (NOC1) skill level D or C jobs a way. Prince Edward Island government websites publicly identify priority job openings, but any worker in the low-skilled category can apply. You can also obtain relevant data from the PEI Labor Impact Category Immigration Guide. Eligibility conditions
- Canadian National Occupational Classification (NOC) skill level D or C; truck driver, customer service representative, worker, food service worker, housekeeper
- You have a full-time or long-term (permanent or two-year) employment opportunity from a Prince Edward Island employer
- You have worked full-time for a Prince Edward Island employer for more than six months
- Have a valid work permit
- If necessary, you can attend an interview with the Immigration Service
- Possess a minimum education equivalent to a Canadian high school diploma
- Within the past two years, you have completed a language test at an institution approved by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada with a minimum score of CLB/NCLC 4 (fee $310)
- You are between 21 and 59 years old
- You have at least 2 years of full-time experience or relevant education within the past 5 years
- Have enough money to pay for immigration, travel to Canada, and settling your family in Prince Edward Island
- Show that you intend to stay in Canada
You have a Needs Assessment and Settlement Plan assessed by the PEI Association for Newcomers to Canada
Atlantic Provinces Immigration Pioneer Program
Started in 2017, the 3-year Atlantic Provinces Immigration Pioneer Program (AIPP) is open to workers in Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador. immigration project. The Atlantic Immigration Pioneer Program allows workers classified as “intermediate skilled” (Canadian National Occupational Classification Skill Level C) to apply for permanent resident status. Helpful infographics and step-by-step guides are available on the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada website. Eligibility conditions
- Your employer is willing to endorse you for permanent residence
- You have a permanent, full-time employment opportunity or a seasonal employment opportunity of more than 1,560 hours per year in a Canadian National Occupational Classification Skill Level C – Intermediate Skills
- You have a high school degree or equivalent, and/or specific vocational training
- You have worked full-time in a Canadian National Occupational Classification Level C position for the past 3 years, anywhere in the world
- Have enough money to pay for immigration, travel to Canada, and settling your family in Prince Edward Island
- Within the past two years, you have completed a language test at an institution approved by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, with a minimum score of CLB/NCLC 4 (fee $310)
- You can show that you intend to stay in Canada
- You have a Needs Assessment and Settlement Plan assessed by the PEI Association for Newcomers to Canada