The following is an e-mail exchange between an immigration representative and Citizenship and Immigration Canada regarding Post-Graduation Work Permits. The Post-Graduate Work Permit is a phenomenal program which allows graduates of Canadian post-secondary students to work in Canada on open work permits. It is not clear, however, whether people who complete a program, and then go into another program that they don’t complete, are eligible. Please note that what I have reproduced below should not be viewed as legal advice. The reproduction of question and answer has not occurred with the affiliation of the Government of Canada, nor with the endorsement of the Government of Canada. Question – May 18, 2013 Dear Madam I Sir, I have a question about post-graduate work permits and Operational Bulletin 194. http://www. cic. qc. ca/english/resources/manuals/bulletins/20 1 0/ob 194A. asp OB 194 is clear that when an individual completes a credential, and then earns another credential immediately after completing the first, then the individual can combine the duration of the two programs when calculating the length of validity his/her post-graduate work permit My question pertains to the opposite scenario. Where an individual completes a credential, and then immediately starts a different program but does not complete it, then is … Read More
Service Canada Significantly Changes Labour Market Opinion Program
On July 31, 2013, the Ministry of Employment and Social Development Canada (“Service Canada“) introduced changes to the Labour Market Opinion (“LMO“) process which took affect immediately. Today’s changes, as well as previous, recent ones, greatly increase the burden for companies applying for LMOs. Today’s changes were comprehensive. We have provided a broad overview of the changes below, however, we encourage you to contact us, or check the website below, for further details. Today’s Changes LMO Application Fees Effective July 31, 2013, employers applying for LMOs must pay a processing fee of $275.00 for each position requested. The total payment must reflect the number of Temporary Foreign Workers (“TFW“) positions requested on the LMO application (e.g. $275 x number of positions = total payment). For example, a company requesting a bulk LMO for 25 positions will be required to pay a processing fee of $6,875.00. Employers who wish to increase the number of positions requested on a LMO application must submit a new LMO application for these positions, with the required documents and fees. There will be no refund in the event of a negative LMO or if the application is withdrawn or cancelled. Reconsideration requests will also require the … Read More
Proposed Regulations Add Teeth to the CIC/Service Canada Employer Blacklist
On June 7, 2013, the Government of Canada introduced regulatory changes which will take soon effect at a date to be determined (the “New Regulations”). The New Regulations will impact all employers of foreign nationals in Canada. Specifically, the New Regulations will impose new conditions on employers and increase the government’s ability to ensure compliance with those conditions. Previous Announcements The New Regulations follow a previous Government of Canada announcement on April 29, 2013, in which it announced the following changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, which will also soon take effect at a date to be determined: The Government of Canada will begin working with employers to ensure that temporary foreign workers are relied upon only when Canadians genuinely cannot fill those jobs; Increasing the recruitment efforts that employers must make to hire Canadians before they will be eligible to apply for temporary foreign workers, including increasing the time span and reach of advertising; Helping employers who legitimately rely on temporary foreign workers, due to a lack of qualified Canadian applicants, find ways to ensure that they have a plan to transition to a Canadian workforce over time; Restricting the identification of non-official languages as job requirements when … Read More
Changes to the Foreign Worker Program, Parent Sponsorship Program, and the Age of Dependency
On April 29, 2013, the Government of Canada announced that numerous changes were being made to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, particularly the Labour Market Opinion (“LMO“) program. While most of the changes will be phased in, some of them, including the suspension of the Accelerated Labour Market Opinion (“ALMO“) program, took effect immediately. Just over one week later, on May 10, 2013, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC“) announced that the Parent and Grandparent Sponsorship Program (the “P&G Sponsorship Program“) would reopen in 2014 and accept 5,000 applications in its first year. Several changes have been made to the program. Finally, CIC also announced that it would soon reduce the age of dependency for all immigration programs from 22 to 18. In other words, only children under the age of 19 will be able to accompany their parents when they immigrate to Canada. Changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program There are numerous, significant changes being made to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. All of the changes appear aimed at making LMOs more difficult to obtain. Effective April 29, 2013, the ALMO has been temporarily suspended pending review. Effective April 29, 2013, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (“Service … Read More
Labour Market Opinions for Large Scale Franchisees
The document below is a Service Canada internal bulletin (the “Bulletin“). The Bulletin provides guidance to Service Canada officers regarding the processing of Labour Market Opinions from large scale franchisees seeking NOC C & D positions. It was written in 2009, and although much of the requirements contained within now apply to all employers, however, the Bulletin does provide useful information for applicants trying to fill any NOC C&D position. The Bulletin states that in addition to the normal LMO requirements for employers seeking to fill NOC C&D positions, the following requirements apply when the employer is a large scale franchisee: the advertisement must include the employers’ operating name; there must be evidence of ongoing recruitment made which include communities that face barriers to employment; employers must state the number of locations for which foreign workers are being sought; and the wage being paid. As well, employers should be prepared to provide the following information: the results of recruitment efforts (number of applicants, interviews conducted); the number of staff currently employed, as well as the hours of operations and positions occupied by existing staff; the benefits offered to existing staff; and staff turnover. Please note that the Bulletin is a copy of … Read More
Service Canada Regional Reference #6 – Lodge Owners
The document below is Service Canada Regional Reference Material – Reference #6 – Lodge Owners, released on November 14, 2012 (“Reference #6“). Reference #6 provides guidance to Service Canada officers regarding the processing of Labour Market Opinions for partial Owner/Operator Labour Market Opinions where the business is a hunting, fishing, or leisure lodge, camp, or resort. It recommends that officers approve applications where the employment of the partial Owner / Operator results in job creation for Canadians and permanent residents. However, where the employment of the partial Owner / Operator does not result in job creation for Canadians and permanent residents, it recommends refusal. Please note that Reference #6 is a copy of an official work by the Government of Canada which was obtained through an Access to Information and Privacy Act Request, and to my knowledge is not otherwise publicly available. While I believe that Regional Reference #6 is still current, I cannot be assured of this. The reproduction of this document has not occurred with the affiliation of the Government of Canada, nor with the endorsement of the Government of Canada.
CIC Operational Bulletin 503 – Volunteering on a Farm
Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC“) has released Operational Bulletin 503 – Clarification of Volunteering in Relation to Farm Work (“OB-503“). The Temporary Foreign Worker Manual provides that if a tourist wishes to stay on a family farm and work part time just for room and board for a short period then this is not considered work, and a work permit is not required. Work on a farm that is expected to last beyond four weeks, however, requires a work permit. OB-503 elaborates on this. It specifies that the volunteering on the farm must be incidental to the reason the individual seeks to enter Canada. Farm work cannot be the main reason for entering Canada. An individual must have other plans for the majority of their time in Canada (such as tourism, visiting family, visiting friends, etc.) It also specifies that if the foreign national seeks to volunteer at a commercial farm, than a work permit is required. A commercial farm is a commercial venture undertaken with the expectation of profit. A non-commercial farm generally means a farm where the farm family provides much of the capital and labour for the farm, and where the production of agricultural products is to provide for … Read More
Comparing Working Holiday Programs
Many young people from certain countries around the world are able to come to Canada to work on open work permits for specified periods under the Working Holiday Program (“WHP“). The WHP is a part of the International Experience Canada (“IEC“) program. The IEC also includes other programs such as the Young Professionals Program which require that applicants have pre-arranged employment. What many people don’t realize is that the WHP rules for specific countries vary dramatically. As well, they are changing constantly. So if you see you’re country on the list below, and you notice that the rules for your country are much more stringent than other countries, you may want to lobby your government to negotiate more flexible terms with Canada. Country Age Eligibility Maximum Validity (Months) Frequency of Participation Quota Australia 18-30 24 No limit 8,900 Belgium 18-30 12 Once 750 Chile 18-35 12 Once 725 Costa Rica 18-35 12 Twice in IEC, Once in WHP 70 Croatia 18-35 12 Twice 275 Czech Republic 18-35 12 Twice in IEC, Once in WHP 1,000 Denmark 18-35 12 Once 300 Estonia 18-35 12 Twice in IEC, Once in WHP 80 France 18-35 12 Twice in IEC, Once in WHP … Read More
Applying for a Work Permit at the Port of Entry
Many individuals know that people who are exempt from the requirement to obtain a Temporary Resident Visa can apply for a Work Permit at a Canadian Port of Entry. What many do not realize is that this extends to people from any country who are returning to Canada after a trip to the United States. Specifically, r. 190 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations states that: (3) A foreign national is exempt from the requirement to obtain a temporary resident visa if they are seeking to enter and remain in Canada solely (f) to re-enter Canada following a visit solely to the United States or St. Pierre and Miquelon, if they (i) held a study permit or a work permit that was issued before they left Canada on such a visit or were authorized to enter and remain in Canada as a temporary resident, and (ii) return to Canada by the end of the period initially authorized for their stay or any extension to it; We have made available for purchase on this blog an internal CBSA Memorandum from March 8, 2007, addressing this issue. The price for this document, which was obtained through an Access to Information and Privacy Act request, is $6.95. Our … Read More
Can People Working Without Status Enforce Contracts?
The Ontario Labour Relations Board (the “OLRB“) has just released a fascinating decision which involves the interplay between immigration and employment law. The case involved a German foreign national who entered into an employment agreement with Essar Steel Algoma (the “Employer“) prior to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC“) issuing him a work permit to work for the company. Things did not work out between the Employer and the foreign national, and the Employer terminated the relationship. The United Steelworks of America (the “Union“) filed a grievance, and the issue of when the foreign national became an employee of the Employer arose. The OLRB decision involved numerous factual determinations involving contested issues of when the foreign national alerted the Employer that he was a foreign national who required a work permit, whether the Employer promised the foreign national that obtaining a Labour Market Opinion (“LMO“) would be easy, and whether the Employer rescinded the foreign worker’s job offer upon the LMO being rejected. Lurking in the background of these factual disputes was the legal issue of “when does a foreign national become an employee of an employer?” The Union argued that as a matter of contract law a person becomes an … Read More