tallsteve

i have been offered a job by a canadian company in the hvac industry in calgary,how easy or hard is it to get a working visa,i am a uk resident and male 44 years old in a skilled trade.

iaink

They need to advertise appropriately and get a positive Labour Market opinion (LMO), but you can apply for the temp work permit concurrently.

I suggest reading the wiki or the CIC site for the procedure, but basically the employer has to start the ball rolling as well as the applicant, and if there are "suitable" available canadian resident applicants or the pay offered is too low, then its a non starter.

Good Luck

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Catego...Permits-Canada
http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Tempor...cation_process

It can be a fairly quick process, a month or three, usually its the backlog at "service canada" for the LMO that slows things down, plus the need for the employer to have advertised sufficiently. How easy or hard really depends on individual circumstances and skills and the state of the job market Im afraid.

andy.hatton

I got a work permit when i landed at Toronto. i have never been here before and had no other contact with immigration. I had a letter from my employer stating i had a job and what the salary was. Paid my $150 at immigration and within 30 minutes i had a work permit. badda bing!

Permit lasts until my passport runs out but then I renew passport and renew permit.

Am i missing something or is it always that easy?

Forgot to add that i am an inter company transferee so that might have something to do with the fact it was so simple.

iaink

I suspect you may work in one of the few fields where an LMO is not a necessity?

andy.hatton

I am a Bid Director working in the P3 sector - or what is known as the PFI sector in the UK.

Not sure if this fulfills the requirement.

iaink

I dont even know what that is...

christmasoompa

Intra-company transfers don't require a LMO, but the OP certainly would.