turns23

If applying for a temporary work permit how long does the process 'usually' take? Also how hard is it to actually get a work permit...does anyone know? Are they really stringent? I work for a bank full-time in Ottawa but am still wondering whether that would qualify me for a temp work permit.

I hope i can extend my stay this way as going for PR does not seem a viable option at the moment...

Thanks in advance for any comments!

poppy1

Hi,how is it that your working at the moment if you don't have either a WP or PR ? or do you already have a WP and want to extend it?

turns23

yes i already have a working/holiday visa from bunac but cannot extend it - so im looking to get a temp work permit so i can stay here and work.

burton bunch

Hasn't there been something on here in the last week where Andrew Miller/JAJ said that there was no way you could extend BUNAC ?

turns23

i am aware you cannot extend the bunac visa but want to apply for a work visa but am unsure on how to approach it and timeframes etc... i looked on the cic website but am still unsure

burton bunch

You have to be in a trade that you can get an LMO which is the approval from Service Canada to apply for a work permit.

Depending on where you are etc estimated times for LMO approval is about 12 weeks - but they can come through sooner as ours did.

Try this link

http://www.caips.ca/

Hope it helps

Gaynor

poppy1

or later as ours did

burton bunch

Yeah Popps

Know we were really lucky - and Pete 666 has only just got his think that one took 20 + weeks to come through and he had to appeal as HRDSC made an error on the decision

Gay

pete66

Hi Gay

Yes, 21 weeks and have just come back from the border....was all but stripped searched by the immigration people. My poor wife was physically shaking....it was awlful.

All this stress for a one year work permit

Pete

poppy1

Hi Pete,gee you guys certainly have had a rough ride.
Must admit I was very,very nervous when we got to Coutts as we'd heard the immigration guys can be real ah's,as issuing permits can be a real pain in the butt for them, but have to be honest they were all really nice.

Have you got a bit of time to chill out now before you start your new job?
At least you can put it all behind you now,well for a year anyway.
Hope you called in at the liquor store on the way back,just for medicinal purposes of course

pete66

Hi Poppy

I have to be honest and say it's been a bloody tough 21 weeks!!!!

We went out the other night and celebrated when we heard about the LMO....think missus could have drunk a lot more Long Island Ice tea's if I had let her!!!

Hope things are going well for you

Regards

Pete

poppy1

Hi Pete,yep defo a lot smoother now we have work permits,school,health care,house etc all sorted.S'pose we all only have ourselves to blame as we chose to do things the unconventional way.Still, sometimes in life you just have to take risks.
I likened it the other day to OH that it's like when you're a kid playing 40 40 in or similar.You know, when you get to a 'safe spot' but you just know at some point you have to pluck up courage,come out and run like fury to make it to the finish,even though you just wanna stay where you are.
Does that make sense?

pete66

Hi Poppy

It makes perfect sense. Are you and the family covered by your provincial healthcare. We have been told that I will be covered by OHIP after three months but my wife and family won't due to us only having a one year permit. A friend of ours in Ontario has challenged this with their local MP and he has confirmed that wives etc who accompany a spouse on a one year permit are not covered.

I bet Ontario is the only province to have this silly rule.
Glad things are working out for you guys though

Regards

Pete

poppy1

Oh and I went into Calgary last week to sort out Alberta Healthcare expecting a huge queue,long wait and some degree of hassle but instead not a soul in there,easy peasy form to fill in and all 3 of us covered straightaway.We only have 1 year permit as well so dunno,maybe it is just Ontario ???? Sure someone on here will know.

pete66

Glad yours went smoothly Poppy....I think it is just Ontario. It is madness really because when my wife starts work...she will be paying Canadian taxes and yet is not entitled to their healthcare. She is especially worried about the children.

Think I may post a seperate thread for it!!!

Take care

Pete