whoopwoo

Hi all,

We're looking at relocating to Vancouver from Ireland, and Im meeting a certain amount of confusion when it comes to work visas....

For a start, we have no guarantee of a job when we come over, and we were looking at work permits.
The beloved holds an Irish passport, and is booking flights through USIT travel, where they operate a scheme whereby they seem to have some sort of deal with the Canadian embassy (or a lawyer who speciaises in this kind of thing) which issues a finite number of temporary work permits per year allowing people to turn up on spec and 'suck it and see', as it were i.e.; no guarantee of employment before you go is not a problem with this.
She seems to be on a waiting list for this year, as all permits have been issued.

I, on the other hand, have a British passport. USIT wont entertain me on the work permit front, as Im not an Irish national, and USITs 'parent company'(?) do not run such a scheme.

Therefore, I am wondering, as a British national, how do I obtain a temporary work permit, one which allows me to theoretically walk off the street and apply for a job?

Ive trawled about and I cant find any solid help

Cheers
look forward to your help or any links guys!!

ill_only_miss_eastenders

Ive never heard anything about this for the UK and wouldnt have thought there was such thing considering the lengths people go to, to find arranged employment. But i may be wrong!, and I'm sure if Iam, someone that knows all about it will correct me

Andrew Miller

It is not that they have any special deal with the Canadian embassy - what they offer are working holiday visas for students and non-students that are openly available, but due to limited number they run out quickly early each year. If anyone is taking money from you to "secure" visa for next year then it sounds to me like a scam.

http://www.canada.org.uk/visa-info/worker/e_worker.htm

http://www.bunac.org/uk/workcanada/

whoopwoo

Ah,
cheers for that.

One last thought; would i be presented with these difficulties if I secured employment before I went over? I work in biological sciences.

Andrew Miller

If you secure job offer qualifying for Labour Market Opinion necessary for work permit (or exempt from LMO) then simply apply for standard work permit and don't worry about those limited visas.

whoopwoo

Thanks,
greatly appreciated!

Judy in Calgary

In case you don't know, the positive Labour Market Opinion to which Andrew referred, is an endorsement that Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC) issues after it has satisfied itself that the employer who is offering you a job has conducted vigorous recruiting activities and has been unable to find a willing and able Canadian resident to fill the position. Satisfactory recruiting efforts usually would include advertising the vacancy across Canada.

However, HRSDC and Service Canada (SC) have published Regional Lists of Occupations Under Pressure. You may be glad to see that Biologists and Related Scientists (National Occupational Classification code 2121) appear on the list of Occupations Under Pressure in British Columbia. For occupations on this list, employers are not required to undertake extensive advertising efforts before being eligible to apply to hire a foreign worker.

There are two BE Wiki articles that you may find useful, if you haven't already found them. They are Canadian Immigration Overview and Careers (Canada). The latter article explains how to go about job hunting in Canada, how to Canadianise your CV (which is called a resume here) and so on.