Moops

Hi,

I would be grateful if anyone could help advise me on a situation I currently find myself in. I came to Canada in 2006 on a "intra-company transfer" visa working in a niche industry, which expires in 2011.

To cut a very long story short I resigned from my position a month ago, and as per the terms of my visa I am preparing to ship back home. :-(

Since then I have had a call from a canadian company who would like to hire me on a short-term contract basis. Does anyone know the legalities behind this? We are talking about 8 weeks work which would financially put me in a better situation; however my visa stipulates that I can only work for the company that I have just left.

Does anyone know of a legal way that I can work for this company in the interim? Is it possible to be hired as a consultant without getting into trouble with immigration? Is thier any hope of getting a short-term work permit to work for this company?

I would be very grateful for any advise that you people have!

Thanks
Gemma

Andrew Miller

Sorry, but you can't work for anyone else without new work permit.

ESSEXHAMMER

Hi Andrew

I know that your opinion is that if people want to seriously come over to Canada then arranged employment is a must.

Initially i thought it would be fine just to apply for SW which i done August 2007, however the uncertainty and the laborious wait are swaying me to consider getting a job offer and then a TWP.

The risk of either selling up at home or renting and then taking my young family abroad on a TWP is a little scary, so could you let me what the situation is if i get a job on a TWP and 6 months down the line i lose the job for whatever reasons. Do i have to leave the country straight away or do i have a period to find a new job and reapply for another TWP.

This is my main concern as moving my two young daughters out and then possibly back again 6 months later is not really something i even want to consider.

I appreciate any advice you have.

Kind regards

Dan

Andrew Miller

You can remain in Canada for the validity of work permit, but you can't work for different employer without new permit.

ESSEXHAMMER

Andrew

Okay, but say the permit is for 1 year and you lose your job after 6 months, will you have to leave immediately or can you stay whilst you get a new TWP for another company??

Sorry if these are annoying questions, i appreciate you taking the time.

Dan

Moops

Hi

Thank you for your input Andrew.

Do you know if the same rules would apply if I became a consultant? I am speaking to three companies in Canada who require someone with my skills and experience, all of which could feasibly turn into consultancy contracts.

Seems very weird going home, to a terrible job market, when companies here have a clear need.

Thank you.

christmasoompa

Why not just apply for PR as soon as you get there? That can be through within 6 months (have even heard of it only taking 4) if you are already there working on a TWP, and then you would be free to stay no matter what happened and free to work for whoever you liked.

Paul Wildy

If you become a "consultant" then what you are really saying (I assume) is that you are going to become self-employed, i.e. not be employed by any of these companies but start a business providing consulting services to one or all of them.

It is possible to get a work permit to operate a business although there are quite a few hurdles to jump through - business plans, investment into the business etc.

Is this the kind of work you can do remotely from the UK? If so it might be easier to become a UK-based consultant that secured contracts with Canadian "customers" but does not actually enter the Canadian labour market. This doesnt preclude you from visiting Canada from time to time as a Business Visitor (no work permit required - see http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca...ements-en.aspx) but you cannot be living and working here.

Andrew Miller

And I was thinking I made my answer simple, short and beyond possibility of misinterpretation. Seems not...

Let me try to put it differently:

You can remain in Canada for the validity of work permit, but you can't work for different employer without new permit.

Andrew Miller

It is irrelevant who you became - if you want to work in Canada you need valid work permit, either standard one that specifies who you can work for or an open one (available to dependent spouses and common-law partners of work and study permit holders) of open working holidays permit (BUNAC and alike).

Paul Wildy

Late night Andrew?

If you read the question, what ESSEXHAMMER had actually asked is "will you have to leave immediately or can you stay whilst you get a new TWP for another company??"

In other words what he wants to know is will he get booted out as soon as his employment ends (which effectively terminates his work permit) or will he have time to try and secure a new job and put in for a new work permit?

For instance, is he, as a UK citizen, allowed to stay as a visitor for 6 months like everyone else or does the fact that he was on a work permit (and therefore not examined as a visitor at POE) mean that he has to immidiately leave and come back to Canada as a visitor instead of a worker in order to look for a new job?

Paul Wildy

Or, as I said, Moops could try and do the consulting work from the UK

Paul Wildy

I think the above highlights a perfectly valid concern. Nobody wants to move their kids and their life to Canada with the risk of not being allowed to stay if the job doesnt work out for one reason or another.

Provincial Nominee Programs can be a good strategy to combat this problem if there is a suitable PNP in the province you want to move to. If you can get Provincial Nomination then you can get a work permit while the federal stage of your application gets processed and you dont need to get an LMO either. This means that, while you are working in Canada on a TWP you'll probably only have to wait about 6 months for your Permanent Residency to come through. And then, if the job doesnt work out after 6 months you can go and work for someone else as a PR instead of a temporary worker.

Andrew Miller

Guys, is it something wrong with me... or maybe with you reading my reply.

My reply was clear - one can remain in Canada for the validity of work permit.

I really don't know how to put it simpler.

Maybe you guys need more complex answer - so here it is:

If one is fired, laid off or quits the job while on valid work permit then s/he may remain in Canada until work permit expires, but cannot work for another employer or as self-employed without proper, new work permit.

ESSEXHAMMER

Actually Andrew your answer was not clear unlike my question, which is pointed out by NSpaul.

I will refrain in future from asking you any further questions because it is very clear that you are both rude and ignorant towards people who do not have your supposed knowledge in these matters.

Thank you NSpaul for your help.

Dan