Gulf Stream

D'oh...

Before I came to Vancouver on my recce, I scoured the internet looking for info on visas/work permits for temp stays, as I was hoping that I'd do a few days work as an extra on whatever TV series/movies are being made here. I couldn't find any information anywhere, just that I needed a work permit. I emailed as many people as I could find, and no one answered me. Couldn't find any info on what sort of permit, where to get one, or when to get one (before I arrived, or after I arrived).

I bought myself a cheap laptop to use while I'm here and I'm bookmarking all the relevant pages, and I bookmarked citizenship and immigration I had a quick surf of the site, and dammit! it tells me I had to apply for a temporary work permit before I arrived in Canada ... where the heck was that page/information three weeks ago?!?!?

:curse:

Judy in Calgary

Actually, you can still apply for a work permit while you're here, but you have to do a "trip around the flagpole" to activate your work permit.

In most cases that means driving to the Canada-USA border. However, I've seen comments on the forum (without taking in the details) that there are some places in Canada (which are quite far from the border) in which you can do your "trip around the flagpole" internally. I seem to remember that Edmonton, Alberta is one such place. I'm not quite sure where you go (perhaps the airport, where there are immigration officials?).

If you're in Vancouver, you don't have the "internal" option. The most feasible thing for you to do would be to go to the BC-Washington State border.

There's also lots of info in the Canadian Immigration section of the BE Wiki.

Hope that helps.
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bazzz

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/

Novocastrian

Qui ignorabat, ignorabitur - One who is ignorant will remain unnoticed.

ann m

D'oh indeed ! You needed the British Expats forum to have come up on one of your searches. Then Bob would have been your uncle and Fanny would have been your aunt.

The4BellsLondon

blimey - what with forgetting yr ds yr really having a bad one!!!

Gulf Stream

It did, I looked at the Wiki, and couldn't find any info about working in the TV/movie industry, I googled within Google and couldn't find anything, I've asked on several messageboards, and emailed agencies, no one seems to know anything, other than a link back to the immigration site that I'd read, re-read and read again looking and all I found was a page saying you can apply for a work permit before you arrive/at point of entry/after you arrive, but yesterday when I looked at the site for an immigration office that page seems to have been deleted and all there is now is a page saying you have apply before you arrive and in order to apply you have to have a job offer.

But you can't be offered a job as an extra, it's about turning up on time, not bumping into the scenary, not breaking the props, not looking at the camera and not staring at the talent!

and it's raining again, so I can't go sightseeing!!

Judy in Calgary

Jeez, this stuff gets complicated sometimes, at least to a person who is not thoroughly familiar with immigration regulations and who, to some extent, is winging it.

I've just realized that it says that you can apply for a TWP from inside Canada if you have a temporary resident permit (TRV) that is valid for six months or more. If you're a British citizen, you don't need to apply for a TRV in order to visit Canada. Although the immigration officer at the port of entry has the authorization to use his/her discretion, they usually do admit British visitors to Canada for six months. Lacking the correct, technical vocabulary, I would guess that's a sort of implied TRV.

So I think perhaps you can apply for a TWP from inside Canada after all. If your application was approved, you'd still have to go down to the BC-Washington State border for your trip around the flagpole. But that would be a minor chore in the larger scheme of things.

But, as I mentioned before, I think you'd have to try to find a job other than one as a TV/movie extra in order for this to work out for you.
x

Gulf Stream

I emailed an immigration lawyer yesterday and for $225 they'll let me fill out a form and decide if they can answer my question about a work permit to be an extra... yuh huh.

I went Downtown yesterday and one of the first things I saw was an Immigration office - how come I couldn't find an address for an office in Vancouver on the Immigration site?!? Dear gawd have I lost my ability to surf the 'net?!?!

*le sigh*

roanin

Judy, he's not a British citizen, but from the "republic" of Ireland! different rules probably apply.

Judy in Calgary

Like American, Australian, Austrian, Belgian, British, Czech, Danish, Estonian, Finish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Icelandic, Israeli, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Mexican, Namibian, Dutch, New Zealand, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Slovakian, Spanish, Swazi, Swedish, Slovenian, and Swiss citizens, amongst others, Irish citizens do not need visas in order to visit Canada.
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Gulf Stream

and "he's" a she...