Postdoc offer, PhD not conferred, work permit at border query

[rct3]

Hi all

I hope someone may be able to help. I have an offer of employment as a postdoctoral fellow (LMIA exempt) and have the offer employment of ID number. As a British citizen, I plan to apply for my work permit at the port of entry. I have an upfront medical exam booked and other documentation collated. The problem is that although I have submitted my thesis, I have not had my viva examination yet. I will have had my viva before I arrive in Canada and will have documentation to the effect of 'pass with minor corrections' (I'm assuming!). However, my PhD definitely will not be conferred and I doubt my corrections will have been approved. Is this likely to cause a major issue? I have other evidence of my eligibility for the role (CV, letters from previous employment as a lecturer).

My other query is proof of ability to fund my stay. Is the offer of employment proof of this as it details my salary? Or will I need bank statements (I do not have any savings)? Any other advice as a postdoc applying for a work permit at the border would be much appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

 

[soliloquy]

How did you go with all this?

I am asking because I am in exactly the same position, and trying to figure out with the host institution how I can begin the postdoctoral position before conferral of the PhD.

In Australia this isn't a problem and happens all the time. There is no "viva" - you just submit the thesis and it is marked (though can take months).

I have asked CIC about this - the Sydney office suggested I provide a letter from my supervisor stating that I have fulfilled the requirements. Except I technically won't have if the PhD isn't conferred.

 

[Abdelahhad]

Dear all,
I assume that by now you already started your PostDoc fellow in Canada...
I have applied for work permit as a PostDoc at University of Toronto...Same situation, i needed to go through my VIVA... after i have submited my final thesis "Corrected" my university "University of Malaya, Malaysia" issued me a letter stating that i have completed my thesis requirements...
With that i have submitted a work permit application online..

I have applied since 11th of December 2016, i would like t know from you if you have any information about how long does it take for the Canadian immigration to issue PostDocs the work permit and VISA..

Thanks...

 

[vanhanguyen1989]

Thanks Abdelahhad,

I am also in the same situation. I finished my PhD defense last month and fulfilled all the requirements from University to award a PhD degree (officially will be on 15, Feb 2019). I also got the certificate of expected graduation (issued by Graduate School, this certificate is only issued if candidate finished all requirements for graduation such as: course works, PhD dissertation defense etc).

In my case, is it okay to submit the certificate of graduation for the process of work permit?

Many thanks!

 

[soliloquy]

Sorry I never saw these messages.

I ended up having my supervisor/advisor write a letter on a letterhead with all of her contact details that stated that I had successfully satisfied all of the requirements for my PhD and that I'd officially graduate two months after I start my post-doc. It was fine, I got the work permit approved in record time, actually, and ended up booking my flights months earlier than I had planned. I also had to get married before I left, so it was a bit of a whirlwind few months. I applied for the permit in December 2016 and got it in Feb 2017. Arrived in Canada in April 2017. Graduated officially in June 2017.

 

[mreza]

Sorry I never saw these messages.

I ended up having my supervisor/advisor write a letter on a letterhead with all of her contact details that stated that I had successfully satisfied all of the requirements for my PhD and that I'd officially graduate two months after I start my post-doc. It was fine, I got the work permit approved in record time, actually, and ended up booking my flights months earlier than I had planned. I also had to get married before I left, so it was a bit of a whirlwind few months. I applied for the permit in December 2016 and got it in Feb 2017. Arrived in Canada in April 2017. Graduated officially in June 2017.

Hi, Thank you for your information. What is your nationality?
I got a Postdoc offer from Queen's University (Canada) before graduating from PhD in USA and I applied (from USA) for Specific Work Permit on Oct 5 2018 and submitted biometrics on Oct 9. My advisor and department wrote a letter that I will be graduating this semester and my degree will be conferred Jan 10 2019. I defended successfully and submitted my dissertation with all the edits. Seems CIC accepted the letter, but since Oct 9 till now we are waiting for our visa. I'm so worried about my situation here in the US (Iranian international student) and my work start date is Jan 20. I wonder why my visa is not issued yet after 3 months and how much longer should we wait.

 

[soliloquy]

I applied from Australia with my Australian passport.

Maybe you should call them? I checked the processing times for a work permit applied online from the US, and the processing time is only two weeks. When you look online does it still say In Progress?

Edit: sorry, I just reread your post and you said you are an international student. That means your work permit will be processed through Iran. The processing time is currently 17 weeks.

 

[mreza]

I applied from Australia with my Australian passport.

Maybe you should call them? I checked the processing times for a work permit applied online from the US, and the processing time is only two weeks. When you look online does it still say In Progress?

Edit: sorry, I just reread your post and you said you are an international student. That means your work permit will be processed through Iran. The processing time is currently 17 weeks.

Thank you. For reply. I emailed them and they said they have all the required documents and they are doing routine checks. My visa is processing in the New York office.

 

[soliloquy]

Thank you. For reply. I emailed them and they said they have all the required documents and they are doing routine checks. My visa is processing in the New York office.

It might be worth seeing if you can push your start date back a few weeks.

 

[ambq91]

Thank you. For reply. I emailed them and they said they have all the required documents and they are doing routine checks. My visa is processing in the New York office.

Hi, did you get any updates? I am in the same boat!

- Amir

 

[mreza]

Hi, did you get any updates? I am in the same boat!

- Amir

Hi,
I wanted to update here little sooner but I got very busy. Yes, I finally got my visa from the USA office. It took 14 weeks to get passport requests and after submitting the passports it took 1 week to get it back. Last week we moved to Canada.

 

[ambq91]

Hi,
I wanted to update here little sooner but I got very busy. Yes, I finally got my visa from the USA office. It took 14 weeks to get passport requests and after submitting the passports it took 1 week to get it back. Last week we moved to Canada.

Congrats! Thanks for the update.

 

[mamadebbie]

Does anyone know if the Doctorate LMIA exemption for Post Docs is only for those working in academia/universities only? What about Psychologists doing supervised practice as part of licensure requirements in Canada?

 

[canuck78]

Does anyone know if the Doctorate LMIA exemption for Post Docs is only for those working in academia/universities only? What about Psychologists doing supervised practice as part of licensure requirements in Canada?

Believe that it is only for academia. Definitely wouldn’t apply in your case.

 

[mamadebbie]

Believe that it is only for academia. Definitely wouldn’t apply in your case.

Thanks