American Citizen already in Canada Looking to Work - How does this work?

[doremi]

Hi all,

My boyfriend is an American citizen, and is currently in Canada, as a visitor.

He is looking for work right now.

If he eventually finds a job, with a job offer,

how is the process of applying Working VISA going to work?

(giving he is now a visitor status in Canada, and is already in Canada.)


I've searched and read tons of pages on the internet, but can not find useful information. (Mostly are vague in explanation)


Thanks,

 

[amikety]

The employer will most likely need to produce a LMO. This is permission from the government to hire a foreign worker. They have to prove there's no suitable Canadians for the job.

Once he has the LMO, he can apply for a work permit. He completes the application (and has medical if needed). Then he either mails it to the USA or goes to the border and flagpoles.

Unless your boyfriend has specialized skills, it'll be difficult to find a job. I wish him good luck... but don't get your hopes up. 19 months and counting for me.

 

[doremi]

Meaning the employer has to be willing to do all these paper work?

"Specialized skills"... means...?

The employer will most likely need to produce a LMO. This is permission from the government to hire a foreign worker. They have to prove there's no suitable Canadians for the job.

Once he has the LMO, he can apply for a work permit. He completes the application (and has medical if needed). Then he either mails it to the USA or goes to the border and flagpoles.

Unless your boyfriend has specialized skills, it'll be difficult to find a job. I wish him good luck... but don't get your hopes up. 19 months and counting for me.

 

[amikety]

Meaning the employer has to be willing to do all these paper work?

"Specialized skills"... means...?

Correct, the employer has to be willing to obtain a LMO. If an employer doesn't have one already, it can take 2-3 months. Getting a LMO can be difficult for some jobs as well. The company has to show CIC they can't find any suitable Canadians to do the job. In some job fields/areas of Canada, this can be almost impossible. A lot of companies won't do LMOs as a policy too.

"Specialized" depends on your location. One thing you can do is look at your province's provincial nominee program and see what jobs are in demand. Another is to look at Kijiji. Go to your city and type in "LMO." It'll show you what types of jobs are open for LMOs. (I bet you'll see far more people begging for a LMO job than jobs available.) It can't hurt to look a few times over a month or two, just to get a perspective.

The other option is NAFTA. If your boyfriend falls under a NAFTA category, he can get a work permit without a LMO for a NAFTA exempt job. The list is rather big (60+ jobs).

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/special-business.asp
http://sice.oas.org/trade/nafta/chap-162.asp (scroll down)

My experience so far has been applying for jobs I'm qualified for, even with the same company I worked with in the USA - no reply. They don't even send nice rejection notices. After a while, I downgraded and applied for other various jobs. I got hired at a few, until they realized I needed a LMO and work permit. Then they withdrew the offer. (I always marked "NO" I'm not legal to work in Canada - don't know why they bothered to call me!) I've even tried applying for fast food jobs, which do have LMOs sometimes, and they aren't interested in hiring me. They want to hire people from poor countries because they 'work harder' and 'don't complain.'

It's rather annoying. I decided to go back to school instead.

 

[doremi]

Thanks for the clarification and information, it really helps a lot.

This really sound like a difficult process for Americans to get a job in Canada.

How long did it take you before you decided to go to school?

Are you currently in the USA or Canada?

I guess my boyfriend would probably falls under NAFTA categories (management consultant as in professional / sales and marketing as in business visitor). But I am confused, and got so many questions. Does that mean:

1) The hiring company, will just have to give a job offer for the specific job title (for example: management consultant)? (Without obtaining LMO)
2) Then my boyfriend can apply for work visa with the offer (without the LMO)
3) What if the job title is similar in nature, but not exactly as they listed in the NAFTA category?

Btw, does he need to proof he has enough money to stay in Canada (for the period of visiting)?

 

[amikety]

Thanks for the clarification and information, it really helps a lot.

This really sound like a difficult process for Americans to get a job in Canada.

How long did it take you before you decided to go to school?

Are you currently in the USA or Canada?

I guess my boyfriend would probably falls under NAFTA categories (management consultant as in professional / sales and marketing as in business visitor). But I am confused, and got so many questions. Does that mean:

1) The hiring company, will just have to give a job offer for the specific job title (for example: management consultant)? (Without obtaining LMO)
2) Then my boyfriend can apply for work visa with the offer (without the LMO)
3) What if the job title is similar in nature, but not exactly as they listed in the NAFTA category?

Btw, does he need to proof he has enough money to stay in Canada (for the period of visiting)?

About six months. I tried a Canadian program first, hated it and switched to a USA school online.

1) I believe so and it must be in writing including normal weekly hours and pay rate. Pay rate must be within normal Canadian standards.

2) Yes, and if he can flagpole at the US border, he can get the work permit over a weekend and be able to start work right away. (Mailing to the USA would take about two months, I believe.)

3) I would imagine then it wouldn't qualify, but I don't have experience with this firsthand.

Somewhere out there should be a job description of these NAFTA jobs. I imagine he would need a job description from the company as well as his letter with his hours and pay rate and it should match closely.

 

[doremi]

Got it.

I guess all my boyfriend can do now, is to try to look for a job with the NAFTA titles, or hoping some employers would hire Americans.

Fingers crossed. =(

Thanks dear!