Apply for a work permit while visiting as tourist

[Deedee89]

Hi guys!

I know there are a lot of subjects with the same title, but I have a (little) different question.

First of all, I'm from Belgium and would like to work in Canada. Working and living in a foreign country can be scary.. While I'm applying for jobs from home (Belgium) I would like to visit Canada to see if I really want to live there. I know I cannot start working without a work permit, but this visit is purely to make Canada feel like home before 'the big start'. So it will be kinda like a tourist vacation but at the same time preparing mentally to live there.

I think it would be easer or better to apply and go to an in-person interview while I'm there. Cause now, if I have an in-person interview, I'll have to buy tickets, reserve a hotel etc. for an interview that'll just take an hour. And of-course If I get the job I have to come back to my country for the work permit. That's a lot of money for each time I get an interview.

So is there a way (visa?) that I can stay (without working) and apply for jobs at the same time.
Cause legally I will not be working so I'm still a tourist on vacation. Otherwise I have to go back and forth for job offers.
I will be staying at the hotel and of-course I will have a return flight ticket. It's just a win-win situation..

So if anybody has an idea or maybe done this before, it would be great to hear it.

Thank you

 

[scylla]

You would just come over as a regular tourist using an eTA. To apply for a work permit, you need a job offer and approved LMIA from the employer. The LMIA process is long and expensive - unfortunately most employers aren't willing to go through it. For that reason it's typically very difficult to find an employer as a foreign worker (but some are successful).

You should check out the IEC/working holiday visa program and see if you are the right age to apply. That would be the easiest way to be able to work in Canada (again, if you qualify).

When you arrive in Canada on the eTA, make sure it doesn't look like you're moving to Canada (i.e. coming to live here) and make sure you can demonstrate that you have enough funds to support yourself without working while you visit. Otherwise there's always some chance you could run into issues entering the country.

 

[Deedee89]

Thank you. About 'working holiday program', I checked it out, but I'll have to wait till October to apply. You can apply once a year and that's in October.

Normally there are 2 more options for working holiday program, but Belgium doesn't support it, otherwise it would be easer for me to try it out.

Thank you again, your answer helped me and made me think about if 'it's worth it'..

I'm going to wait a bit and see how the job offers go and (hopefully) make the right decision.

 

[scylla]

The honest truth is that the job offer/LMIA route will most likely be a no-go. The IEC route is most likely to be successful. Be aware that if you do manage to find an employer willing to go through the LMIA process, the process itself typically takes 4-6 months - and that does not include the time required for your work permit to be processed. So let's say that you come to Canada as a visitor and manage to secure a job offer - you then need to be prepared to wait around another 6 months before you can actually start working (while you wait for all of the paperwork to be processed). This should give you a sense of why most employers aren't willing to go through the LMIA process (most people can't wait that long to hire someone) and also indicates that if you want to try this, you need to have enough money to survive 6+ months in Canada without working.

I'd also recommend you spend more time reading about the IEC process. It sounds like you have some misconceptions about how the application process works.

Good luck.