We got our BC PNP and flew back to Vancouver as we had been back home due to the long processing times. We had what we thought were all the necessary documents to come back into Canada and to get our temporary work permits whilst we apply and wait for our decision on our permanent residency. My partner applied as a skilled worker and I am on his application as his spouse so am able to get an open work permit. The documents we had with us was a letter of support from the BC PNP and a job offer letter from my partners work. We got asked by immigration for a IMM5802 form - offer of employment to a foreign national exempt from a labour market impact assessment (LMIA). We advised the immigration officer that we have never heard of this form before and that we had applied last year as we were advised that this form was introduced in Feb'15. We were their for hours trying to get to the bottom of it as the officer was not 100% sure and had to ask other officers about this. We were advised in the end that we do need this form to be completed and they have put our visa on hold and we've been given a time to come back with this form which is to be completed and $230 paid by my partners work or to provide an update on the progress of the form. They have kept our passports and advised us to come back with our luggage. This was news to us and have never once has this form been mentioned whilst speaking to the PNP office and CIC. Please let me know if you have experienced this issue and also to let everyone know to be careful and have this form completed when you are getting your work permits as this is a big headache we could have avoided if we new in advance about it. Now our application hinges on this one form and could result in us having to leave Canada which is a massive disappointment after getting this far.
BC PNP coming back to Canada issue at immigration
- Thread starter jenn19
- Start date
Hi Jenn19,
Yes this is correct. It is a compliance fee that the employer has to pay for hiring a foreign worker that does not have an LMIA. It used to be much cheaper and was increased to $230 last year. It also used to be a paper form but as of November, the form HAS to be paid online. The employer will get a receipt which you need to take to the border. My consultant also advised me to be very careful with the payment, it MUST be the employer that pays it. Don't pay it yourself or it will be declined and considered as forgery, etc. Good luck!
Yes this is correct. It is a compliance fee that the employer has to pay for hiring a foreign worker that does not have an LMIA. It used to be much cheaper and was increased to $230 last year. It also used to be a paper form but as of November, the form HAS to be paid online. The employer will get a receipt which you need to take to the border. My consultant also advised me to be very careful with the payment, it MUST be the employer that pays it. Don't pay it yourself or it will be declined and considered as forgery, etc. Good luck!
Hi IrishinVan,IrishinVan said:
Thanks for the info. The employer is a very large company and we are not sure that they will pay this and also doubt they have a credit card. There is a use of a representative form where it looks that someone can pay on behalf of the company and the company can sign this off to say a representative has been used This may be a more viable way for us. Really hoping this all works out.
All large companies have corporate credit cards they can use to pay fees. Whether they are willing to pay the fee is an entirely different matter.jenn19 said:
No worries. If it is a large company then I would be surprised if the HR Dept. isn't already aware of this requirement. If they have hired foreign workers on a closed permit before then they would def have had to pay the fee. Scilla is right, they will def have a corporate credit card, usually under the name of a partner or senior manager. I'm not sure if the representative has to be hired by the company, I.e. it can't be YOUR representative. So best check that out before you go down that road. But I would def suggest that your partner checks with the HR Dept first to see if they will pay it. It is really their responsibility if they want to hire him and you guys shouldn't have to worry about it! Here's the link http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/5802ETOC.aspjenn19 said:
Hi Irishinvan,IrishinVan said:
We finally got our work permits
!! The work paid by credit card. We were concerned with all the red tape and people it had to go through it would not go through or take a long time but we got very lucky and they had done it before which was a huge help. We can finally enjoy being back in Canada and on to the next step of applying for PR!Thanks for your advice and good luck!