How can NAFTA help US citizen

[sogwap]

I would like to ask about US Citizens who are living in Canada, and how North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) might affect them.

According to the following page, under NAFTA US Citizens should be able to secure work fairly easily here in Canada.
www dot cic dot gc dot ca/EnGLish/work/special-business.asp

Business people covered by NAFTA do not need a labour market opinion from Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC). This means that Canadian employers do not need to have a job offer approved by HRSDC to employ a United States or a Mexican business person, as set out in NAFTA.

Business people covered by NAFTA must, however, comply with the general provisions on temporary entry to Canada.

NAFTA applies to four specific categories of business people: business visitors, professionals, intra-company transferees, and traders and investors.

Business visitor is a separate category with separate requirements. Business visitors do not require a work permit. For more information, see Jobs that do not require a work permit in the Related Links section at the bottom of this page.

A professional must:

* be qualified to work in one of the more than 60 professions listed in Appendix 1603.D.1 of Chapter 16 of NAFTA (for example, accountant, computer systems analyst, engineer, management consultant and technical publications writer) and
* have pre-arranged employment with a Canadian enterprise in an occupation that matches the qualification.

I can understand Business visitors not needing a work permit. As most likely they are working with a US/Canadian business, but being paid by by there employer in their home country.

But what about a US citizen living in Canada finding a (regular/professional) job?
I qualify under as a professional under Appendix 1603.D.1 of Chapter 16 of NAFTA, so that should not be a problem.

Most of the information I have found about working here in Canada (for a Canadian business) says you need a HRSDC and work permit, or wait 6-18 months for PR status. However under NAFTA it should be not that difficult???

Can NAFTA benefit US Citizen seeking employment as new immigrants or does NAFTA sound good in principle, but difficult to work out?

Mike

 

[Leon]

It's supposed to very easy to get a NAFTA work permit if you qualify. You can see a list of the occupations here: http://www.canadavisa.com/nafta-temporary-work-permit-canada.html

If you decide to immigrate, there are several ways to get PR. You may qualify to apply under the skilled worker program right now or after you work in Canada for one year. Your employer may be able to sponsor you under a provincial nominee program. You could also apply under Canadian Experience Class after you work for 2 years.

 

[sogwap]

Thanks Leon.

How were you able to insert links in your reply???

As far as immigration I plan to do that by family sponsorship, as I am now married to a Canadian citizen.

My biggest problem is getting work permit so that I can be a productive party of the community. It has been very frustrating, feeling like I have been a visitor for the past 6 months. Hopefully you are correct and NAFTA can help land a job, without all the added paperwork that seems to otherwise be required.

 

[Leon]

To post a link, you just write the URL in your message or copy/paste. You can also use the "Insert Hyperlink" button.

If you are applying for sponsorship, I hope you have informed yourself on the pros and cons of applying inland vs. outland etc. and know that you need to keep yourself legal in Canada by applying for a visit extension before your 6 months are up.