Is PR the only way for her to work?

[anonymity]

Hello there.

I have a friend who is Japanese and currently living in Canada with her partner.
She'd like to work in Canada and want to get a proper visa, but the situation is a little complicated, so I wonder what would be the best visa for her to apply.

【Current Situation】
Her partner grew up in the States, but has both Canadian and American nationality.
He's temporarily in Canada for MBA studying at a university. (as a Canadian)
She is currently on a student permit of herself as a part time student.
I think she cannot apply the work permit as a common-law partner of an international student since her partner is Canadian.
Is PR the only and the fastest way for her to get a status allowing her to work in Canada?

【My Concerns】
Before being a part-time student at the school, she finished a diploma course because she was told by the school that she can work after the course and after certain period of work, she can apply permanent residency. They advised not to apply PR as a common-law partner of her partner. The reason they told her was that the job at their school was waiting for her, so the Immigration might get suspicious of their relationship. After hearing this story, I felt so uncomfortable about the school. After the diploma course, she's actually been working part-time for the school, but she hasn't gotten SIN# or any payment, so she asked the school. They said you won't get SIN# or payment because you are not a full-time student. I think what the school is doing is illegal, and I'd like to help her out.

 

[scylla]

It sounds like she might be working illegally right now (she may be studying part time illegally as well). The information you have provided doesn't add up. If she studied under a study permit as a full time student at a school that was recognized by CIC, then she would have qualified for a post graduate work permit after she graduated (as long as her course was at least eight months in length). If her studies are finished, she should have already applied for a PGWP. It's not up to her school to direct her in these matters and take care of the work permit - this is her responsibility. If she hasn't done the right thing and has engaged in illegal work - CIC will hold her 100% responsible (not the school). Her first step should be to fully educate herself on the study permit and PGWP process to understand if what she is doing is legal and what her options are. Again, this is 100% her responsibility.

Depending on what the answers to the above are, it's possible she is out of status in Canada. If she has been out of status for more than 90 days, the options I'm providing below won't be possible from within Canada (she needs to be in status for either of the below options to be possible).

One of the fastest ways to obtain a work permit would be to find an employer who is willing to giver her a full time job offer and who can also obtain an approved LMIA. She can then apply for a closed work permit tied to that specific employer.

Assuming she and her partner have lived together for at least one year continuously and can prove it, he could sponsor her for PR using the inland method. The upside is that she would qualify for an open work permit four months after the application is submitted (again, assuming she is currently in status in Canada). The downside is that processing for these PR applications takes over two years and she'll need to remain in Canada until everything is approved.

Anyway - the most important thing for her to do right now is to figure out her status in Canada - including determining if she is working and studying part time legally. Really impossible to suggest next steps without knowing that. If she's uncomfortable researching this information on her own - it's probably time to hire a good immigration lawyer to assist her.

 

[anonymity]

Hi Thank you for your reply, Scylla.

Actually, it's also my concern that she might be working illegally right now. She hasn't received any money from them though. What do you think?

Here is the situation.

She's been working for the school, and she thought she was doing it legally and would receive money for that. Yet, it turned out that they never pay her or give her SIN#. She finally wondered what's going on after a few months and talked to the manager of the school. The manager said, "you won't receive either of them because you aren't a full time student and eligible for that. You cannot legally work." The problem is that she was told that she would be able to work legally and they could provide her #SIN. It's her fault that she didn't research on her own and just believed what they said. At this point, she cannot do anything because she is on her student visa from the school after all until she apply and get the PR. (She said her student permit is still valid since she holds a part time student status at the school.)

She's lived with her partner over a year, so I guess she can apply for that. She cannot do the Inland method since she has to go back to Japan and come back once or twice a year for family matter. I think she has to do the outland method.

Anyways, I'm so mad at the school. It's terrible that they are taking advantage of International students like this. Like you said, if the students want to report the school, it just comes back to them because they might be working illegally. They could loose their student permit and also could be deported to the country by providing their labour without a permit. So criminal.

 

[scylla]

Again, based on this extremely limited information - it's impossible to say if she is working legally or not. A lot more details would be needed. For example: Did she come here on a study permit or was she studying without one? Which specific school was she attending? Did she attend as a full time student? What diploma / degree did she successfully obtain? When did she complete her studies (specific date)? Did she hold an off campus work permit that allowed her to work part time while studying? Has she applied for anything since completing her studies? When does her study permit expire (assuming she had one)? Without answered to each of these questions - no one here is going to be able to give you a definitive answer.

Note that the school is not responsible for obtaining a SIN. SHE is responsible for obtaining a SIN.

 

[anonymity]

-She came here one a study permit and it won't expire until next 9 months
-I cannot tell the school name, but the school is recognized by CIC
-She attended as a full time student but it was 6 month diploma course
-As for the responsibility, she is not working off campus.
She's been working for the school (on campus) because the school told her that her visa is for both schooling and working on campus.
Since the school is the employer, it's not only her responsibility about #SIN. (http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/about/reports/sin/cop/section3.shtml)
On top of that, school told her that her status is LEGAL to work but only for THEM.
They even suggested her she should renew her student visa (while being a part-time student) by explaining that she could work for them with it.
She was told that she shouldn't apply common-low parter but stay being their student.
She believed what they said, so she renewed her student permit (still 9 months to go), and worked for them part-time while being a part-time student for them.
Then, it turned out that she is just working for the school for free because they don't have an intention to provide SIN# or money. (They knew that a part-time student cannot get SIN#.)

Anyways, her partner is going to talk to the school manager soon.
That's part of their fault that they didn't research on by themselves and just trusted what the school said, but I think it's awful and shame for a school to do such things to students (I made it plural because she is not the only victim).
I think you are right about them hiring an immigration lawyer.
I hope everything will work out fine. Thanks.

 

[scylla]

She needed to complete a full time course that was at least eight months in duration in order to qualify for a post graduate work permit and be able to legally work after completing her studies. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/study/work-postgrad-who.asp Since her course was only six months, she doesn't meet this criteria.

Additionally, you are only allowed to work part time on campus while studying if you are engaged in full time studies. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/study/work-oncampus.asp So she doesn't meet this criteria either as a part time student.

If she is caught working illegally, CIC will not give her a break because her school gave her wrong information. CIC will hold her fully and completely responsible for understanding the conditions of her stay in Canada and also for any rules she has broken. I'm not saying the school isn't doing something very wrong (it sounds like they are and if so they need to be reported). But she is going to be held accountable for her actions and shouldn't assume she can get out of this by blaming the school.

She should stop working immediately if she's not sure if she is working legally. Whether or not she applies for PR through common law is her choice - not her school's choice. Forget about talking to the school. I don't see what that will accomplish. She needs to stop relying on the school for information, grow up and take accountability for her own status in Canada. All of the information she needs is on the CIC web site (that's where the two links I provided above came from). Alternatively a good immigration lawyer might also be the right option if she's not comfortable doing the research on her own (she should be prepared to pay $3K-$5K if she wants advice on her current situation and also help with completing a PR application).

 

[anonymity]

Thank you. I agree with what you said.

Just to relive her worries though...I still wonder if it's considered as working if she is not getting paid.
The school apparently tricked her, but since they didn't give her any money, so at least she didn't work for them illegally but just helped?

 

[scylla]

Just to relive her worries though...I still wonder if it's considered as working if she is not getting paid.
The school apparently tricked her, but since they didn't give her any money, so at least she didn't work for them illegally but just helped?

Sorry - no dice.

Yes - the work she is doing is illegal work. The fact she isn't being paid is irrelevant. Working for the school is normally something someone would be paid to do. This means you need a valid work permit in order to do the work as either a paid or unpaid (volunteer) staffer.

The only place you can get away with working unpaid without a work permit is in the types of roles people are never paid to do (e.g. volunteering at a church bake sale).