on tourist visa- looking for a job

[juolei]

I came here in Canada with a working visa and worked here for 2years till I met my husband, I decided to resigned from my job in Calgary and moved with him in Vancouver and got married, he cannot sponsor me for the reason that he have some issues in the government in which he filed bankruptcy few years ago that he did not tell me before marriage, (currently 14 months living together) after marriage I got a hard time to look for a job in BC until my work permit expired so we are forced to apply for a tourist visa just to keep me stay here in Canada, the question is, is it possible for me to get a job while holding a tourist visa? we just moved here in Toronto and Im getting frustrated looking for a job and really worried about my status. Please help me what to do. Thanks.

 

[scylla]

It is illegal to work on a tourist visa. If you find an employer who is willing to hire you, that employer will first have to obtain an approved Labour Market Opinion and then you will have to apply for a work permit.

 

[zardoz]

I vaguely remember someone saying a few days ago that you now had to be outside the country to apply for such a work permit and that you couldn't transition from tourist visa to working visa inside the country any more. I'll see if I can track down the comment.

I found this at http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?q=172&t=17

Can I apply for a work permit from inside Canada?

Only in some cases. You can only apply for a work permit from inside Canada if:

you, your spouse or parents have a valid study or work permit,
you have a work permit for one job but want to apply for a work permit for a different job,
you have a temporary resident permit that is valid for six months or more, or
you are in Canada because you have already applied for permanent residence from inside Canada. You will have to pass certain stages in the main application process before you can be eligible for a work permit.
There are other requirements as well.

If you are already in Canada as a visitor, you may not apply within Canada. You must apply for a work permit at a Canadian visa office:

responsible for the country where you live,
responsible for the country you are a citizen of, or
at a Canadian embassy or consulate in the United States of America.
You may be asked to go for an in-person interview at that office. If so, make sure you have all the documents you need to enter that country.

 

[maartenvg]

You're not allowed to work on a tourist visa, and it is not recommended if your long term goal is to live here permanently. Like scylla said, you need a WP, which (more or less) can only be obtained by finding an employer that can obtain an LMO for you. (although if the comments of zardoz are true, that would complicate that a bit, but I'm sure you can work around it)

You said you have worked here for 2 years already. Was that skilled work? In that case you might want to look at the Canadian Experience Class permanent residency, or the Provincial Nominee Program of Vancouver. Also, recently the Skilled Worker class has been reopened for people with certain backgrounds, do you fit any of those criteria?