Work permit or not ?

[dalmdal]

Rather confused....

I am a Canadian visiting my boyfriend in Holland. I was planning to bring my Dutch boyfriend over to Canada in May to meet my family and to sell my house. But we have just received news that my step-mum has lung cancer and isn't expected to live long. Because I have to leave Holland January 11th anyway (visa expires) we have decided to both come to Canada at that time.

Because I must be in Canada on May 1st (when my current tenants leave) and we can't afford to be making trips back and forth to Europe, we are hoping to stay for 5-6 months.

My dilemna is whether my boyfriend should just arrive as a tourist and hopefully get a 6 month stamp in his passport or whether we should try and go for a temporary work permit......

My partner is a certified carpenter, work is scarce in Holland and Alberta has serious skill shortages...... My mother's husband needs a framing carpenter as he cannot find enough workers in Calgary. Therefore we could try and go the LMO/work permit route but 3 weeks is not enough time to get it done, as far as I can see.

However, my mum's husband could try and get an accelerated LMO (10 working days) and then my boyfriend could arrive in Canada with his work permit application (and LMO number) and try and get a work permit at the airport. He qualifies to be able to apply for a work permit at his point of entry into Canada.

But
- what happens if this cannot be done in time (the LMO) ?
- what happens if his work permit is denied when he lands, do they send him back to holland or can he come in as a visitor?

The other alternative is to just have my boyfriend arrive as a tourist and that way he can probably stay 6 months and perhaps help my mother's husband with his extreme labour shortages under the table.

Either way, we will be coming to Canada in January

Can anyone recommend as to the best course of action. This all seems quite complicated.

Thanks
Deanna

 

[computergeek]

Why don't you have him come to Canada as a visitor ("he's here to meet my family and then head home in a couple months") and then if/when you get the LMO have him either apply via mail (~2 months last I looked) or flag pole - go down to the US and return to Canada, hand in all the paperwork - that takes about 20 minutes.

What you should NOT do is have him work "under the table". That's risky for all involved and there's no reason to do it, especially with his skills - he WILL be able to get an LMO.

 

[lepatissier07]

Rather confused....

I am a Canadian visiting my boyfriend in Holland. I was planning to bring my Dutch boyfriend over to Canada in May to meet my family and to sell my house. But we have just received news that my step-mum has lung cancer and isn't expected to live long. Because I have to leave Holland January 11th anyway (visa expires) we have decided to both come to Canada at that time.

Because I must be in Canada on May 1st (when my current tenants leave) and we can't afford to be making trips back and forth to Europe, we are hoping to stay for 5-6 months.

My dilemna is whether my boyfriend should just arrive as a tourist and hopefully get a 6 month stamp in his passport or whether we should try and go for a temporary work permit......

My partner is a certified carpenter, work is scarce in Holland and Alberta has serious skill shortages...... My mother's husband needs a framing carpenter as he cannot find enough workers in Calgary. Therefore we could try and go the LMO/work permit route but 3 weeks is not enough time to get it done, as far as I can see.

However, my mum's husband could try and get an accelerated LMO (10 working days) and then my boyfriend could arrive in Canada with his work permit application (and LMO number) and try and get a work permit at the airport. He qualifies to be able to apply for a work permit at his point of entry into Canada.

But
- what happens if this cannot be done in time (the LMO) ?
- what happens if his work permit is denied when he lands, do they send him back to holland or can he come in as a visitor?

The other alternative is to just have my boyfriend arrive as a tourist and that way he can probably stay 6 months and perhaps help my mother's husband with his extreme labour shortages under the table.

Either way, we will be coming to Canada in January

Can anyone recommend as to the best course of action. This all seems quite complicated.

Thanks
Deanna

hi there,

i don't how old/young you are, but you could apply for a WHV (Vienna Embassy is responsible for your boyfriends country). max age 35 Years! valid for 1 year, open work permit, if you apply now, can be ready by beginning February. costs about 100€. LMO can take pretty long! he can still come with you as a visitor in January, until the visa is being processed, and a friend is going to send this letter to your address in canada, and then you flagpole.

would this one work for you?

 

[dalmdal]

Thank you very much for your replies.

Unfortunately he doesn't quality for the WHV as he is 46 years old. But thanks for the suggestion.

We are trying for the accelerated LMO, which might take 10 working days. If we get it in time, then we will bring the requisite paperwork for the work permit and try and get it upon arrival in Calgary. If we don't have it, I'll have him come in as a visitor.

I didn't realize that he could apply for the work permit once inside Canada, so this is very good news. Let's see if I have this right, so if we don't have the LMO upon arriving in Canada, he can come in as a visitor. Once we have the LMO we can either apply for the work permit by mail in Canada or cross the border into the US and come directly back and apply for the work permit at the US/Canada border (I had no idea this was called flagpoling! ).

A few more questions for you then :

- Can we apply for a work permit once we are in Calgary in person somewhere instead of having to mail it ?
- Is it no problem for my Dutch boyfriend to cross into the US and then come right back ?
- At the US/Canada border, do they process the work permit immediately, or does it still take about 2 months ?

Thanks,
Deanna

 

[computergeek]

I didn't realize that he could apply for the work permit once inside Canada, so this is very good news. Let's see if I have this right, so if we don't have the LMO upon arriving in Canada, he can come in as a visitor. Once we have the LMO we can either apply for the work permit by mail in Canada or cross the border into the US and come directly back and apply for the work permit at the US/Canada border (I had no idea this was called flagpoling! ).

Yes, the ability to change status in Canada is useful in a situation like yours.

They say one "goes around the [US] flag pole". This is discussed quite a bit on this and other forums. See here for one conversation about it: http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/flagpoling-t61183.0.html

- Can we apply for a work permit once we are in Calgary in person somewhere instead of having to mail it ?

No. There is no option for an in-person application in Canada. All in-Canada applications must be sent to Vegreville, AB. There are a few places in the world where one can drop off paperwork in person, but I don't think any visa office anywhere does "while you wait" processing - that's really only an option at a CBSA POE with immigration services. See: http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/contact/listing/indexpages/indextype38-e.html (this is the list of CBSA offices with immigration services).

- Is it no problem for my Dutch boyfriend to cross into the US and then come right back ?

Technically, a flag pole doesn't require entry into the US, but NL citizens are US visa exempt. He'd still have to do the I-94W and finger prints and what-not if he wants to enter the US, so the administrative refusal is probably easier. Oh, and don't forget about the US$6 fee (for entering, there's no fee for the administrative refusal).

- At the US/Canada border, do they process the work permit immediately, or does it still take about 2 months ?

It generally takes about 15-20 minutes at a POE. Not months. They process the paperwork and print the work permit right there on the spot.

Both sides seem to understand flag poling well. I did this in October when landing. The US CBP officer wrote "flag pole" on the referral slip even though I was just getting a stamp in my passport (my second US entry stamp in five years.)

 

[Pippin]

My understanding of the accelerated LMO is that it applies to employers who have had previous successful LMO's, have abided by the rules and offer a position in Skill Level O,A or B. The position would still have to be posted for minimum 14 days and he would have to prove he could not find a suitable local employee to do the work.
Good luck to you all in this stressful time.