Work Permit Renewal

[lukeskywalker76]

Dear Forum Participants,

I'd be extremely grateful about your advice. I've been working and living in Canada for ten years on a series of work permits. I work in science, I'm a full-time tenured professor at one of Canada's leading universities. Sadly, our university is not really doing much to help people who came here from other countries. My citizenship is German. My work permit is going to expire in a month and I was told by a friend that there is a chance that the government may not renew it owing to a "cumulative duration" rule. What does this rule mean and should I be worried?

Thank you so much for your kind help!

 

[dalma11]

Starting April 1, 2011, many temporary foreign workers will be subject to a four-year ‘cumulative duration’ limit on the length of time they may work in Canada.

This regulation is not retroactive – The clock starts ticking on April 1, 2011, for all TFWs, regardless of how long they have already been in Canada.

Some workers will be exempt from the cumulative duration regulation.
•TFWs in managerial (NOC 0) or professional occupations (NOC A).
•TFWs who have applied for permanent residence and received: ◦a Certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ) if applying as a Quebec Skilled Worker;
◦a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) certificate if applying as a provincial nominee;
◦an approval in principle letter if applying under the Live-in Caregiver Class;
◦a positive selection decision if applying under the Federal Skilled Worker Class; or
◦a positive selection decision if applying under the Canadian Experience Class.

•TFWs who are employed in Canada under an international agreement, such as NAFTA, the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program, or another agreement.
•TFWs who are exempt from the Labour Market Opinion process, including: ◦Spouses and common-law partners of international graduates participating in the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program and highly-skilled TFWs;
◦Charitable or religious workers;
◦Entrepreneurs, intra-company transferees, researchers and academics;
◦Others for purposes of self-support (refugee claimants) or humanitarian reasons (destitute students, holders of Temporary Resident Permits valid for at least six months)

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/backgrounders/2011/2011-03-24.asp

 

[lukeskywalker76]

Thank you so much for this clarifying explanation. I wonder what the political rationale is here other than forcing people to apply for landed immigrant status and weakening/inflexibilizing Canadian research institutions. Time to pack and move to a top US university...