Working in Toronto

[JordanARoberts2]

I am currently a first year university student in England and I am looking to go to Toronto this summer, however all of the IEC applications have been allocated and therefore it is more difficult to get a visa.

Is it possible for me to go to Toronto on a standard travel/holiday visa, search for jobs and then switch my visa to a temporary work visa once I have been accepted into a job?
It is incredibly hard to get accepted into a job when I live several thousand miles away.
Thank you in advance.

 

[iam_toby]

Yes, you can enter Canada on a visitor visa, no problem. You will have to find an employer then,
and this future employer has to apply for a LMO ( Labour Market Opinion )
For more information: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/apply-who-permit.asp

Once he get's the positive LMO with your name on it, you will be able to apply for a work permit.
Find more about the requirements and the processing on this website:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/apply-who.asp

It is not too hard to find an employer, since you're from England you're fluent in English I guess. So that's a good
start. From there it's all about education and first impressions.
You can start your job hunt online before coming to Canada.

Find open job postings on websites like:
- http://www.monster.ca/
- http://www.bcjobs.ca/
- http://www.jobbank.gc.ca/

and here's a resume guide:
http://www.canadavisa.com/canadian-employment-resume.html

hope this helps.

 

[JordanARoberts2]

Thank you so much.
Im studying Business and IT at University. Any idea on how difficult it would be to find an internship once I actually arrived in Toronto?

 

[scylla]

I completely disagree with iam_toby.

You should assume it will be impossible. Sorry.

You will need a work permit to work at an internship. To be approved for a work permit, you will need an approved LMO from your employer. To obtain an approved LMO, the employer will have to prove that they advertised the job and were unable to find any Canadians to hire or train for the role. There are high number of Canadians in school with your background who are eager for internships. To be perfectly honest with you, I think it's going to be impossible for an employer to prove they were unable to find a Canadian to hire (there are way more people looking for internships than there are internships available).

Also, the LMO processing takes several months. Even if an employer is interested in hiring you and is able to somehow prove that they weren't able to find a Canadian to hire, it will likely take three months for all of the required job advertising and paperwork to be completed - and by that time it will be August. I can't see an employer going through the expense and time of completing all of the paperwork (and hoping it's going to be approved) just to have you work for a month.

Sorry again. Just wanted to make sure someone explained the realities of the situation to you before you spend money to fly all the way over here.

 

[scylla]

Just to add... If you're thinking about coming over for longer than the summer, then I still think it will be extremely difficult to find an employer given you have no experience (no experience = extremely difficult to get an LMO approved because it's easy to find a Canadian with the same or better qualifications).

You can certainly try. Assume it will be very hard. And assume the vast majority of employers won't even respond to your job applications.

 

[JordanARoberts2]

Will the situation be similar if I were to look for a regular job that will provide the necessary experience rather than an Internship?

 

[scylla]

Yes - it won't be any different unfortunately.

The main problems you face are that the employer needs an approved LMO to hire you and there are many people in Canada with your qualifications (therefore it's extremely difficult to prove a Canadian couldn't be found to fill the job).

It looks like you're thinking of deferring school for a year to come to Canada. Can you shift these plans by a year so that you can get an IEC visa next year? The situation will be very different if you have an IEC visa (no LMO required to work). I think this is really your best choice.

If you decide to go now - don't bother applying for jobs at any of the big banks. They don't do LMOs except in very rare and special circumstances (e.g. they are hiring someone with many many years of very specialized / niche experience).

 

[JordanARoberts2]

Thank you for your replies.

I really need to head out this summer and obviously need the work experience in order to count it as my placement year at University.

I want to be out for as long as possible, if I enjoyed the job I would have considered staying for longer than and year and pursuing a career rather than University.

Im really struggling to find out what my best option is now for this summer and next year as I really want to work in Canada.

Do you have any idea when the IEC application opens up again?

 

[scylla]

Do you have any idea when the IEC application opens up again?

Early 2014. Although some details for next year may be posted late 2013.