The Canadian immigration process can seem difficult when you don’t know where to look for the correct information or feel like you don’t have the right sources. Overall, it can become quite a lengthy process if you are misinformed, especially if you want to know how to get a Canadian work visa in 2021 during the second year of the world’s experience living with the coronavirus.
People from all over the world can agree that Covid-19 has definitely presented big challenges in all aspects of life, but mainly one’s ability to travel to wherever you want to go, much less to work. While 2021 has given us a couple of free passes as opposed to the hard lockdown stage in 2020, which has even been ongoing in some countries in 2021, one thing that many still aren’t able to do is to travel abroad.
Although it may seem impossible to do the things you want, like something as big as moving to Canada to live and work there, it’s not. The truth is, you can make the big move and get a job in the country that has been ranked the greatest to live in for the past five years in a row, by following the right guidelines.
Get Your Canadian Work Visa in 3 Easy Steps
When you start the application process to get a Canadian visa, you will soon find that the process is not as complex as you may have initially thought. Moving to Canada, or any country will take time, no matter how you go about applying for a visa, but by following the right steps and getting expert advice, like from a Canadian government-approved RCIC, you will be able to avoid any potential mistakes with your application and the entire process that surrounds it.
To immigrate to Canada, there are three steps to follow, other than seeking credible advice, that will aid in the process of getting your Canadian visa:
Step 1: Pick the Work Permit Best Suited for You
There are two types of work permits that you can apply for, all of which depend on the type of employment that you have. These work visas include a Canada open work permit and an employer-specific work permit.
If you opt for an open work permit, you will be allowed to work for any Canadian employer, while the employer-specific work permit will allow you to work per specifications that are stipulated in your work permit, which will include your name, duration of the permit, and the location of your employment.
Applying for the Canadian Post Graduate Work Permit Program (PGWP) is a good way to get Canadian work experience on an open work permit.
What is the Post-Graduation Work Permit?
The PGWP was created to assist foreign students that have completed tertiary qualification, including a certificate, diploma, or degree, and have graduated from a respective Canadian Designated Learning Institution (DLI) to live and work in Canada for up to 3 years. As an international PGWP student in Canada, you can receive your open work permit, which will allow you to work for any employer in Canada, which will gain you the necessary work experience required to apply for permanent residency.
If you are only able to work for a specific company, for example, if you are a construction worker, the best permit option for you will be an employer-specific work permit, because you can only work for a specific company and in a particular province.
Step 2: Find Out If You Are Eligible?
Should you have taken interest in Canadian immigration before, then you have probably heard about the requirements of getting your Canadian visa. When you apply for a work or permanent visa in the country, you must check whether you are first eligible to live there. Since Canada is ranked the best place to live in the world, next to Japan and Germany, followed by Switzerland, it’s understandable why the country has very specific guidelines and laws that keep anyone that doesn’t meet certain criteria out of the country.
The eligibility requirements to live and work in Canada and to receive a work permit includes:
- The ability to prove that you will leave Canada after eight months to three years, which depends on the duration of your contract.
Note: If you do gain valuable work experience during the time that you work in Canada, you can apply for a permanent visa.
- The ability to prove that you have funds to support both you and your family members for your stay in Canada and when you return back to your home country.
- Maintain a clean criminal record.
- Maintain good health, which must be proved with a medical exam that should be submitted with your application.
- Make sure that you receive an eligible job offer from employers that are allowed to recruit you.
Note: You may require a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).
Step 3: Time to Submit Your Application
Once you have decided which work permit program to apply for and have met all the requirements, you are just about set to submit your application. Of course, the best way to go about your Canadian work permit application is to apply online, which will help you avoid having to pay courier fees and prevent any delays to submit your application in full successfully. This will also ensure that all documents are uploaded with your application as a part of the requirements, which will make it much more likely for you to apply successfully the first time.
Take note: Application processing times can take anywhere between 2 to 33 weeks, which can be reduced with the help of a credible RCIC that can check your application and advise you whether it requires any other information of fields that haven’t been met or other supporting documentation. Contacting an RCIC will help you speed up the application process. This will prevent any potential mistakes from being made that could require you to reapply and resubmit your application.
