Temporary Residents

 
Every year more than 35 million people visit Canada. Canada welcomes these visitors as tourists, students or temporary workers.

Work Permits - Employment Authorizations are for persons who wish to work temporarily in Canada and whose employer's have received a job validation from Human Resource Center (HRC) in Canada for a foreign worker.

Live-in Caregivers - This application is for persons who wish to work as caregivers in Canada (and whose employer's have received a job validation from the Human Resources Development Canada Center (HRDC) for a foreign worker).  

Student Authorizations - Student Authorization is a resident temporary visa issued by an immigration officer that allows, after admittance, to remain in Canada to take an academic, professional or vocational training course at an approved university, college or institution.  

Visitor Visas - Every year more than 35 million people visit Canada. Canada welcomes these visitors as tourists. As a visitor with a resident temporary visa, you will enjoy the many opportunities Canada has to offer. 

Work Visas

Every year, over 90,000 foreign workers enter Canada to work temporarily in jobs that help Canadian employers address skill shortages. A work permit is needed for most temporary jobs in Canada, though for some positions and business people it is not necessary.

To apply for a work permit from outside Canada, you must submit the following documents:

• a job offer from a Canadian employer

• a completed application, that shows that you meet the requirements of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, and

• written confirmation from Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC) that the employer can hire a foreign worker to fill the job. This confirmation is called a positive labour market opinion (LMO).

You must also do the following:

• Satisfy a visa officer that you will leave Canada at the end of your work permit.

• Show that you have enough money to support yourself and your family while you are in Canada.

• Respect the law and have no criminal record. (You may have to provide a police clearance certificate).

• Show that you are not a risk to the security of Canada.

• Be in good health. (You may have to have a medical examination.)

Some temporary foreign workers can have Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) start processing their work permit applications before a Canadian visa office has an approved labour market opinion.  

Live-In Caregiver Program

The Live-in Caregiver Program provides professional caregivers for employment in Canada. A Live-In Caregiver is someone who provides continuous, full-time unsupervised care of Children, the Elderly, or the Disabled in a private household.

A mandatory component of the program is that the Caregiver must live in the Employer's home.

There are three main requirements that potential applicants will have to meet to qualify under the Live-in Caregiver Program:

1. Successful completion of the equivalent of a Canadian high school education. This requirement will help to ensure that participants who apply for permanent residence after two years will be able to succeed in the general labour market. Studies indicate that the majority of new jobs in Canada require at least a high school education.

2. Six months of full-time training or 12 months of experience in paid employment in a field or occupation related to the job you are seeking as a live-in caregiver. You may have gained your training or experience in early childhood education, geriatric care, pediatric nursing or first aid, to name just a few areas. You may have completed your training as part of your formal education. In order to meet the criteria for experience, you must have completed one year of full-time paid employment, including at least six months of continuous employment with one employer, in that field or occupation. This experience must have been obtained within the three years immediately prior to the day on which you submit an application for a work permit to a visa officer.

3. Ability to speak, read and understand either English or French. You must be able to function independently in a home setting. For example, you must be able to contact emergency services if required and to understand labels on medication. You will be unsupervised for most of the day and may be put in a position of having to communicate with someone outside the home. A good knowledge of English or French will also enable you to read and understand for yourself what your rights and obligations are. 

Student Visas

A foreign national who wishes to study in Canada may only do so if he/she is in possession of a Student Visa issued by Canadian immigration authorities. For a foreign national to pursue a secondary or post-secondary education in Canada, there are two major steps that he/she will have to undertake:

1. He/She must be accepted in a program of study by a recognized Canadian secondary school or post-secondary institution
2. He/She must apply for and be granted a student authorization (and visa if required) from Canadian immigration authorities

When submitting an application for a student authorization, a foreign national will also need to provide the following documents:

1. Acceptance Letter from the Canadian educational institution
2. Proof of funds for school tuition and fees
3. Proof of funds to support himself/herself for the duration of his/her studies in Canada
4. Application processing fee to be paid to the Canadian government
5. A police clearance certificate from his/her country of residence if he/she is 18 years of age or older 

Visitor Visas

If you wish to get a visitor visa to Canada, you must submit a visitor visa application to a visa office at a Canadian embassy, high commission or consulate abroad, along with two passport size pictures, proof of available funds, along with a non-refundable processing fee.

Section 8 of the Immigration Act provides that the burden of proof of establishing that a person has a right to come into Canada rests with the person seeking admission to Canada. Section 9 of the Immigration Act provides that a person who applies to a visa officer is presumed to be an immigrant. Therefore, failure to satisfy a visa officer that you are entering Canada temporarily will result in refusal of the application.

Supporting Documentation
It is essential that an applicant provide sufficient documentary evidence to satisfy the visa officer that he or she has sufficient funds to pay for all expenses that might be incurred while in Canada.

If the person is visiting relatives, and if the relatives are going to assume responsibility for the expenses incurred by the visiting relative in Canada, it would be necessary to have a letter or statutory declaration from the relative setting out responsibility for all expenses.

In addition, the relative must also indicate that he or she has the necessary resources, and it would be helpful if the relative includes a job letter, bank statements, etc.

The applicant and all dependants must be in possession of valid and subsisting passports or travel documents.

A visitor visa to Canada will not be issued beyond the validity date set out in the passport and a person cannot be admitted to Canada at a port of entry by an immigration officer for a period that exceeds the expiry date of the passport.

For applicants who reside outside of North America, it may be necessary to satisfy the visa officer that the applicant has a valid and subsisting airline ticket or proof of funds for travel. One of the primary concerns of the visa officer prior to approving an application for a visitor visa to Canada is whether the applicant has the means and ability to leave Canada within the time period.

As one of the primary concerns of the visa officer is whether the applicant will return to their home country at the end of the visit, it is therefore important to illustrate that the applicant has b ties to their home country. Documentation showing that the person has full-time permanent employment, length of employment, proof of assets including house, bank accounts, will be important.

In some Visa offices, visa officers will require letters of good conduct from local police authorities confirming that the applicant does not have a criminal record.

Visitor Visa Exemptions
People from many countries do not require a visa to visit Canada. These include: