Hi
Hi, all.
I just graduate from an university in Australia with a degree in computer science and I am now in Vancouver to visit my mum who works here. I have a multi entry visitor visa for 6 month. Since I don't have many friends here, I would like to find a volunteer work in Vancouver and gain some experience so after I go back, I can add something in my resume.
My question is if I just want to find a volunteer job without payment(related to my degree), do I need to change my visa to work permit?
coz in Australia, if you don't recieve payment, you don't have to apply for a work permit, I am not sure if it is the case in Canada.
I try to seek the answer on the official website but there aren't many useful information there, so hope this is not a rare case.
Thank you for your answers
Best Regards
Just be careful, since if the position is normally a paid one, even though you are not being paid, it would be considered work.
From the FW Manual
"Examples of activities for which a person would not normally be remunerated or which
would not compete directly with Canadian citizens or Permanent Residents in the
Canadian labour market and which would normally be part-time or incidental to the reason
that the person is in Canada include, but are not limited to:
• volunteer work for which a person would not normally be remunerated, such as sitting on the
board of a charity or religious institution; being a ‘big brother' or ‘big sister' to a child; being on
the telephone line at a rape crisis centre. (Normally this activity would be part time and
incidental to the main reason that a person is in Canada);
• unremunerated help by a friend or family member during a visit, such as a mother assisting a
daughter with childcare, or an uncle helping his nephew build his own cottage;
• long distance (by telephone or internet) work done by a temporary resident whose employer
is outside Canada and who is remunerated from outside Canada;
• self-employment where the work to be done would have no real impact on the labour market,
nor really provide an opportunity for Canadians. Examples include a U.S. farmer crossing the
border to work on fields that he owns, or a miner coming to work on his own claim.
There may be other types of unpaid short-term work where the work is really incidental to the
main reason that a person is visiting Canada and is not a competitive activity, even though nonmonetary
valuable consideration is received. For instance, if a tourist wishes to stay on a family
farm and work part time just for room and board for a short period (i.e., 1-4 weeks), this person
would not be considered a worker.
We recognize that there may be overlap in activities that we do not consider to be work and those
activities which are defined as work not requiring a work permit in R186. However, the net effect
(no work permit required) is the same."
PMM
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