Sharing Flagpoling Experience for Co-op Work Permit

[Island_vibes]

then what is flagpole for, i came to Canada as a visitor, applied for WP, which has been approved and now they have mailed me my work permit, so i dont need flagpoling? my status is no more visitor ?

No. Why would u flag pole if you have a valid permit. Only reason u wld need to do this if you become a PR.

 

[Shubhamk09]

By the way, your information was wrong! I was able to flagpole even though I am from non-visa exempt country. They require a valid visa and study permit in those scenarios.

Hi buddy,

I am in a similar position. I am doing masters from saint Mary's university in Halifax. I have a coop work term coming next month. I already have an offer and they are asking for my coop work permit which I am not going to recieve that early in any case as its taking around 95 days.

Can you please tell me about the procedure to go to nearest border and get my coop work permit front there as I really need this job offer. Also, I have already applied for the coop work permit on 22nd may. Just been a month.

Please help.

Thanks in advance.

 

[archit.shah]

Hi buddy,

I am in a similar position. I am doing masters from saint Mary's university in Halifax. I have a coop work term coming next month. I already have an offer and they are asking for my coop work permit which I am not going to recieve that early in any case as its taking around 95 days.

Can you please tell me about the procedure to go to nearest border and get my coop work permit front there as I really need this job offer. Also, I have already applied for the coop work permit on 22nd may. Just been a month.

Please help.

Thanks in advance.

Sharing my co-op work permit flagpole experience.

I went to Niagara Rainbow bridge at 7.30am on a Tuesday to flagpole for my co-op permit. They accept applications only on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I crossed the bridge on foot, did not have US visa - also don't need one. After crossing border, US officer straightaway knew and politely gave me a white slip which says I crossed the border and flagpoled - They do not keep a record of this and does not impact when you apply for US visa. It is totally legal and nothing to worry about as long as you have the right documents to enter Canada again. With that slip I crossed the bridge back to Canada and entered the immigration office, where they stop accepting applications by 8.10 am. I was lucky to have got in earlier, because there were many applicants - People come here to flagpole for PR as well. I took my relevant documents like passport, study permit, letter from University and co-op offer letter from employer and other documents required for online application. Me and many of my other friends we were able to do this in March without any issues. All the best.

 

[Shubhamk09]

Sharing my co-op work permit flagpole experience.

I went to Niagara Rainbow bridge at 7.30am on a Tuesday to flagpole for my co-op permit. They accept applications only on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I crossed the bridge on foot, did not have US visa - also don't need one. After crossing border, US officer straightaway knew and politely gave me a white slip which says I crossed the border and flagpoled - They do not keep a record of this and does not impact when you apply for US visa. It is totally legal and nothing to worry about as long as you have the right documents to enter Canada again. With that slip I crossed the bridge back to Canada and entered the immigration office, where they stop accepting applications by 8.10 am. I was lucky to have got in earlier, because there were many applicants - People come here to flagpole for PR as well. I took my relevant documents like passport, study permit, letter from University and co-op offer letter from employer and other documents required for online application. Me and many of my other friends we were able to do this in March without any issues. All the best.

Thanks bro. Sound good.

One question bro. Like do we have to fill the paper application there or online application ? Like apart from documents which form is required.

And can I withdraw my already in process application afterwards ?

Thank you so much for the help.

 

[archit.shah]

Thanks bro. Sound good.

One question bro. Like do we have to fill the paper application there or online application ? Like apart from documents which form is required.

And can I withdraw my already in process application afterwards ?

Thank you so much for the help.

Take the same forms and documents as you would submit on an online application depending on your profile. For me they did not ask for the application form but you never know. Always good to keep a copy in hand.

Do not withdraw your online application just yet. Once it is approved you can withdraw the online application later. I had shared a link for that in this thread you can see it.

 

[archit.shah]

I have shared my flag-poling experience for co-op permit in detail on this thread - https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/flagpoling-for-co-op-permit-sharing-my-experience.640438/#post-7974413

 

[fatima99]

Is it possible to get study permit if I’m already in Canada on visitor visa? Do I have to pay the application fees again? My biometrics are valid. And would my passport be stamped with student visa? What’s the difference between study permit letter and TRV? Thanks guys!

 

[spsnitj]

Hi friends,

Confusion regarding flag polling?

Someone is Indian citizen, currently on study permit in Canada, also has US visa.

The person enters US, stays there for 1-2 days.

Can he apply for PGWP on his return while entering Canada from US?

Is it flag polling?

I request for your views please.

 

[archit.shah]

Hi friends,

Confusion regarding flag polling?

Someone is Indian citizen, currently on study permit in Canada, also has US visa.

The person enters US, stays there for 1-2 days.

Can he apply for PGWP on his return while entering Canada from US?

Is it flag polling?

I request for your views please.

Yes, when you try to enter Canada from Niagara you can apply for pgwp. Infact you don’t even need to go to US and stay there, you can just tell the US border personnel that you are flag poling and they will send you back.

 

[Ekamdeep]

Summary
Applied: November 22nd 2018
Received: November 22nd 2018
Co-op Work Permit Received by Flagpoling: February 5th 2019
Flagpoling Location: Queenston Lewiston Bridge

*​

Hi everyone,
I am a first year university student enrolled in a program where co-op experience is mandatory.
My first work term was supposed to start early in January, which meant I was supposed to have my co-op work permit by then.
However I was in the process of waiting for my extended study permit to arrive and ultimately submitted my co-op work permit application late in November, after receiving my renewed study permit.
At that time the processing time for co-op work permits weren't overly long, which made me think I would be receiving it around late December.
However it never came by the time I needed it. I nevertheless started work but at the end of my fourth day, I was told by my school to stop until my permit arrived. To earn a co-op credit at my school, a student must work for 12 weeks at the very least, which meant I had to receive my permit no later than early February.

Waiting for endless hours and checking my application status every 5 minutes, I spent 3 weeks at home in constant panic, and I'll never forget the absolute hopelessness I felt during that time.
I did everything I could, and when I say everything I mean it. I contacted everyone who I thought could help me even for a second but it didn't do much help.
I even contacted my local MP and although the MP office was kind enough to call the IRCC on my behalf, I could not have my application expedited because it was under the normal processing time.
I spent the whole day refreshing my account page but things just worsened by the increasing estimated processing time.

I cannot thank my company enough--it was easier for them to fire me and look for other applicants who were still looking for a co-op job, but they decided to wait for my permit to arrive.
I hope you can guess how much that helped me and at the same time fueled my anxiety.




During the last week before losing my chance to work, I decided to flagpole. I had already been reading many reviews about flagpoling and decided to head to the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara.

I got on the Greyhound bus at 6:30AM and arrived by 8:00AM. When I got to the Canadian end, a kind person helped me by directing me to the U.S. side of the bridge and told me to get a slip from the U.S. officers. After coming back with the document, I handed it over to a Canadian officer but was shocked when he told me there were too many people waiting in the office and I had to come some other day. He said he understood the fact that I came on time but his superintendent was unwilling to take any more applications that day.

I left the bridge and hopped into a random taxi that was parked in front of a hotel. The driver knew I was trying to flagpole, and he took me to the Queenston Lewiston bridge and even crossed the border with me. After flagpoling, he dropped me off to the border office and told me to call him back after I got my permit.

As I entered the office at around 9:00AM, I was surprised by the quiet atmosphere and there were five to six people seated, waiting for the processing of their own application. I talked to the officer that I needed my co-op work permit and after an hour, everything was done.

At that time I couldn't process the fact that what had drained all the energy out of me for 3 weeks was over in a single hour.

I want to give my thanks to the taxi driver who despite the seriousness of border systems helped me fight through it. Without him this would have been impossible.

I just finished my second day of work and decided to leave this review here because during my wait, a lot of the reviews you guys left did wonders for me. I hope this can save someone else in desperate need.

Can u tell me about the exact documents u took with u because I only have 10 days until my placement starts please help me I have been there once I get there at 8 but they did not accept my application that time so please help me other wise my 8 months of study will go in waste

 

[archit.shah]

Can u tell me about the exact documents u took with u because I only have 10 days until my placement starts please help me I have been there once I get there at 8 but they did not accept my application that time so please help me other wise my 8 months of study will go in waste

Here’s the list of document in this post - https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/flagpoling-for-co-op-permit-sharing-my-experience.640438/#post-7974413


You should go to Niagara Rainbow bridge at 7am on Tues/Wed/Thurs and walk on foot to cross the border bridge. You can reach the immigration office at around 7.30 back in Canada and the will accept the application. Usually their application caps at 8-8.30 am

 

[Ekamdeep]

Summary
Applied: November 22nd 2018
Received: November 22nd 2018
Co-op Work Permit Received by Flagpoling: February 5th 2019
Flagpoling Location: Queenston Lewiston Bridge

*​

Hi everyone,
I am a first year university student enrolled in a program where co-op experience is mandatory.
My first work term was supposed to start early in January, which meant I was supposed to have my co-op work permit by then.
However I was in the process of waiting for my extended study permit to arrive and ultimately submitted my co-op work permit application late in November, after receiving my renewed study permit.
At that time the processing time for co-op work permits weren't overly long, which made me think I would be receiving it around late December.
However it never came by the time I needed it. I nevertheless started work but at the end of my fourth day, I was told by my school to stop until my permit arrived. To earn a co-op credit at my school, a student must work for 12 weeks at the very least, which meant I had to receive my permit no later than early February.

Waiting for endless hours and checking my application status every 5 minutes, I spent 3 weeks at home in constant panic, and I'll never forget the absolute hopelessness I felt during that time.
I did everything I could, and when I say everything I mean it. I contacted everyone who I thought could help me even for a second but it didn't do much help.
I even contacted my local MP and although the MP office was kind enough to call the IRCC on my behalf, I could not have my application expedited because it was under the normal processing time.
I spent the whole day refreshing my account page but things just worsened by the increasing estimated processing time.

I cannot thank my company enough--it was easier for them to fire me and look for other applicants who were still looking for a co-op job, but they decided to wait for my permit to arrive.
I hope you can guess how much that helped me and at the same time fueled my anxiety.




During the last week before losing my chance to work, I decided to flagpole. I had already been reading many reviews about flagpoling and decided to head to the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara.

I got on the Greyhound bus at 6:30AM and arrived by 8:00AM. When I got to the Canadian end, a kind person helped me by directing me to the U.S. side of the bridge and told me to get a slip from the U.S. officers. After coming back with the document, I handed it over to a Canadian officer but was shocked when he told me there were too many people waiting in the office and I had to come some other day. He said he understood the fact that I came on time but his superintendent was unwilling to take any more applications that day.

I left the bridge and hopped into a random taxi that was parked in front of a hotel. The driver knew I was trying to flagpole, and he took me to the Queenston Lewiston bridge and even crossed the border with me. After flagpoling, he dropped me off to the border office and told me to call him back after I got my permit.

As I entered the office at around 9:00AM, I was surprised by the quiet atmosphere and there were five to six people seated, waiting for the processing of their own application. I talked to the officer that I needed my co-op work permit and after an hour, everything was done.

At that time I couldn't process the fact that what had drained all the energy out of me for 3 weeks was over in a single hour.

I want to give my thanks to the taxi driver who despite the seriousness of border systems helped me fight through it. Without him this would have been impossible.

I just finished my second day of work and decided to leave this review here because during my wait, a lot of the reviews you guys left did wonders for me. I hope this can save someone else in desperate need.

Can u tell me about the experience after u entered right hand side building and was they rude with u because i have only 10 day left and i did not have my co op work permit and i am scared that they will reject my work permit

 

[Yaha14]

1. If you are applying for a Canada Work Permit then yes, you can make the application by flagpoling. But only at certain places. You check my post above for the details, I did it on rainbow bridge-Niagara. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A VALID VISA TO ENTER CANADA.

2. You do not need a US visa for flagpoling as you are not actually entering US. The US immigrantion just hands you over a document that proves you’ve flagpoled.

3. Not sure about open work permit. They usually only process flagpole application if your application is solid, and requires to be processed urgently. If not, they might ask you to apply online instead.

4. I did not understand your last question.

You don’t need a Canadian Visa to do a flagpoling, only a valid work or study permit.

 

[dtan]

Hi I’m in desperate need of help on how to go about this. I’m supposed to start work on September 3rd (in a week).. I’m in Ottawa, and I want to know the closest place I can go to do this. Any information will help.

 

[Yaha14]

Hi I’m in desperate need of help on how to go about this. I’m supposed to start work on September 3rd (in a week).. I’m in Ottawa, and I want to know the closest place I can go to do this. Any information will help.

Do you have a valid WP? What is your status?

You can go to 1000 islands bridge border. If you have a car or someone can go flagpoling with you there it is the best place to go.