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Applying for Closed Work permit at a Port of Entry (land border)

piglett99

Full Member
Aug 14, 2019
46
18
Has anyone applied for a closed work permit (with LMIA) at a land border ? POE ?

Curious to hear everyone's experiences …
 

robkin

Star Member
Apr 11, 2020
92
34
United States
I got an ICT work permit and my wife got an LMIA supported work permit at the beginning of July at Douglas entering from the US. There was no line, we waited in the car for an hour or two while they read all the documentation. They also issued visitor records for the kids. My work permit application had some text about my position being essential. My wife’s did not, but she did have a letter saying the position was still available.
 

canuck78

VIP Member
Jun 18, 2017
52,959
12,758
Based on the link you sent me:

Students and temporary workers
In Canada
Until further notice, travellers should not visit a Canada Border Services Agency office to apply for a work permit, study permit or permanent residence.

Visitors, international students or temporary workers who are already in Canada can apply online to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to extend your temporary resident status.

Temporary foreign workers with employer-specific work permits who are currently in Canada can also apply online and do not have to wait to start a new job.

Learn more about Visitors, international students or temporary workers in Canada.
 

PMM

VIP Member
Jun 30, 2005
25,494
1,946
Hi

Based on the link you sent me:

Students and temporary workers
In Canada
Until further notice, travellers should not visit a Canada Border Services Agency office to apply for a work permit, study permit or permanent residence.

Visitors, international students or temporary workers who are already in Canada can apply online to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to extend your temporary resident status.

Temporary foreign workers with employer-specific work permits who are currently in Canada can also apply online and do not have to wait to start a new job.

Learn more about Visitors, international students or temporary workers in Canada.
1. Suggest you re-read the link. Here are 2 of the posts from CBSA

Study permit and work permit requests at Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle and Saint-Armand/Philipsburg

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) for its part has implemented service hours for processing work and study permit applications at the St-Bernard-de-Lacolle and St-Armand/Philipsburg ports of entry made by individuals who currently reside in Canada, possess a valid work or study permit, and travelled to the USA for the sole purpose of presenting their permit application at a Canadian port of entry.


Should an individual meet these criteria, applications for a new work or study permit may be made at St-Bernard-de-Lacolle and St-Armand/Philipsburg as follows:

Study and work permit requests, and requests for processing of confirmation of permanent residence at the Peace Bridge, Queenston-Lewiston Bridge and Rainbow Bridge

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) for its part has implemented service hours for processing confirmation of permanent residence, and work and study permit applications at the Fort Erie (Peace Bridge), Niagara-on-the-Lake (Queenston-Lewiston Bridge) and Niagara Falls (Rainbow Bridge) ports of entry made by individuals who currently reside in Canada, possess a valid work or study permit, or hold temporary residence status, and travelled to the USA for the sole purpose of presenting their permit application at a Canadian port of entry.


Should an individual meet these criteria, applications for confirmation of permanent residence or a new work or study permit may be made at the Fort Erie (Peace Bridge), Niagara-on-the-Lake (Queenston-Lewiston Bridge) or Niagara Falls (Rainbow Bridge) ports of entry as follows:


  • Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to midnight



  • Monday to Thursday, from noon to 7:00 p.m.
  • Saturday, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
 

Bs65

VIP Member
Mar 22, 2016
13,190
2,419
Well seems still be a disconnect given IRCC still implying flagpoling not allowed although entering from the US would be allowed as long as other requirements for US to Canada are met , non-optional, non discretionary

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/work-canada/permit/temporary/eligibility.html#port_entry

Guess comes down to interpretation of travelled to the USA if that implies actually entering the US formally and returning as opposed to a flagpole admin refusal.
 
Last edited:

ajaybhattnagar

Full Member
Aug 4, 2020
34
3
I got an ICT work permit and my wife got an LMIA supported work permit at the beginning of July at Douglas entering from the US. There was no line, we waited in the car for an hour or two while they read all the documentation. They also issued visitor records for the kids. My work permit application had some text about my position being essential. My wife’s did not, but she did have a letter saying the position was still available.
Hello,
Thank you for the information.
Can you share some questions they asked based on the LMIA?
Or any other tip I should I know before I am at the port.

Thank you,
 

robkin

Star Member
Apr 11, 2020
92
34
United States
Hello,
Thank you for the information.
Can you share some questions they asked based on the LMIA?
Or any other tip I should I know before I am at the port.

Thank you,
They asked a lot about our quarantine plans. Also they asked if this move had been planned a long time ago before covid or if it had been recent. Since we had been planning since last year I had no problems answering that it had been planned for a long time, but I'm not sure what the outcome would have been if it had been more recent. Maybe just additional questions. This was with the initial border agent who manned the drive through screening area. After we passed her questioning she took our passports and redirected us to a second parking area where the main visa border processing official met us.

He reconfirmed verbally the basic points that were in the application regarding job position and location. But mostly it was waiting in our car (he had us wait there while they read the document package we had provided). I had to go indoors to make the fee payment, so I would recommend you bring a mask -- although none of the border officials in the building had masks on.

Also I filled out the wrong RIV form 1 and the border official was nice enough to fill out the correct one for me. Maybe because he was with a second official who seemed to be in training. You will need this paperwork for temporary import to register and insure your vehicle. I would recommend doing this, at least in BC the only place I drive was to our apartment, and then once to a vehicle inspection facility and back. During the drive back from the vehicle inspection facility a motorcyclist was nice enough to have me roll down my window so he could ask, "Do you live here?"

Anyway back to the border crossing -- it was a pretty stress free experience. I guess all of the worrying we had done beforehand for months was perhaps unfounded. But maybe it helped that we had no more US residence and all of our personal belongings were with a moving company to arrive after quarantine. Although I am unsure what would have happened if we had followed our original plan -- my wife having the LMIA supported work permit and me working on a spouse owp. I was lucky enough that my work took care of the ICT paperwork requirements in a short period of time.
 

ajaybhattnagar

Full Member
Aug 4, 2020
34
3
They asked a lot about our quarantine plans. Also they asked if this move had been planned a long time ago before covid or if it had been recent. Since we had been planning since last year I had no problems answering that it had been planned for a long time, but I'm not sure what the outcome would have been if it had been more recent. Maybe just additional questions. This was with the initial border agent who manned the drive through screening area. After we passed her questioning she took our passports and redirected us to a second parking area where the main visa border processing official met us.

He reconfirmed verbally the basic points that were in the application regarding job position and location. But mostly it was waiting in our car (he had us wait there while they read the document package we had provided). I had to go indoors to make the fee payment, so I would recommend you bring a mask -- although none of the border officials in the building had masks on.

Also I filled out the wrong RIV form 1 and the border official was nice enough to fill out the correct one for me. Maybe because he was with a second official who seemed to be in training. You will need this paperwork for temporary import to register and insure your vehicle. I would recommend doing this, at least in BC the only place I drive was to our apartment, and then once to a vehicle inspection facility and back. During the drive back from the vehicle inspection facility a motorcyclist was nice enough to have me roll down my window so he could ask, "Do you live here?"

Anyway back to the border crossing -- it was a pretty stress free experience. I guess all of the worrying we had done beforehand for months was perhaps unfounded. But maybe it helped that we had no more US residence and all of our personal belongings were with a moving company to arrive after quarantine. Although I am unsure what would have happened if we had followed our original plan -- my wife having the LMIA supported work permit and me working on a spouse owp. I was lucky enough that my work took care of the ICT paperwork requirements in a short period of time.
Hi Robkin,

Thank you for the info.
It will definitely help me a lot when I will be at the border.

Thank you once again.
 

canuck78

VIP Member
Jun 18, 2017
52,959
12,758
Hi



1. Suggest you re-read the link. Here are 2 of the posts from CBSA

Study permit and work permit requests at Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle and Saint-Armand/Philipsburg

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) for its part has implemented service hours for processing work and study permit applications at the St-Bernard-de-Lacolle and St-Armand/Philipsburg ports of entry made by individuals who currently reside in Canada, possess a valid work or study permit, and travelled to the USA for the sole purpose of presenting their permit application at a Canadian port of entry.


Should an individual meet these criteria, applications for a new work or study permit may be made at St-Bernard-de-Lacolle and St-Armand/Philipsburg as follows:

Study and work permit requests, and requests for processing of confirmation of permanent residence at the Peace Bridge, Queenston-Lewiston Bridge and Rainbow Bridge

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) for its part has implemented service hours for processing confirmation of permanent residence, and work and study permit applications at the Fort Erie (Peace Bridge), Niagara-on-the-Lake (Queenston-Lewiston Bridge) and Niagara Falls (Rainbow Bridge) ports of entry made by individuals who currently reside in Canada, possess a valid work or study permit, or hold temporary residence status, and travelled to the USA for the sole purpose of presenting their permit application at a Canadian port of entry.


Should an individual meet these criteria, applications for confirmation of permanent residence or a new work or study permit may be made at the Fort Erie (Peace Bridge), Niagara-on-the-Lake (Queenston-Lewiston Bridge) or Niagara Falls (Rainbow Bridge) ports of entry as follows:


  • Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to midnight



  • Monday to Thursday, from noon to 7:00 p.m.
  • Saturday, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
This was before covid. You need to read the big yellow box for the changes due to covid.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/work-canada/permit/temporary/eligibility.html#port_entry