Help with Visa Waiver to go to Canada not USA

[Patch]

Hi Everyone to start you off,

I am an Irish citizen born and raised, I had been travelling back and forth to the USA just looking around the country and done twice but the last time I got too excited and decided to overstay by 7 months. I don't like the USA anymore I've seen it all and got bored of it.

Right now I want to travel to Vancouver and see a few friends, this time I will not over stay because I am looking to get a job in animation in the area.

I am planning on going near the end of september but I am afraid that having overstayed in the USA they won't let me go to Canada.

My flight leaves Dublin and stops in UK and then goes direct to Vancouver from there.

What I want to know is are the visa waivers the same for both countries? bare in mind I don't want to go back to the US again so they can bar me a million life times if they want.

What do I need to proceed with working in Vancouver? papers? visas and forms?

All your help is grateful and I can't thank you enough for all your help.

Patrick

 

[scylla]

You should have no issues entering Canada on your passport alone. You should bring evidence / paperwork with you that proves you have strong ties to your home country and have no plans on staying in Canada long term (e.g. proof you have a job back home, proof you own property back home, proof you are attending school back home). You should also bring proof (e.g. bank statement) to demonstrate that you have enough money to pay for your trip to Canada. I know you don't want to return to the US anytime soon (which is good), but as an FYI - since you overstayed by more than 180 days, you received an automatic 3 year ban from entering the US as soon as you left. Don't try re-entering the US until these three years are over or the situation will just get worse.

As for working in Vancouver... The first step will be to find an employer who is willing to hire you. That employer will then have to obtain an approved LMO (labour market opinion). As part of this process, the employer will first have to advertise the job and prove they were unable to hire a Canadian for the role (and therefore have to hire a foreign worker). Expect the LMO process to take several months once you have found a willing employer. If the LMO is approved (not all are), you can then apply for a work permit. Normally I would recommend that you just drive to the nearest US/Canada border to obtain the work visa. However since you are banned from entering the US, I would recommend you stay far away from the US border and apply the normal way instead. You'll probably find that the majority of employers you talk to aren't willing to go through the LMO process. So your biggest challenge will be finding a willing employer.

 

[scylla]

Just to add... Depending on your age, you could look into the working holiday visa program which (if approved) would allow you to work and live in Canada for a year. Note that there are no spaces remaining for this year. So you would have to wait until next year. Also, your US overstay could impact approval.

http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/ireland-irlande/experience_canada_experience/index.aspx