I Really Could Use Some Help

[Walterson]

Hi everyone,
My name is Michael and I am from Belgium, I really want to come to Canada for a long period (maybe even permanently) but to be able to fund my trip I would like to get work in Canada. At the Canadian embassy website in Belgium I've read that it is not permitted for tourists to work in Canada. After browsing and reading many many pages , I still can't seem to find out what the best way to do this is. Right now I live in Turkey with my mother and I know here you can only get a working permit for jobs that Turkish people are not able to do, for example like in tourism where they require native language speakers. I have seen some jobs in Canada that require knowledge of Dutch and/or German. Dutch is my native language and I also speak a little german and fluent English so I could apply for those jobs if I knew I am permitted to work in Canada. Also: does it matter which education degree I have and does it matter what kind of job I am applying for, ( for example if I get a job offer in some local grocery store would that do ?). Really hope somebody has some good guidance for me ! Thanks guys !

 

[scylla]

As a tourist you are not allowed to work.

You need a work permit in order to be allowed to work. To obtain a work permit, you first have to find an employer who is willing to hire you. That employer must then apply for something called a Labour Market Opinion (LMO) to request approval to hire a foreign worker. As part of this process, the employer must prove that they advertised the job and were unable to find a Canadian for the position. If the LMO is approved (not all LMOs are approved), you can then apply for a work permit (you would have to apply for this work permit through the visa office responsible for your home country or your country of residence). If the work permit is approved, you can then come to Canada and work. This entire process typically take months. Also, because employers have to prove they could not find a Canadian for the job, many/most employers aren't willing to consider foreign workers for their open positions (especially for low skilled positions such as a grocery store clerk).

So the first (and probably most difficult) step is findng an employer who is willing to offer you a job and go through the LMO process. Note that if anyone offers to arrange an LMO in exchange for money, it's most likely a scam.

Good luck.