Hi. Me, my husband and my 8th month old son want to move to Canada to live and work. My best friend and her family are Canadian residents and are willing to allow us to stay with them. My problem is that everything I've read makes it seem as if it just cant be done. Me and my husband both have jobs in the USA but they are unskilled retail jobs. He has worked at Walmart for over 5 years and I've been a cashier at a liquor store for the past 3 years. Apparently these jobs are not good enough to qualify for a workers permit?? We want to come and live in canada the proper way, to be with my best friend who is my family, and to work, but we dont know how to do it. Can anyone help? How do we do this?are we just screwed because we have crappy jobs? This whole process in this website are just very overwhelming and I would appreciate anybody's help who could tell me how to get this done. Thank you very much.
Please help, so lost and confused
- Thread starter Eridani_Epsilon
- Start date
It can be very difficult to obtain a work permit for retail jobs. In order to qualify for a work permit, you would need to first obtain a job offer from an employer in Canada. That employer would then have to obtain an approved LMIA which is a 4-6 month process for the employer with no guarantee of approval. As a first step in the process, the employer has to advertise the job for at least a month to prove no Canadian could be found for the role. Generally speaking it's very difficult to find employers willing to go through this process because it's so long and expensive (and there's no guarantee of approval) - although some people do get lucky. You can read more about the LMIA process here:
https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/foreign-workers/median-wage/low/requirements.html
I think a better (i.e. more realistic) option would be to explore how to immigrate to Canada through one of the semi-skilled Provincial Nomination Programs. British Columbia has a program that you could check out if you can find the right kind of job there. See link below.
https://www.welcomebc.ca/Immigrate-to-B-C/BC-PNP-Skills-Immigration/Entre-Level-and-Semi-Skilled
https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/foreign-workers/median-wage/low/requirements.html
I think a better (i.e. more realistic) option would be to explore how to immigrate to Canada through one of the semi-skilled Provincial Nomination Programs. British Columbia has a program that you could check out if you can find the right kind of job there. See link below.
https://www.welcomebc.ca/Immigrate-to-B-C/BC-PNP-Skills-Immigration/Entre-Level-and-Semi-Skilled
Thank you for your reply. We would be wanting to look at Toranto, that's where my friend is. Is there one for that providence? Also, my friends brother could offer us jobs already, but they are for retail jobs as well, does that matter? Does that help us out?
Ontario has a Provincial Nominee program - however it's focused on skilled workers.
The job offer from your friend's brother is only helpful if he can obtain an approved LMIA. He needs to get the LMIA approved before you can apply for a temporary work permit. If he is willing to go through this process, the first step is to advertise the job for at least a month. He needs to ensure he meets the advertising requirements in the link I provided above or the LMIA will be refused. For the LMIA to be approved, the job has to be advertised in a number of locations and meet specific criteria.
So LMIA cost 1000 + CAD per person. Plus even if the case is presented neatly it might not be approved, especially if they have enough locals who could fit the job description (which in the case of semi skilled jobs is almost mission impossible).
Also even if you get through LMIA, that only means a temporary work permit. So you still have to go through EE (where are currently plenty people who have skilled trades experience or who have education and skilled work experience).
Ontario is not the best choice when it comes to such jobs. Better choice would be one of the Atlantic provinces (Nova Scotia for example), then interestingly also Alberta or BC and if ever you had connections also Manitoba.
Also even if you get through LMIA, that only means a temporary work permit. So you still have to go through EE (where are currently plenty people who have skilled trades experience or who have education and skilled work experience).
Ontario is not the best choice when it comes to such jobs. Better choice would be one of the Atlantic provinces (Nova Scotia for example), then interestingly also Alberta or BC and if ever you had connections also Manitoba.