port of entry pls help

[kalixren]

Hi to all. I will be working in british columbia .i already have a visa. Is it possible if i will enter in toronto.?? I would like to spend new year with my sister in law and get some of her winter clothes. My question is can i get my work permit in toronto? I plan to stay in toronto for one week and then go to british columbia to work. Any advice.. pls help me.. many thanks

 

[kalixren]

Pls help

 

[PMM]

Hi

Hi to all. I will be working in british columbia .i already have a visa. Is it possible if i will enter in toronto.?? I would like to spend new year with my sister in law and get some of her winter clothes. My question is can i get my work permit in toronto? I plan to stay in toronto for one week and then go to british columbia to work. Any advice.. pls help me.. many thanks

Yes.

 

[kalixren]

Tnx pmm. What do yoy mean by yes? Did you experienced that? Many thanks

 

[kalixren]

Help please

 

[fkl]

I will be undergoing similar situation soon. Here is an over all feedback.

I would be working in Montreal and my employer's lawyer suggested:

"Based upon past experience with other landings, it is preferred that you land in Montreal i.e. the place listed on your LMO and destination to work at in job offer". It would greatly simplify the process.

However, there is another colleague of mine going for the same work place and he has relatives in Toronto with whom he intends to leave his family initially. After some discussion with the company lawyer, he was suggested that it is fine to land in Toronto.

Just that

a) He should have very clear reasons for not landing at the actual work place and be able to explain that to the BS.
b) He should have contact details i.e. address / phone numbers of people where he intends to stay in Toronto.
c) It might even help to have a further ticket booked already to final destination i.e. Toronto -> Montreal to show as evidence to help with. At the very least you should be able to tell them some thing like "i intend to go there after x days via this route (plane, car, bus). Show at least that you have planned this already"

From what i know, there is nothing legal preventing you from landing any where else in Canada even for work permit guys. But being on work permit, generally it raises slight suspicion for the security guys and you might need to explain yourself more thoroughly i.e. why are you doing so.

Also knowing details of your final employer like address / phone number at hand and possibly some one who could confirm your details on phone if needed would be helpful. So my colleague is going to land in Toronto hence i don't think there is any thing wrong.

Just be prepared and do expect some more questions / time while going through wp details at POE.

 

[BigBee]

Agreed with FKL....

It is not mandatory that you need to land at the location where you will work (if it is a port of entry), if you have already worked in canada and are coming back again, then the immigration officer might not ask you anything, but, if you are coming here for the first time, then, it might raise some suspicion. You will have to have a strong reason to justify why you landed in Toronto.

Things like Cheaper air fare, lesser number of connecting flights, vacation time, your hotel / accommodation booking confirmation at Vancouver will help convince the officer.

P.S - I landed in a different city though the original work location is closer to a different port of entry, however, since I have worked here before, the officer didnt ask me anything, moreover, the officer was so kind not to lock me with the city that is mentioned in LMO but the officer gave a TWP that allows me to work anywhere in Canada but with the same employer. ;D

 

[fkl]

Oh that's new for me BigBee.

So the officer can add a restriction in location of work too? My employer has several offices including Gatineau, Montreal etc. and i had the choice to opt for living in Gatineau / Ottawa and work in nearby office or Montreal.

After a long assessment back then, i chose Montreal plus that it was suggested by my immediate manager since he was based there.

Bottom line is that my LMO states Montreal only, though the company's official address does state both i.e. Montreal office as well as Head office in Gatineau. This makes me wonder whether i have the liberty to move to the other office just by getting approval from employer. Your statement makes it look like even that might be objectionable and could be spelled on work permit?

So far my info was, you can work any where in Canada on a twp as long as you are working for the same employer.

 

[BigBee]

My first Work Permit was issued restricting to a small city in Canada, it clearly stated that I CANNOT work anywhere else except that city and no other employer except the stated one. Fortunately, the latest one doesnt restrict me to a single city.

So, in your case, if the LMO is Montreal and unfortunately if you get an immigration officer who goes by the book, then you would be restricted to work only in Montreal, which means, you cannot work in any other city even though it is for the same employer.

Are you coming in for the first time?

 

[fkl]

Yeah first time in Canada.

 

[BigBee]

Yeah first time in Canada.

Welcome to Canada....

Most likely they MIGHT lock you to Montreal, however, keep your fingers crossed so that you dont get it locked.

Good luck bro.

 

[fkl]

Thank you. Looking forward to it.

That's odd. For one of my colleagues (who was processed after me, the lawyer got his LMO updated after the approval to have names of both locations i.e. Gatineau and Montreal. He is supposed / chose to work at Gatineau, where as his LMO originally only stated Montreal. I didn't bother with this but now it might seem like a plus point.

 

[fkl]

Is there any thing to do with the duration of LMO / work permit? i.e. if it is shorter / year or less, it would be restricted to city as well and not for longer ones say valid for 3 years? How long was your first one?

 

[BigBee]

Thank you. Looking forward to it.

That's odd. For one of my colleagues (who was processed after me, the lawyer got his LMO updated after the approval to have names of both locations i.e. Gatineau and Montreal. He is supposed / chose to work at Gatineau, where as his LMO originally only stated Montreal. I didn't bother with this but now it might seem like a plus point.

Trust me.... it isnt odd.... I still have those WP copies where it states I CANNOT work except that small city.

If possible, you could have the lawyer update the LMO with both locations, if not, once you receive the WP copy, see if they have locked you to one city, if yes, you could ask the immigration officer to include both the cities showing them that the office is located in both the places.

See how it goes.

Good luck.

 

[BigBee]

Is there any thing to do with the duration of LMO / work permit? i.e. if it is shorter / year or less, it would be restricted to city as well and not for longer ones say valid for 3 years? How long was your first one?

I dont think so, the first one was 2 years and even now it is for 2 years only.

May be, when you come to Canada for the first time to work, they probably lock you to that city alone.