Work options for my wife or not

[Yoonglai]

My wife, who is Thai, and legally married to me for 13 years, is now in Canada with me and our two Canadian sons (biologically hers) on a TRV or Visitor visa. I assume they are the same since it was called such when approved in Bangkok, but the visa says "Visitor visa" in her passport.

We applied for a PR overseas a couple of months ago when I was teaching at an international school and I have since been approved as a sponsor, and her application is processing. I returned to Canada for health issues, which explains why we didn't wait overseas for PR approval,and instead got her over here on a TRV.

I am unclear as to whether she will be allowed to work or not...we are in the unenviable situation of having to apply for an extension to her TRV in Jan 2014 in case the PR is not finalized yet. However, I have read in some posts that if an employer can show that a position cannot be filled by a Canadian, she can be gainfully employed by such if given a temporary work permit. This while she is on a TRV.

Can anyone please clarify this? She is a Thai chef, trained at Blue Elephant in Bangkok, and has worked in Australia and Japan at restaurants there.

I would be most grateful for clear advice in this matter.

Regards,

John

 

[scylla]

To legally work, she will need to apply for a work permit and that work permit will have to be approved. To qualify to apply for a work permit, she will need a job offer from an employer and that employer will also need to obtain an approved labour market opinion (LMO). As part of this process, the employer will have to prove that they job was advertised and no Canadian could be found for the role. So the first step is to find an employer willing to giver her a job offer. Once you've done that, the employer will need to secure an approved LMO.

 

[scylla]

Sorry - just to clarify...

No - she is not allowed to work on a TRV. She needs a work permit.

 

[Yoonglai]

Thank you Scylla...so she would need to apply for a work permit after the employer carried out the two tasks you mentioned...a bit of an effort, I see, but I do understand.

 

[O_guy]

Yoonglai, the LMO is for a very specific job. Your wife does not need to apply work permit for a specific job. Since she is married to a Canadian citizen and have already started the sponsorship process, she can apply for open work permit meaning she can work for any employer if approved. My advice to you, which is similar to advice given in these forums too many times, is for your wife to apply extension on her TRV the same time she applies for open work permit. If you do search on these forums, you will find Canadians married to foreigners wrote about similar situation to yours.

Good luck.

 

[scylla]

Yoonglai, the LMO is for a very specific job. Your wife does not need to apply work permit for a specific job. Since she is married to a Canadian citizen and have already started the sponsorship process, she can apply for open work permit meaning she can work for any employer if approved. My advice to you, which is similar to advice given in these forums too many times, is for your wife to apply extension on her TRV the same time she applies for open work permit. If you do search on these forums, you will find Canadians married to foreigners wrote about similar situation to yours.

Good luck.

This information is incorrect. The OP has applied for PR outland. This means his wife does not qualify for an open work permit. She would only qualify for an open work permit if they had applied for PR using the inland process (once first stage processing is complete). My original answer stands.

 

[ragluf]

This information is incorrect. The OP has applied for PR outland. This means his wife does not qualify for an open work permit. She would only qualify for an open work permit if they had applied for PR using the inland process (once first stage processing is complete). My original answer stands.

Yup...

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?q=679&t=17
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?q=193&t=17

Letter to Applicant After First Stage Processing (IP - Inland Processing - Appendix B)
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/ip/ip08-eng.pdf

ex-CIC webpages....
http://www.justlanded.com/english/Canada/Articles/Visas-Permits/Spouses-shortchanged-on-work-permits

 

[Yoonglai]

So, according to the first link given, from Ragluff

"Your spouse or common-law partner can apply for a work permit from inside Canada if:

they have a temporary resident permit that is valid for six months or more; OR"

Well, is a temporary resident permit the same as a TRV? Still a bit confused here...

 

[scylla]

So, according to the first link given, from Ragluff

"Your spouse or common-law partner can apply for a work permit from inside Canada if:

they have a temporary resident permit that is valid for six months or more; OR"

Well, is a temporary resident permit the same as a TRV? Still a bit confused here...

No - a TRV and a TRP are not the same. They are two very different things. Your wife is here on a TRV. A TRP is a special and rarely granted permit to those who would otherwise be inadmissible to Canada.

 

[O_guy]

This information is incorrect. The OP has applied for PR outland. This means his wife does not qualify for an open work permit. She would only qualify for an open work permit if they had applied for PR using the inland process (once first stage processing is complete). My original answer stands.

Well, I have a co-worker who is currently Canadian citizen but originally from India. He married an Indian woman back in that country and applied for outland spouse sponsorship. While waiting for that, she came to Canada on TRV. A few months later, they applied for extension and with that extension application, they applied for OPEN WORK PERMIT and she was approved. The term of the work permit was equal to the term of the extension of the visa, which in their case was 1 year.

scylla, you are the same idiot who thinks a woman can have stronger ties to her home country when her husband is in Canada. I messaged you and asked what can be stronger tie than the one she has to her husband and you did not answer. So don't every respond to any of my messages to OTHER people again.

 

[scylla]

scylla, you are the same idiot who thinks a woman can have stronger ties to her home country when her husband is in Canada. I messaged you and asked what can be stronger tie than the one she has to her husband and you did not answer. So don't every respond to any of my messages to OTHER people again.

Apologies I missed your message. To be frank - I receive a lot of them and have a lot of trouble staying on top of them. If I could, I would turn off the messaging functionality for my account because I know I miss messages all of the time and I feel badly about that. I have a full time job that takes up a great deal of my time. I am also completing a graduate university degree part time (trying to finalize my thesis now). So I can't always make this forum my priority. If I have to drop something between my job, my graduate degree, my family and this forum - it's going to be this forum. Let me know if you are still interested in an answer and I will find and respond to your message sometime tomorrow (if I don't hear from you - I'll assume you still think I'm an idiot). I do have answers and can provide some examples. As for the OWP - I still stand by what I said. I think your friend got lucky (CIC does make mistakes sometimes). There was someone else on this forum who tried this recently and it backfired on them. They received a refusal and an order to leave Canada. I will try to find that thread and post the link here.

 

[O_guy]

I still stand by what I said. I think your friend got lucky (CIC does make mistakes sometimes). There was someone else on this forum who tried this recently and it backfired on them. They received a refusal and an order to leave Canada. I will try to find that thread and post the link here.

You are assuming that CIC made a mistake in the case of my coworker's wife. How do you know CIC didn't make a mistake when they ordered someone to leave Canada just for applying for work permit?

Personally, I don't think CIC ordered someone to leave Canada just for applying for work permit. I think there was much more to their case than that. CIC is not in the business of trying to keep wives away from their Canadian husbands. "CIC ordered the wife of a Canadian citizen to leave Canada just because she applied for work permit while on TRV and awaiting for her spouse sponsorship." Say that to yourself and see if it sounds right.

 

[Yoonglai]

I hope you guys will return to me ...there are conflicting answers and I want to make the right one!

 

[O_guy]

Yoonglai, I apologize. Let's think about this in a logical way: You have already applied for spouse sponsorship and asking for open work permit does not jeopardize the sponsorship. So there is no big danger in applying for open work permit. The worst that can happen is refusal for that work permit.

Furthermore, you said, "I have read in some posts that if an employer can show that a position cannot be filled by a Canadian, she can be gainfully employed by such if given a temporary work permit. This while she is on a TRV." This is true. The employer will fill LMO. The LMO is for a specific job and if there is an employer who wants to employ her as a Thai chef, filling the LMO is the best way to go.

Good luck.

 

[ragluf]

I hope you guys will return to me ...there are conflicting answers and I want to make the right one!

If you are risk-averse - I'd go the LMO path. . You have the literature in the CIC webpages in support of the LMO route given your description of your situation.

A quick call to the CIC call centre if you can should provide you more clarity in making your decision. Call Centre telephone number: 1-888-242‑2100

/...Good Luck....

BTW - with respect to your question on the TRP - yes it is a special permit.
FYI The visa is an entry document - you use to enter/travel into the country
A permit is a status document - authorizes study/work or in special circumstances allows a stay for an extended period of time (greater than that initially authorized for a visitor). Your wife came in with a TRV - TRVs have different designations; V - signifies the holder is authorized to stay as a visitor; W - signifies the holder is authorized to stay as a worker. A visitor record (for visitors) or the stamp on the passport is proof of visitor status; for workers, it is the work permit that provides proof of worker status.