I am going to be conducting research at the Toronto Zoo starting in May. This will continue for approximately one year. Since I am an American citizen, a lot of people are telling me that I don't need a permit, but I am married to a Canadian and want to apply for permanent residence status. I am concerned that being in Canada for an extended period will slow down my application. So I'm pretty sure I need to get a work permit, but I'm not sure how to go about it since most of the documents required on the online form don't pertain to me (for example, I'm not being offered a job, so I can't get a document of a job offer). I'm not technically working here, since I won't get paid, but it's not really just being a visitor either. Someone told me that I should apply at the border with as many supporting documents as I can get (one from the zoo saying that I have been cleared to do research there, and one from my adviser at my university). Does this sound right to anybody out there?