kuki1972 said:
I am a US citizen who just got married to a Canadian citizen and am waiting for the marriage certificate. I would like to know how soon I can start working in Canada (I am a professional with a BSc and MBA). And here are my questions:
1. We would like to apply for PR as soon as the marriage certificate comes in. If I apply for PR within Canada, I heard that I can apply for an Open Work Permit which is only granted when the first stage of the PR application is complete. Is this correct? How long does the first stage usually take?
It is almost always NOT in the best interest of a US citizen applicant to apply for PR via the inland process - even with the open work permit option. First of all, US citizens are not usually documented when they enter Canada - so have no way to prove when they came into the country, which means no way to prove that they still had legal temporary status when they apply for PR. That means your application would not benefit from straight-forward processing where an open work permit would be issued after about 6 months, and you could find yourself stuck in Canada for up to two years waiting just for first stage approval. US applicants, even ones staying in Canada as visitors while waiting for PR, can apply via the outland process and have their applications processed through Buffalo. Those applications are typically finalized within 5-10 months - and I've seen straight-forward aps (no previous marriages, dependent children, obviously genuine relationship, etc.) processed in less than 3. So, chances are you'd be able to live and work in Canada sooner by applying for PR via the outland process.
kuki1972 said:
2. I am currently on a tourist visa in Toronto and am in touch with headhunters here. If I get a job offer before or during my PR application, what is the process of applying for a work permit and how long does it take? Can I get a temp work permit and start working (assuming that I am offered a job) while waiting for OWP and then switch to OWP?
What type of temporary status document issued by Immigration Canada do you actually have? There is no such thing as a "tourist visa" for a US citizen. US citizens are only documented on Visitor Records, or with work or study permits.
As far as your work permit question: a work permit
is a temporary permit - there's nothing you can get that enables you to work temporarily while waiting for a work permit. If you apply for PR inland, you are not eligible to work until you reach first stage approval and your open work permit is issued. As I mentioned earlier, how long that takes depends on a lot of factors - including whether you're able to prove that you have valid, documented temporary status when you submit the inland PR application. You do have the option of applying for a restricted work permit, but this process is complicated and time-consuming. In order to hire you, the employer first has to get a positive labour market opinion (LMO) that shows that there are NO qualified Canadian applicants. At that point he is allowed to offer the position to you - and then you take that job offer and apply through Immigration Canada (at Buffalo) for a work permit. The restricted work permit would only allow you to work for a specific period of time for that employer at that position. That's the basic difference between normal work permits issued to foreign nationals with intention to work in Canada only temporarily, and open work permits which are only issued to qualified inland spousal PR applicants once they have been assessed as eligible to immigrate.
kuki1972 said:
3. Are these statements correct?
- If I apply for PR inland, the process takes longer and I cannot leave the country but I qualify for OWP.
Yes, a straight-forward inland process will take from 12-18 months to finalize. You are eligible for an open work permit ONLY after you've been successfully assessed as an eligible spousal PR applicant. That doesn't happen until
at least 6 months after you submit the application because they are actually backlogged for that long and they don't even look at the aps any earlier than that - and you're ONLY approved for first stage approval at that point if there are no issues (including temporary status issues) with your application.
kuki1972 said:
- If I apply for PR from Buffalo (I am a NY resident), the process takes shorter, I can travel in and out of Canada but I have to wait to get my PR before I can work.
Right, and it's not a given that you can travel in and out on a whim - you'd have to demonstrate at each entry that your intention is only to stay temporarily. There is a way that you can enter with your sponsor, after you're qualified to apply for PR, and get documented status so that you can stay - and apply to extend that status from within Canada if it's going to expire before you get PR - but that is visitor status and does not authorize you to work.
kuki1972 said:
What other options do I have in terms of going into the Canadian workforce as soon as possible as a sponsored spouse?
There aren't any. You are not allowed to work until (1) you have permanent resident status, (2) you have been assessed as an eligible spousal PR applicant as part of the first stage of assessment of an inland PR application - which will take at least 6 months and only that if you can prove that you had documented, valid temporary status when your inland PR ap was submitted AND you included the open work permit request and fee WITH the inland ap, or (3) you apply separately for a restricted work permit after your potential employer receives a positive LMO and offers you a position. This process takes much longer than the outland PR process - so is basically a waste of time and money.
