Working holiday visa, is it possible to apply for work permit?

[skaba]

Hi there,

A Japanese citizen came to Canada in Nov 2016 on a working holiday visa, and has worked as a cook (part time) and took English classes at a language center. He wants to know if there is a way to extend his stay for one or two more years, or may be transition to PR.

Under the IEC, citizens of Japan can only stay in Canada for one year. And he is not eligible to apply for PR under the CEC because he does not meet the work experience requirement (one year full time or equivalent part time).
What are his options? Should he try to find work and ask the employer to apply for LMIA, and then apply for temp work permit? His current status expires in early Nov. Advice is much appreciated. Thanks.

 

[scylla]

Sounds like his options are pretty limited.

He can't apply for PR without at least one full year of paid work experience (typically this needs to be skilled work experience).

If he wants to extend his time as a temporary worker in Canada, then yes - he needs to secure a full time job offer and his employer needs to get an approved LMIA so that he can apply for a closed work permit tied to that specific employer. He should start now. He's already short on time given how long LMIAs take to process.

 

[Rob_TO]

Also, LMIAs are typically only possible if the work is skilled and there are no Canadians that can be found for the role. It's a big inconvenience/cost for any employer to go through the LMIA process so they will not do so unless they desperately want to hire you.

 

[skaba]

Thank you both for your replies. What if he received part-time job offers from 2 employers, say 2 restaurants? Would that work? And, I understand that both employers would have to go for LMIA, if that's the case.

 

[Rob_TO]

Thank you both for your replies. What if he received part-time job offers from 2 employers, say 2 restaurants? Would that work? And, I understand that both employers would have to go for LMIA, if that's the case.

No that is not possible. It must be 1 employer for 1 full time job. I would guess there is practically zero chance either employer would bother going through the LMIA process for him if they don't even need him full time, or getting it approved by the Canadian government even if they tried.

Again, they have to advertise the job, interview applicants, pay processing fees and do paperwork, and finally prove no Canadian could be hired for the role.

 

[skaba]

Thank you both for your time and advice.

Does anyone know if there are any employer requirements for LMIA to hire a temp foreign worker in a low wage position? I don't mean compliance requirements. I mean requirements in terms of number of employees, % of foreign workers they are allowed to have? And are there any exemptions to the rule, if any?

Thank you.

 

[scylla]

Thank you both for your time and advice.

Does anyone know if there are any employer requirements for LMIA to hire a temp foreign worker in a low wage position? I don't mean compliance requirements. I mean requirements in terms of number of employees, % of foreign workers they are allowed to have? And are there any exemptions to the rule, if any?

Thank you.

Yes - there are certain employer requirements. Take a look at the information here: https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/foreign-workers/median-wage/low/requirements.html#h2.4

 

[skaba]

Thanks for the info scylla. I just want to make sure I get this right:

So, if the employer is going to pay the foreign worker the same as/above the provincial/median wage, there is no cap on the proportion of low-wage TFWs that the employer hires. The cap only applies in case the TFW is being offered a wage that is below the provincial median. But even in this case, there are exemptions, one of those being the business has fewer that 10 employees, including the position being offered. For example a business with 8 employees can hire a low wage TFW, even though this person is more than 10% of the workforce.

Is this correct or am I missing something?

Thanks a lot