Canadian Work Permits & Student Visas

We work with both Canadian HR departments and global professionals to facilitate cross-border hiring. We’re often able to bring staff in under short term exemptions while their work permit is being processed.

There are two kinds of work permits: those requiring approval by Service Canada ("Labour Market Opinion"), and those which can be issued without an Opinion. If the mandate of the position is not "exempt", then one needs a work permit, which is issued by Canada Immigration.

An employer can extend a job offer to a foreign worker after establishing that Canadians are not readily available. An employer will need to provide evidence to support either one of the two conditions:

• reasonable efforts were made to recruit and train qualified Canadians for the position;
• the foreign worker possesses a combination of skills and experience not readily available in Canada. The employment of the foreign worker is critical for the company to maximize its human resources in creating or maintaining jobs and/or transferring specialized knowledge and skills to the company's labour force.

You may work on campus at the institution where you study without a work permit if:

• you are engaged in full-time studies at a Canadian university, community college, CEGEP, a publicly funded trade or technical school or a private institution authorized by provincial statute to confer degrees;
• and you have a valid study permit.

If you are studying in Manitoba, New Brunswick, or Quebec, you may apply for an
off-campus work permit. The work permit allows you to work up to 20 hours a week during regular academic sessions (15 hours a week in Quebec), and up to 40 hours a week during regular breaks (e.g., winter or summer holidays and spring break).

Pathways to Permanent Residency:

Emigration is the most important event in your life.
It's too important to go it alone.

Immigration law is complex and constantly changing. It's important to retain
a professional advisor who monitors legal developments on a full-time basis.

You need an advocate to protect your rights during the process;
don't go it alone.