Individuals who are neither Canadian Permanent Residents, nor Canadian Citizens, and who wish to temporarily reside in Canada for employment purposes will likely have to apply for a Work Permit. Every year over 150,000 foreign workers come to Canada to work. A Work Permit is not issued for persons wanting to come to Canada to look for work. It is only issued once an offer of employment has been made. Many of these workers fill skill shortages in many Canadian companies, while others work as live-in caregivers.
It should be noted that a Work Permit is not an employment contract. It is strictly for the purposes of allowing a foreign national to work in Canada to fill a labor shortage, and to support economic growth in Canada.
When the application is accepted, the work permit is issued. Work Permits are always temporary, but also can often be extended from inside Canada. A Work Permit usually contains specific terms and conditions, including the start and end dates of the employment, name of employer, location of employment, and job title. If the Foreign National does not abide by the terms and conditions set out in the Work Permit, the Foreign National may be prosecuted and/or asked to leave Canada. The employer may also receive disciplinary action or face charges.
There are four situations in which workers must extend or change their Canadian temporary work permits:
You can apply to extend a work permit from within Canada if the work permit you applied for outside of Canada is still valid. You can extend your work permit for a period of time that adds up to but does not exceed a maximum of four years of work in Canada.
Our experts will help you with preparing your application and a complete list of the documents required for the work permit extension.