Job Offer Canada
Migration to Canada through work
Migration to Canada through work is one of the most popular ways to immigrate to Canada, and it is also referred to by other names such as migration through a job offer. This method is widely discussed on various websites, including our immigration company, Palina, where you can find information about the requirements for migration through work.
As migration through a work visa is a highly popular and referenced method in the virtual world, there is a vast amount of information available on the internet. Unfortunately, many of these sources are unreliable or even incorrect. Consequently, there are many ambiguities regarding migration through work to Canada. For example, some believe that migrating to Canada through work is very easy and does not require a lawyer or immigration consultant. Based solely on the information available online or hearsay, they attempt to obtain a Canadian work visa without any proper guidance.
On the other hand, some believe that migration to Canada through a work visa is impossible for Iranians and do not trust any immigration companies in this regard. As a result, they do not make any efforts or attempts to migrate to Canada through a work visa.
In reality, both of these perspectives are mistaken and lack a factual basis. In the following discussion, we at Palina, an immigration company, will provide a comprehensive overview of the Canadian work visa and the related issues and requirements.
Canadian Work Visa
One of the popular visas for immigration to Canada is the Canadian Work Visa. This visa is intended for individuals who have a job offer or whose spouse is studying in Canada. Canadian Work Visas are issued in two forms:
Work Permit: A work permit is granted to individuals who already have a specific job offer. This means that you will be issued this permit when you have a job offer from a Canadian company or institution and are required to work for that specific employer.
Open Work Permit: An open work permit allows individuals to work freely without any restrictions for any employer and in any location.
Having a Canadian Work Visa comes with several benefits, such as the ability to open a bank account and free education for children in Canadian public schools. The Canadian Work Visa is valid for one year and needs to be renewed afterward. It’s important to note that even if you are awaiting the issuance of your Canadian residency, you still need to renew your work visa within the designated timeframe.
Job Offer in Canada
As mentioned before, in order to apply for a work visa for immigration to Canada, you must first have a job offer from a Canadian employer that is approved by the Canadian Ministry of Immigration. The fact that you possess a high level of skill in your current job in your home country does not have any direct influence on your Canadian work visa. However, as previously mentioned, if the applicant’s spouse is studying in Canada, they may be eligible to apply for a Canadian work visa.
In general, a job offer is a document issued by a Canadian company or institution stating their need for your skills, work experience, and their willingness to hire you. It is clear that in this case, opportunistic individuals can try to obtain fake job offers from Canadian companies and institutions with financial arrangements. However, the Canadian government only considers job offers that have a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). They only review and approve job offers with LMIA to prevent such incidents. Therefore, the satisfaction of both the employer and employee is not sufficient for the visa process.
LMIA
LMIA (Labour Market Impact Assessment) is essentially a confirmation of job offers issued by the Canadian government’s Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). To validate a job offer, the ESDC assesses the employer’s and the employee’s work history and situation regarding their intention to migrate to Canada for work. The process of obtaining an LMIA involves several steps. In the initial step, the employer is carefully examined to demonstrate that an adequate number of Canadian workers with the desired skills are not available, and the recruitment has become challenging for the employer. Additionally, the company or institution in question must have a favorable economic and employment history. In the next step, if the employer meets the necessary requirements, the ESDC issues an LMIA, granting permission to hire foreign workers. The LMIA enables the applicant to apply for a Canadian work visa for migration to Canada through a work visa.
Process of Migrating to Canada through Work
In general, there are two ways to apply for work-related immigration to Canada, which involve obtaining Canadian residency through a job offer via Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) and obtaining Canadian residency through a work visa (CEC).
Obtaining Canadian Residency through a Job Offer via PNP:
As previously mentioned, to utilize this method, you need a job offer from a recognized Canadian employer. For example, if you have a job offer approved by the Ministry of Labour of the province of British Columbia or the city of Vancouver, you can submit your application for provincial residency to British Columbia, and your points will be evaluated based on your educational qualifications, English language proficiency, work experience, and the job offer received from that province.
It’s important to note that a job offer does not have a fixed number of points. The points assigned to a job offer depend on factors such as the city where the job offer is from, the salary level offered by the employer, and the alignment of the job offer with your work experience. However, having a job offer with LMIA adds significant points to your profile and ensures that you are selected in the initial provincial nomination. The next step involves entering the Federal Express Entry pool, specifically in the PNP section dedicated to applicants with a provincial nomination. Obtaining a provincial nomination adds 600 points to your profile and guarantees that you will be selected in the first Federal Express Entry draw, enabling you to obtain permanent residency (PR) in Canada. Under ideal circumstances and without any other complications, the permanent residency process in these conditions takes approximately two years. However, it is advisable to consult with an immigration consultant or lawyer before initiating the residency process.
Obtaining Permanent Residency through a Work Visa (CEC):
If you are not eligible to use the provincial nomination (PNP) pathway for immigration to Canada based on work and residency, or if you don’t have relevant work experience or educational qualifications, you can still apply for a work visa based on a job offer approved by the Canadian Ministry of Immigration. If you meet the requirements for a work visa in Canada, you can enter the country with your family.
A work visa obtained through a job offer is not an open work permit and is limited to the specific job position offered by the employer at the time of application.
After working in Canada for one year on a work visa, you can apply for permanent residency through the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) within the Express Entry system. In this scenario, in addition to the points obtained through age, language proficiency, and education, you can earn additional points for one year of work experience in Canada. With these additional points, you can usually obtain permanent residency in Canada without any further challenges.
Conditions for Obtaining a Job Offer in Canada
Having relevant work experience is the most important factor when it comes to obtaining a job offer in Canada. It is preferable for this work experience to be from an institution where your employment was covered by insurance. It is also advantageous if the insurance is from a social security provider. This is beneficial because social security insurance indicates the relevance of your work experience to the desired occupation.
Indeed, it is important to note that for certain NOC (National Occupational Classification) level zero or A jobs, you must have the relevant educational credentials. However, for skill-based job offers such as cooking, hairstyling, and other similar professions, there is no requirement for academic qualifications, and possessing the necessary technical and vocational certifications is sufficient.
Guaranteed Job Offer in Canada
It is important to note that if you come across advertisements from migration companies claiming a “guaranteed Job Offer” in Canada, be cautious. No one can guarantee the approval of a Canadian work visa, and a guaranteed Job Offer is only a guarantee of receiving a job offer, which is not sufficient for immigration to Canada.
The necessary requirements for obtaining a Canadian work visa have been previously mentioned. Every applicant for a Canadian work visa needs a Job Offer that has been approved by the Ministry of Employment in Canada, which is the first and most important requirement for obtaining a work visa. Another requirement for migrating to Canada through work is having the required language proficiency. Generally, having a minimum IELTS General score of 5.5 is mandatory for obtaining a work visa. However, it is important to note that the required IELTS score also depends on the specific occupation for which you have a Job Offer. Although a Job Offer does not require a specific IELTS score, it is necessary for obtaining a work visa.
For example, if someone applies for a Job Offer in the field of culinary arts, it is possible that an officer may be satisfied with an IELTS score of 5.5, as the culinary field may not require a high level of language proficiency. However, someone who applies for a work visa in the field of computer engineering will likely require a higher IELTS score. Therefore, the statement “Canadian work visa without language proficiency” is an unfounded advertisement.
Another factor that can help convince the immigration officer is a history of foreign travel to European countries (Schengen visa) or East Asian countries, as reflected in your passport. It is also important to note that existing connections in Iran can also be influential in obtaining a Canadian work visa, as it demonstrates that the individual may return to their home country due to national and financial ties.
Age is also a factor in obtaining a Job Offer and a Canadian work visa, but it is not the sole determinant. For example, being 40 years old does not definitively mean that you have no chance of immigration.
Work Visa for People from Iran in Canada
Naturally, with the end of restrictions and the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, obtaining various visas for Canada has become slightly easier. In particular, the work visa for Canada has become more accessible due to the support packages provided by the Canadian government and the significant decrease in foreign labor due to travel restrictions in previous years, resulting in an increased demand for foreign skilled workers in Canada. This makes the process of obtaining a work visa for Canada easier for people from Iran and other countries.
Duration of the Canadian Work Visa Process
If the applicant for a work visa uses a job offer and an immigration lawyer, the approval stages by the Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) will typically be completed within six months after obtaining the LMIA (Labour Market Impact Assessment).