Visa Information

Remember it is essential for you to have a Canadian Employment Authorization to work in Canada.  

Visitor Visa Exemptions

• citizens of Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Botswana, Brunei, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Denmark, Dominica, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel (National Passport holders only), Italy, Japan, Kiribati, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Namibia, Nauru, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Portugal, Republic of Korea, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Spain, Swaziland, Sweden, Slovenia, Switzerland, Tuvalu, United States, Vanuatu, Western Samoa and Zimbabwe;
  
• persons lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence who are in possession of their alien registration card (Green card) or can provide other evidence of permanent residence.
  
• British citizens and British Overseas Citizens who are re-admissible to the United Kingdom;
  
• citizens of British dependent territories who derive their citizenship through birth, descent, registration or naturalization in one of the British dependent territories of Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, Montserrat, Pitcairn, St. Helena or the Turks and Caicos Islands;
  
• persons holding passports or travel documents issued by the Holy See.

Countries Whose Citizens Require Visas to Enter Canada as Visitors

Citizens of the following countries require a Visa to VISIT / TRANSIT Canada:

Working Temporarily in Canada

Unless you are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, in order to work in Canada you must hold a valid employment authorization (EA). In 1998, CIC issued about 173,000 employment authorizations.

The federal government is committed to helping employers create job opportunities for Canadians. In addition to domestic efforts, this sometimes involves supporting the entry into Canada of foreign workers needed by employers to temporarily meet labour market shortages they are otherwise unable to fill. Working with our partners at Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC), Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) is redesigning the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program to facilitate the entry of foreign workers who have obtained an offer of employment in Canada.

Except for specific situations (e.g. spouses of foreign students; refugee claimants awaiting determination of their claims), the foreign worker must have a job offer to temporarily work in Canada before he or she can apply for an employment authorization. The federal government does not help place foreign workers hoping to find a job in Canada.

The EA approval process involves both consideration of the job offer and consideration of the applicant.

 
The Employer's Role

Generally speaking, before an immigration officer can issue an employment authorization, he or she needs a labour market opinion from HRDC as to whether this would have a positive or negative effect on the Canadian labour market and economy. To form this opinion, the Human Resources Canada Centre (HRCC) closest to the location where the work will take place will work with the employer to examine the specifics of the job offer, ensure that the wages and working conditions offered are acceptable within the context of the Canadian labour market, and consider whether the job might easily be filled from within the domestic workforce. Once satisfied, the HRCC foreign worker counselor will communicate his or her opinion (called a "validation") to the CIC point of service where the worker is applying for the employment authorization.

There are some cases where the EA application is exempt from the need for the HRCC validation opinion. Details of these exemptions can be found in the Temporary Foreign Worker Manual, but the most important relate to the provisions found in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the General Agreement on Trades and Services (GATS), and other international agreements.

Employers or industrial sectors which have needs for significant numbers of temporary foreign workers can work with HRDC and CIC to enter into agreements that will in effect validate a number of foreign workers under a single set of negotiations. If you are interested in this possibility, contact your local Human Resources Canada Centre and ask to speak to the Temporary Foreign Worker consultant.

Employers are responsible to review the employment authorizations held by foreign workers under their employ to ensure that the employment being performed falls within the terms and conditions listed on the EA.

If the worker is destined to work in the Province of Quebec, the employer must also work with the Quebec government to obtain a Certificat d'acceptation du Quebec (CAQ) before the employment authorization can be issued by CIC.

 
The Worker's Role

The temporary foreign worker must meet the usual requirements of a visitor to Canada, which vary with the country the worker is entering from. This includes medical and security concerns, and is set out under "Visiting Canada".

In addition, the applicant must satisfy the immigration officer of the following:

• That his or her intention is only to work in Canada temporarily, and not to try and stay in Canada indefinitely. The onus is on the applicant to satisfy the immigration officer that his or her intent is not to stay permanently; and
  
• That the applicant has the skills and qualifications required to do the job they are being hired to do. This might involve providing documentation to substantiate educational credentials, or providing evidence of necessary professional accreditation.

There is a non-refundable fee to process a request for an employment authorization.

Where a person can apply for an employment authorization varies with their status. Most foreign workers must get their employment authorizations before entering Canada, from a Mission Abroad. Residents of the United States, Greenland, or St. Pierre and Miquelon can apply for an EA at a Port of Entry, but they must produce their confirmation of their offer of employment (i.e. detailed job offer) and have other documentation needed by the immigration officer to make his or her decision when they arrive at the Port of Entry. Visitors to Canada cannot apply for employment authorizations while in Canada, with the exception of a husband or wife whose spouse has entered Canada with a valid EA and has accompanied that spouse into Canada.

Employment authorizations have specific terms and conditions listed on them, including the dates of the employment term, the location of the work, and a description of the job. If the worker does not abide by the terms and conditions set out in the EA, he or she could be asked to leave the country. The employment authorization is not a contract, and if the employer dismisses the foreign worker, he or she must return home. If some element of the worker's job is to change (e.g. extension of dates, change of duties, change of employer) the worker should apply for an amendment to the employment authorization.