Lost your job with a closed work permit? What to do below

Temporary foreign employees in Canada must adhere to the conditions imposed on their work permit – it is illegal to work for another employer, at a different location or in a different role that is not specified on your work permit.

If you lose or give up your job, you may be eligible to obtain a new employer -specific work permit from Canada if your status still has to expire.

You may also get permission from immigration, refugees and citizenship Canada (IRCC) to start working while your application is processed.

You may also be able to work remotely for a foreign employer from Canada until your work permit expires.

This article includes the two available options for people who have lost their jobs with a closed work permit, including specific conditions and considerations that are linked to each option.

Option one: Apply for a new employer -specific work permit

When you are inside Canada on one employer-specific work permit and will be terminated from your workplace, you cannot continue Working in Canada Unless you apply for a new work permit.

Usually a foreign national can only apply for a work permit from outside of Canada or in a port of arrival if they are eligible.

But if the current work permit that you are still granted is still valid, you may be eligible to apply for a new work permit Within Canada—Ideal at least 30 days before your status ends.

A work permit remains valid until the originally issued expiry date, even if you are dismissed or terminated from your workplace, so that you can stay in Canada until that date, even though you no longer work.

Before applying for a new work permit, you must first Find an employer willing to hire you and a work offer From them.

When submitting an application for the new work permit, you must provide Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) with the documents and information below.

You must also continue to meet all eligible requirements for work permit described by IRCC, provide the required (and possibly additional) documentation and pay the work permit ($ 155). You may also have to reserve it biometric.

The processing time For work permits that are applied in Canada, it is 210 days at the time of this writing.

After you have received your decision letter, you must receive your work permit by post for the Canadian address that you have provided within six weeks. If this address has been changed before you have received the decision letter, you must inform IRCC.

You can start working as soon as you receive a positive decision letter; You do not have to wait until the work permit arrives.

You must apply for your work permit online Unless you are eligible to register on paper.

Work while you wait for approval

In some cases you may be able to get legal authorization to work for your new employer, while your new application for work permit is being processed – you may start to work within a few weeks instead of waiting for months.

An employer -specific work permit legally authorizes you to work in Canada for the aforementioned employer, so it is normally illegal to work for a different employer than that on your existing work permit.

However, under a temporary public policy that is in force from the moment of writing, it is possible that you apply for authorization from IRCC to work for your new employer, while your new employer-specific work permit application is processed.

You can submit this request via IRCCs web form By taking the following steps.

1. Under the Other Category at the bottom of the page, select “See Details“Followed by”Stay. “
2. Select “I am the most important applicantAnd fill in all applicable sections of the form with your personal details.
3. At the bottom of the form in the “Tell us about your requestSection, copy and paste the required Special textEntering your personal data in the square brackets.

If you are an employee who has been exempt from keeping a work permitYou are still obliged to request an authorization to work if you want to change jobs or employers. The text you enter in the “Tell us about your requestSection will be different.

In both cases, if you do not include a code “PpchangeWork2020” when copying and pasting the special text provided by IRCC, your request is not prioritized.

After you have submitted the web form, IRCC will e -mail you within 10 to 15 days to inform you whether your request has been approved. This time frame only applies to people who have applied for their new work permit online.

If you apply on paper, IRCC notes that this e -mail will take longer to come.

Option two: remote work for a foreign employer

You may be able to stay legally in Canada and work remotely for a foreign employer – as an independent contractor, freelancer or employee –without requiring a Canadian work permit.

This is only a feasible option if your Current employee status is Still valid and the foreign employer that you have employed

• No physical presence in Canada;
• No business activities in Canada; And
• No financial ties in Canada.

You may not participate in the Canadian labor market, Canadian customers on duty or are paid from Canada to be eligible for this work permit exempt form of employment.

Note that before your current work permit runs (which means that it is no longer valid), you have to do one of the following.

• Leave Canada;
• Extend your stay; or
• Change your status.

If you want to extend your stay or change your status (for example from employee to visitor), you can request a visitor record (VR) to continue working remotely without a work permit.

This can be done online via your IRCC Secure account or by paper and costs you $ 100.

You must apply for a VR for Your current status is going. IRCC at least orders you to hurt 30 days Before the expiry or ideally broadly before you take into account the current processing time of 203 days.

With an approved visitor record you can keep track of your legal status in Canada and will record a new expiry date with which you must leave Canada, unless you request and receive another extension.

You can stay in Canada while your request for a VR is processed, as long as you are applying for your current status.

If your work permit has expired and you have not applied for another work permit or visitor record, you must do that too

• Leave Canada and feed your external work from an alternative location; or
• Leave Canada, apply for visitor visa (If you meet all the basic needs of the base) and go to work remotely in Canada for the period for which you have been approved.

Remember that if you work remotely for a foreign company from Canada, you are still a resident of Canada and may be obliged Serve Canadian income tax in.

If you have doubts about your residence for tax purposes, call the Canada Revenue Agency on 1-800-959-8281.

Additional considerations

If your current work permit runs before you get the chance to request a new one, you cannot do this from Canada – you usually have to submit an application in this scenario from outside the country.

If you are currently applying for a new work permit and your current work permit will run before you receive the new one, you will have it Maintain status.

Please note that, although you have maintained the status, you can remain legally in Canada while your work permit application is processed, you are confronted with certain restrictions, such as

If your employee status runs in Canada and you want to stay longer, you may be eligible to restore your status within 90 days if you have lost it because

• After controlling your authorized period (no longer than 90 days); or
• After you have changed your employer, work location or type of work (professional or responsibility level) before you protect a new work permit.

To regain the status of employees and to secure a new work permit, you must still meet the original criteria for your stay and you must not have violated other conditions imposed.

Submit your application within 90 days of losing your employee status and ensure that you provide a detailed explanation that you have not met your permit conditions.

Priority processing

Please note that IRCC currently offers priority processing of work permits for persons who perform or support essential services, including those in

• Select agricultural and agri-food professions; And
• Select Healthcare Professions.

If you are eligible for a priority processing, you must do the following when completing your new application for work permit.

Step one: Find the National Professional classification (NOC) number that is provided by your employer on both

• Your deposit letter; or
• The LMIA document.

Step two: Enter this number (and only The song) In the “Job title” box when filling in course four in the “Details of the intended work in Canada”.

Below are the eligible agriculture/agri-food professions and health care professions, as well as their associated NOC codes.

Those who are not in one of these professions receive no priority processing for their work permit applications.