Commission Me This...
At the end of university, I decided that I'd spend a year in Canada. 'How hard could it be?' I naively thought to myself. The land of famously kind people; surely this hospitality would extend to their sister nation? Well, not quite. On the whole, it's been pretty much a straight road so far. There have been some ups and downs, admittedly, but on the whole there's nothing too terrifying - until recently. At the moment, I have reached an impasse I like to call: Ain't Nothin' Straighter Than a Circle for a Government. But first, let's start at the beginning - I'd hate to put you off the idea of living in Canada completely.
To clarify, I'm trying to live and work in Canada. 'Ah, working abroad,' I hear you say, 'That must be where the issue is, right?'
Wrong. The Canadian government runs this rather awesome system of temporary work permits. For up to a year (though that can be extended), those aged 18-25 can work in Canada without an official job offer. Unlike a work visa, which requires you to have a proper (i.e. well-paid) job, a temporary work permit lets you get work anywhere you can. Traditional (full) work permits are harder to attain because they're intended to reserve jobs for citizens of the country you're visiting. By trying to reserve these jobs for full citizens, it prevents the country being flooded with foreign labour. Makes sense, right? A temporary work permit gets around this by permitting less working time than a full work permit. The idea is that you'll leave by the end of the year and not continue taking up jobs that could also go to full citizens. Nice and simple.
Aside from asking for lots of paperwork, for many separate dates, and from official sources, the application for a temporary work permit is nice and simple. As long as you don't have any major convictions, you're not a total asshat, etc. (you know, the important stuff), you shouldn't have a problem getting approved. Assuming you've been successful, you'll be given a Letter of Introduction. It's super fancy and comes in a lovely PDF format. No expense spared. This is, for all intents and purposes, your ticket to working in Canada. It's not a permit, but when presented to the right border officials, it'll get them to print one out for you. Neat.
You're all caught up now, I think. On top of a passport and a legitimate means of arriving in Canada, that should be all you need to get into the country. Having said that, I'd heard a number of people say I might also need to show I have a return flight when I arrive for the first time. This makes sense, seeing as they don't want me illegally overstaying my welcome. (On the off chance any border officials are reading this: don't worry, I will definitely be leaving on time.) It makes more sense though, for holiday-makers, who would presumably cause concern on arriving without a return flight. 'Oh, but when will you leave?' cries the border official, tearing out his hair. I have been given a set time to be in Canada, so perhaps this doesn't apply to my situation?
You'd think, given the vast recesses the Internet currently stretches to, that somewhere, somewhere, someone would be able to answer my question. Alas, this is not the case. Not even a whiff of 'return flight' mentioned in conjunction with 'temporary work permit' - and this is not for lack of searching. Finally, Internet exhausted, I fell back on ol' faithful: the telephone. Practically archaic, I know.
And who better to call than the Canadian High Commission themselves! They will definitely be able to answer my question. Immigration is in that building for Pete's sake. So I tried calling, and was instantly greeted by an automated system, providing a number of options. Each of these options gave me the same response: 'the Commission isn't open at the moment, but you're welcome to try our website!' Oh, did I mention their website? Possibly one of the most difficult-to-navigate sites I have ever had the misfortune of using.
Getting a teensy bit annoyed now, I went in person to visit the Canadian Embassy instead. No luck. Redirected to the High Commission again. This was getting serious now. It was January 2014 and I planned to leave in three months. I hadn't bought a flight out there, let alone a return, as I had originally intended to buy the two tickets together. Having exhausted every option but frank face-to-face discussion, I decided enough was enough. I was going to get my answer, come hell or high water. I'd camp outside the office if I needed to.
Turns out there was no camping involved, just a neat and orderly queue on the steps, and then the nice guy on the door let me in. After realising he couldn't answer my question, he directed me through security and told me to ham it up a bit to the lady at the immigration desk. Will do, good sir. Up I marched to the counter, putting on my best 'Let's do this' smile, and offered up my now rather lonesome tale. And her response? That's not her department; it's up to the border official on the day.
Are you kidding me? You're in Immigration. This is literally your department. Who the hell else am I going to ask? After much huffing and puffing to various friends and family members, I have come up with only a few remaining options:
To clarify, I'm trying to live and work in Canada. 'Ah, working abroad,' I hear you say, 'That must be where the issue is, right?'
Wrong. The Canadian government runs this rather awesome system of temporary work permits. For up to a year (though that can be extended), those aged 18-25 can work in Canada without an official job offer. Unlike a work visa, which requires you to have a proper (i.e. well-paid) job, a temporary work permit lets you get work anywhere you can. Traditional (full) work permits are harder to attain because they're intended to reserve jobs for citizens of the country you're visiting. By trying to reserve these jobs for full citizens, it prevents the country being flooded with foreign labour. Makes sense, right? A temporary work permit gets around this by permitting less working time than a full work permit. The idea is that you'll leave by the end of the year and not continue taking up jobs that could also go to full citizens. Nice and simple.
Aside from asking for lots of paperwork, for many separate dates, and from official sources, the application for a temporary work permit is nice and simple. As long as you don't have any major convictions, you're not a total asshat, etc. (you know, the important stuff), you shouldn't have a problem getting approved. Assuming you've been successful, you'll be given a Letter of Introduction. It's super fancy and comes in a lovely PDF format. No expense spared. This is, for all intents and purposes, your ticket to working in Canada. It's not a permit, but when presented to the right border officials, it'll get them to print one out for you. Neat.
You're all caught up now, I think. On top of a passport and a legitimate means of arriving in Canada, that should be all you need to get into the country. Having said that, I'd heard a number of people say I might also need to show I have a return flight when I arrive for the first time. This makes sense, seeing as they don't want me illegally overstaying my welcome. (On the off chance any border officials are reading this: don't worry, I will definitely be leaving on time.) It makes more sense though, for holiday-makers, who would presumably cause concern on arriving without a return flight. 'Oh, but when will you leave?' cries the border official, tearing out his hair. I have been given a set time to be in Canada, so perhaps this doesn't apply to my situation?
You'd think, given the vast recesses the Internet currently stretches to, that somewhere, somewhere, someone would be able to answer my question. Alas, this is not the case. Not even a whiff of 'return flight' mentioned in conjunction with 'temporary work permit' - and this is not for lack of searching. Finally, Internet exhausted, I fell back on ol' faithful: the telephone. Practically archaic, I know.
And who better to call than the Canadian High Commission themselves! They will definitely be able to answer my question. Immigration is in that building for Pete's sake. So I tried calling, and was instantly greeted by an automated system, providing a number of options. Each of these options gave me the same response: 'the Commission isn't open at the moment, but you're welcome to try our website!' Oh, did I mention their website? Possibly one of the most difficult-to-navigate sites I have ever had the misfortune of using.
Getting a teensy bit annoyed now, I went in person to visit the Canadian Embassy instead. No luck. Redirected to the High Commission again. This was getting serious now. It was January 2014 and I planned to leave in three months. I hadn't bought a flight out there, let alone a return, as I had originally intended to buy the two tickets together. Having exhausted every option but frank face-to-face discussion, I decided enough was enough. I was going to get my answer, come hell or high water. I'd camp outside the office if I needed to.
Turns out there was no camping involved, just a neat and orderly queue on the steps, and then the nice guy on the door let me in. After realising he couldn't answer my question, he directed me through security and told me to ham it up a bit to the lady at the immigration desk. Will do, good sir. Up I marched to the counter, putting on my best 'Let's do this' smile, and offered up my now rather lonesome tale. And her response? That's not her department; it's up to the border official on the day.
Are you kidding me? You're in Immigration. This is literally your department. Who the hell else am I going to ask? After much huffing and puffing to various friends and family members, I have come up with only a few remaining options:
- Somehow I contact the Canadian border control. Failing that, British border control will probably work as well.
- Go back over all the paperwork I have, combing for any mention of 'return flights'. If the official puts up a fuss on the day, I calmly state my difficulty (and subsequent failure) in finding a conclusive answer before boarding the plane, and point out that none of the paperwork I've been given has any mention of a return ticket. Note: this paperwork includes lists of things I will need on arrival, and none of those things is a return flight.
- Cry a little bit that no-one can give me what would seem to be a simple answer. Why, world, why?
- In the final days before my flight leaves, evaluate my finances and buy a return ticket - hopefully one that can be changed, and if so, without being charged my first born child for the inconvenience.
Since all of this has gone down, I've had to push back my departure to May 1st. Which is good, as I'll get an extra month of wages in before I leave. At the same time, I'd been quite looking forward to going in April. Hey ho. I'll be here for Easter, I think? That means chocolate I won't have to buy myself - always a bonus. We'll see how things go from here, I suppose.
Currently reading:
Friedman, J. and Valenti, J. (2008), Yes Means Yes!: Visions of Female Sexual Power and A World Without Rape, Seal Press
Further information on temporary work permits for Canada:
International Experience Canada: http://www.international.gc.ca/experience/intro_incoming-intro_entrant.aspx
Canadian Department of Immigration: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/arriving.asp
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