Getting a Working Visa, for non-Canadians

[Scooter]

There have been changes to the visa and work permit programs recently. Here's some information that will be useful to non-Canadians:

ALL Canadian tree planting companies will require employees to have a valid working permit. NONE of them pay in cash
anymore – that practice stopped about fifteen years ago! You will not be able to work “under the table,” so you MUST
have a work permit if you want to plant trees in Canada.

First, you need to be aware that there are different requirements. A work permit is often called a work visa. Visas and
work permits are separate things. A visa allows you to travel in a country. Visitors from some countries need a visa to
travel in Canada. Visitors from other countries need what is called an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA). Visitors
from other countries don’t need either. For example, American citizens don’t need anything other than a passport to
travel in Canada, whereas British and Australian citizens need an eTA and a passport, and visitors from many other
countries need a full visa plus a passport. For more information about your required travel documents just to get into
Canada, visit this website:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/apply-who.asp

In order to work in Canada, you need additional documentation beyond just a travel visa or eTA. You need a work
permit. There are different types of work permits, depending on what type of work you want. The most common is for
what I’ll call “career” jobs, even if they are only for a few years’ duration. For a job like this, your employer needs to get
a Labour Market Impact Assessment to see if they’re allowed to sponsor you as an employee, and then if they succeed,
they need to apply on your behalf for a work permit. Let me be absolutely clear: No company will EVER do this for a
tree planter. This approach is used for professionals such as doctors, engineers, etc. This approach is not valid for
labour jobs, or for seasonal work like tree planting. Here is a link to information about regular work permits, although it
is completely useless if you want to plant trees in Canada:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/apply-who.asp

However, there is one other program that non-Canadians should be aware of. It is called the International Experience
Canada (IEC) program, and it is commonly referred to as a “working holiday visa.” People from SOME countries are
eligible to apply for this program. This program is usually good for either 12 or 24 months. I believe that this program is
only available to people between the ages of 18 and 30, from approximately 33 specific countries. This is the only way
that you can get a work permit that you’ll need if you want to become a tree planter. There is more information here:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/iec/

[DanAykroyd69]

You can get a three year work permit after attending college/uni for two or more years. I believe that after you've lived in Canada for three years, you may apply for your citizenship. If you attend school for less than two years, you may get a work visa equivalent to the amount of time you attended school.

For example, you might be able to take a one year program at certain schools that participate in this program (which I think is most of them), and then work for a year. I know a Quebecois who went to Duchesnay School of Forestry and Wood Technology (École de foresterie et de technologie du bois de Duchesnay)*, which is about a year long program. If this school qualifies, you could get a forestry degree and then work in forestry for a year. The bitch of it is that during the school year, you can only work 20 hours a week legally. I also don't know how many participating schools offer such a degree program. Also, I believe she said this one is only $500 CAN, (less than $400 USD), though I believe it is more expensive for non-citizens.

I don't know if it's possible, but perhaps you could drag the program out or find a similar one that's longer. I have considered doing this, but I'd need to be able to work more than 20 hours a week. I'm not 18 anymore, I can't just do shit like that now.

This woman worked as a checker first and then I don't know what afterward.