I am British have applied for a TWP to the CIC in London. Since applying I have been advised that the job I have (a Canada Research Chair) is exempt from a LMO (this confirmed on the HRSDC website). My questions:

(a) Could I apply for work permit at port of entry? HRSDC site says employers "May inform foreign CRC recipients to apply for work permit directly at a CIC visa office or at a Canadian Port of Entry, in the case of citizens of the United States, St Pierre et Miquelon, and Greenland." This appears to exclude me since I am not a citizen of one of those countries, yet I am repeatedly hearing that without an LMO required it would be fine.

(b) If the answer to (a) is yes, is there a way to get my application materials back from CIC London and how long would this take. The only channel I can find on their website related to getting back passport in an emergency. I would be wanting to get back the whole application package. If I just get the passport returned to me and try to apply at the port of entry, would the fact that I had an existing TWP application "pending" impact anything?

(c) If my job offer starts Aug 1, but I physically arrive in Canada on August 25, will the work permit be issued as valid from Aug 1 or Aug 25? My employer has agreed to pay me retrospectively, but only to the date of validation of the work permit.

Many thanks for advice on this.

A British citizen may apply for a work permit under the provisions that you refer to at a port of entry. Service Canada (HRSDC) will not generally provide specific guidance on the processing of cases that are exempt from the Labour Market Opinion requierment.

Should you choose to pursue this, then you would need to send a written request to withdraw the application and for the return of your materials from the visa office; it is difficulty to predict how long this will take, but it would not be less than three weeks in my estimation. This should not affect the future POE application. Typically, the work permit validity would be based on both the date on which it is sought and any stated end date of the position.