Hello,

I am writing this in hopes of getting some answers that are very important for my fiance and I. I am a canadian citizen, and he has been here (in Canada) for the last 2 years and a bit on a student visa. I am aware that he can work on-campus, and also for 1 year after he is done his degree. But, there are a few people who have offered him a job, a lot better paying jobs than what would be paid working on-campus, except he can't take them because he does not have a work permit. We have applied for his permanent residence (as common-law) last year, but because his application was transferred to our local office, we were told that he will not get first stage approval for at least 3 years. Our questions:

1) Is it possible for him to apply for a work permit before this initial approval from immigration Canada? (We keep getting mixed answers when we call them).

2) If an employer that wants my fiance to work for his company gets a HRSDC confirmation, and if my fiance is issued a work permit, can he then work for other people as well, if he wanted to? (ex: have 2 jobs).

The type of work is construction, and there are many contractors that have approached him and want him to work, however, he cannot since he does not have a work permit.

Can he work for more than one contractor at a time with the same work visa?

Can he work for more than one employer at a time, even if it is not in the same field (ex: he gets a work visa for one job but then finds another job after the visa has been issued, with someone else in a different field?)


Any feedback I get on this is very helpful, and greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

Recent announcements suggest that your fiancee may soon find it easier to work off campus in Canada while attending certain post-secondary education institutions. However, it will first be necessary for agreements to be finalized between CIC and the individual provinces.

He is eligible to apply for a work permit at any time. However, the open work permit associated with an inland sponsorship is only possible once the approval-in-principle has been awarded.

If HRSDC Confirmation and a subsequent work permit is obtained, it will be specific only to one position for one employer. Additional work permits can be sought through this means, however. The open work permit does not have this limitation.