Hi - Thanks in advance for any help that can be given! I have tried to frame this question in such a way that it might be helpful to others, though it is still probably very specific.

Background:
I am a US citizen married to a Canadian. We currently live in the US, but my husband has accepted a permanent position position at a Canadian university and we will be moving to Canada in mid-August. I'm also an academic with a PhD and I've been offered a part-time position at a university near my husband's, starting this September.

My future employer just learned that a HRSDC labour opinion could not be given for a part-time position, and so the process by which we thought I should obtain a work permit was not open. Someone in HR suggested that I should apply for a temporary work permit, but she didn't know much about it.

I've done some looking around the CIC website, and here are my concerns:

1) According to the application guide, I'm supposed to be able to satisfy an officer that I will leave Canada at the end of my employment. Under the circumstances, an officer is much more likely, and correctly, to believe that I don't intend to leave Canada. What should I do? I plan to apply for permanent residency, would making this clear help?

2) According to the same source, I'm supposed to be able to show that I have enough money to support myself in Canada. My job is part-time and low-paying; we will be relying on my husband's salary to support us. Most of our savings will have just been invested in our new house, so I won't have much in the way of liquid assets to show. I don't know what to do about this either. Should I provide a copy of my husband's contract to show that we will jointly have enough to live on?

It doesn't seem like the temporary work permit is really intended for someone in my position - will these stipulations prevent me from getting one? Is there any other course of action that would give me permission to work by the time my contract starts at the beginning of Sept?

Thanks very much for your time!

You can apply for permanent resident status and temporary status at the same time (dual intent). Doing so will not harm your application for permanent resident status. However, your application for temporary status may be affected because an impression will have been created that you do not intend to leave Canada upon the expiration of your temporary status. Evidence of ties outside of Canada would have to be provided to satisfy the officer of the likelihood to leave upon expiration of status.

Evidence of financial support is more commonly a requirement for those seeking visitor admission. It is not a common requirement of a foreign worker.

There are provisions for post-doctoral researchers which are exempt from the requirement of Confirmation.