•
•
•
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person with a study permit; or person with a TRP)
Foreign national who
o Cannot support themselves without working, and
They made a refugee claim that has been referred to the Refugee
Protection Division but has not been determined; or
Is subject to an unenforceable removal order.
o Is a member of the live-in caregiver class;
o Is a member of the spouse or common-law partner in Canada class;
o Is a protected person recognized under s. 95(2) of the IRPA;
o Has applied to become a permanent resident under humanitarian and
compassionate grounds and the Minister has granted them an exemption; or
o Is a family member of a person described in any of the four preceding
categories (ie. live-in caregiver class; spouse or common-law partner in
Canada class; protected person; exemption granted by the Minister for an
application for permanent residence)
Foreign national who applied for a work permit before entering Canada and the application
was approved in writing but they have not been issued the permit;
Foreign national who is applying as a trader or investor, intra-company transferee or
professional
Foreign national permitted to work at a foreign mission in Canada.216
Once a work permit is granted, the permit can be subject to several conditions, such as, the type
of work you can do, the employer you can work for, where you can work, or how long you can
work.217 The fee for processing a work permit is between $100 and $155.218 Permits vary in
duration depending on the work, but can require renewal every 6 months to a year.
Of particular interest are stateless persons in Canada who are issued a work permit because they
are the subject of an unenforceable removal order and require the permit in order to meet their
basic needs.219 This is a situation that stateless persons may find themselves, as there is no
country to which they can return and they do not have access to social assistance. Such work
permits may need to be renewed indefinitely while a stateless person is subject to an
unenforceable removal order and in legal limbo.
c. Employment Standards Legislation
Once a valid work permit is obtained, federal and provincial legislation provides protection to
foreign nationals in the workplace against discrimination in employment contracts as well as
IRPR, supra note 21 at s. 199.
Ibid., at s. 185(b).
218
Ibid., at s. 299. The Citizenship and Immigration Canada website states that the fee for an “open work permit”
(permit that is not tied to a particular employer) is $100. This fee or term is not found in the IRPR, but see,
Citizenship and Immigration Canada, “Fee list”, (3 March 2015) available at:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/fees/fees.asp.
219
IRPR, supra note 21 at s. 206(1)(b).
216
217
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