In order to comply with the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) regulation, Polytechnique Montréal does not register research interns as students. As indicated in IRCC’s Foreign Worker Manual (FW1), “unpaid employment undertaken for the purpose of obtaining work experience, such as an internship or practicum normally done by a student” must be considered as “work”. The same applies to paid employment. The regulation therefore requires that research interns hold a temporary work permit, which automatically defines their status in Canada.

Since that status is mandatory under Canada’s immigration regulations, Polytechnique will make no exception, except in the case of interns requesting a work permit exemption for movement order or research stays of a maximum of 120 consecutive days. In fact, the Government of Canada has introduced in 2018 a new policy allowing to exempt researchers from obtaining work permits as part of short research stays. Researchers being issued the exemption do not need to obtain a work permit. They are however considered, as the other interns, to be workers and not students.

Every student wishing to conduct a research internship at Polytechnique Montréal must obtain a work permit valid for the whole duration of the internship, wathever its duration, OR obtain a visitor record stating that he/she has been issued a work permit exemption for a research stay of a maximum of 120 consecutive days.

WORK PERMIT

Upon reception of your official invitation letter from Polytechnique Montréal, you have to apply for a work permit at the Canadian Visa Office (Embassy, High Commission or Consulate) that serves the area you live in.

Your temporary work permit must be exempted from the two following documents:

• Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) of Employment and Social Developement (ESDC)
• Québec Acceptance Certificate (CAQ) for temporary work of Ministère de l’Immigration, Diversité et Inclusion Québec (MIDI)

You CANNOT get a LMIA for an internship at Polytechnique Montréal since we won't collaborate in this procedure.

Work permit exemption

RESEARCH INTERNSHIP – MAXIMUM OF 120 DAYS

If your research internship does not exceed 120 consecutive days and if the known elements of your file - as well as if your expected contribution in the internship - appear to meet the parameters of the work permit exemption for short research stays, Polytechnique Montréal could support you in your work permit exemption request.

The process first requires that documents be submitted in order to receive an answer from IRCC regarding a researcher’s eligibility to the exemption.

If you do not require a visa to enter Canada: this opinion letter request is made by Polytechnique Montréal to IRCC’s International Mobility Worker Unit (IMWU). If IRCC’s IMWU issues a favourable opinion letter, Polytechnique will forward it to you, along with all the documents which have been presented to obtain this opinion and your invitation letter. You will then be able to travel to Canada, where the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) representative who will handle your request at the point of entry will decide whether the exempted will be issued to you. The final decision on the exemption issuance rests with the agent.

If you require a visa to enter Canada: you must submit your visa application to the Canadian visa office servicing your country. In that case, Polytechnique Montréal will provide you with the necessary immigration documents to justify your work permit exemption. If your visa is approved by IRCC, you will then be able to travel to Canada, where the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) representative who will handle your request at the point of entry will decide whether the exemption will be issued to you. The final decision on the exemption issuance rests with the agent.

Find out if you need a visa to enter Canada by consulting IRCC website.

MOVEMENT ORDER

Students under military status can be exempted from work permit if their internship is the subject of a movement order from an institution coming under an army present in Canada. Their movement order should outline that they are coming to Canada from countries designated under the terms of the Canadian Visiting Forces Act.

The most common LMIA and CAQ exemptions for research interns are:

• Participating in the Youth Mobility Program of Canada, also called « International Experience Canada » : eligibility criteria and list of countries that have a bilateral youth mobility arrangement with Canada are available on the IRCC website. Consult as well the application process at a glance to get your work permit;
• Being a Ph.D. student holder of a research scholarship granted strictly on the basis of academic excellence (either award granted by a foreign institution or by Polytechnique Montréal);
• Being enrolled in an university that has an exchange agreement with Polytechnique Montréal and for which reciprocity can be demonstrated.

Additional LMIA exemption codes are listed on the IRCC website.

Application processing times for temporary work permit or 120-day work permit exemption but requiring a visa may vary from an office to another. Processing times are available on Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada website. Polytechnique Montréal doesn’t have the authority to influence on delays in obtaining the required immigration documents.

If you don’t need a visa but you are eligible to the 120-day work permit exemption, (see Work permit or Work permit exemption issuance above section), the process first requires that documents be submitted in order to receive an opinion letter from IRCC regarding a researcher’s eligibility to the exemption. This opinion letter request is made by Polytechnique Montréal to IRCC’s International Mobility Worker Unit (IMWU). The IMWU usually requires less than 10 working days from the reception of complete documents to issue an opinion.

Once your temporary worker’s application for a work permit is approved, you will receive an authorization letter, also known as a Letter of Introduction (LOI). The valid work permit will be issued upon your arrival in Canada. You’ll have to show your LOI to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officer at your point of entry into Canada.

The LOI does not guarantee your entry in Canada. The CBSA officer may refuse the issue of a work permit or the entry in Canada on criminal, security, medical or other grounds.

In the case of a work permit exemption request for a research stay of a maximum of 120 consecutive days, it is at your entry point in Canada that you will present your exemption request to the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) with supporting documents. The opinion letter by IMWU or the visa provided by the Canadian Visa Office does not guarantee that you will be exempted from a work permit. The final decision in that matter will be made by the agent at your point of entry.

In addition to a work permit, citizens of some countries must also obtain either a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) or an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) to enter Canada.

TRV is normally issued for multiple entries and is obtained abroad at the same time of the work permit.

The ETA must be requested online before flying to Canada for those who require a work permit of less than 120 days.

Find out if you need a Temporary Resident Visa or an Electronic Travel Authorization by consulting this webpage.

Starting July 31 2018, all citizens from Europe, Middle East and Africa will need to provide their biometrics. From December 31 2018, this requirement will be extended to applicants abroad from Asia, Asia-Pacific and the Americas.

Biometrics (photographs and fingerprints) are used by the Canadian government to establish a person’s identity. Citizens of some countries must provide their biometrics during the application process for a work permit. If this step applies to you, fees will apply and you will need to go to an Application Support Center (ASC) or a Visa Application Center (VAC) in the United States of America or to a VAC in other countries for providing your fingerprints and a photograph.

Take note that processing times on the IRCC website do not include the time it would take you to go to a VAC to provide your biometrics.

Once collected, biometrics remain valid for ten years.

You will find out if you need to provide biometric data by consulting this webpage.

To know more about this topic, please consult the IRCC website.

If you wish to extend your work permit, you must apply before your immigration documents experience and get a new letter of invitation from Polytechnique Montréal. To get more information about the procedures, consult the IRCC website.

If you have obtained a work permit with the International Experience Canada Program, you will find information on this website.

If you have obtained the 120-day work permit exemption, you can’t extend your research activity at Polytechnique Montréal.

The Canadian Government Bill C-35 (pdf in French only) doesn’t allow university employees to give any personal advice in terms of federal immigration procedures, unless we are representatives authorized by law to do so (i.e. immigration consultants, lawyers, notaries). We are currently restricted to giving general information. Thus, we cannot comment on your particular case. Should you wish to know which rules apply to your specific situation, we invite you to contact Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada at 1-888-242-2100 or by email at question@cic.gc.ca if you are in Canada. If you are abroad, contact the Canadian Visa Office in charge of your territory. Please note that it can take some time before you receive an answer.