Canada facilitates settlement of immigrants in Yukon communities

The Government of Canada is helping Yukon communities to recruit and retain immigration candidates through open work permits.

The Yukon Community Pilot (YCP), a stream under the Yukon Nominee Program (YNP), was launched in January 2020 and is expected to run for three years. The pilot will help six targeted Yukon communities attract immigrants and facilitate their permanent settlement.

The Yukon is a sparsely populated territory in northwestern Canada, with an active and diverse labour market where employers often rely on seasonal workers.

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Under the YCP stream, foreign nationals may be issued a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) exempt open work permit for a specific community, instead of a single employer. These individuals will, therefore, be able to hold multiple jobs in the same community.

To qualify for an open work permit, candidates need to have a valid nomination for permanent residence from the Yukon and two or three job offers from up to three employers who are based in one the following participating Yukon Territory communities:

Carcross
Carmacks
Dawson City
Haines Junction
Watson Lake
Whitehorse

Eligibility criteria for the YCP

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) specified that all job offers for each foreign national must be in the same community but not necessarily from only one employer. In addition, a person working for the same employer in two different positions must have two job offers.

"Each job offer must reflect work in a single National Occupational Classification (NOC). For example, a person working part-time as a receptionist at a hotel and part-time as a waiter at the hotel bar should have two job offers, even if the employer is the same for both," says IRCC.

The idea behind this approach is to allow for greater flexibility so that individuals can more easily accumulate 1,560 hours in a single year, or the equivalent of a full-time annual job.

If an employer is forced to withdraw from the agreement because they can no longer afford to provide the required number of hours of work, the Government of Yukon will actively support applicants in finding alternative work opportunities so that they can maintain full-time, year-round employment.

Further work permit details

IRCC will issue an open work permit to foreign nationals with a mandatory condition limiting the work location to the participating Yukon community. The work permits will be valid for 2 years from the date of the decision or the date of entry into Canada or until the expiry of the travel document, whichever comes first.

Work permit applications must be submitted electronically. Individuals may not apply for the YCP work permit at ports of entry.

The spouse or common-law partner of the principal applicant may also be issued an open work permit. This work permit will only be issued if the principal applicant is employed in at least one NOC Skill Type 0 or Skill Level A or B position, will be limited to the same community as the principal applicant's place of employment, and will also be valid for a maximum of 2 years.

For more information on working in Canada, please contact wp@canadavisa.com

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