Dear Border Crossing:
We are assuming that you are referring to Prince Edward Island (PEI) in Canada. We can offer you the Canadian rules on temporary entry to Canada for employment. Under the NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), a US citizen can easily obtain a work permit - officially called Employment Authorization (EA) - for temporary employment in Canada. Here are the details:
If you are an American or Mexican citizen and you are seeking to enter
Canada on a temporary basis to engage in the trade of goods, provision
of services, or in investment activities, there is a good possibility that
you will qualify for eased entry under the NAFTA.
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Note: "American
citizen" includes residents of the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth
of Puerto Rico but does not include residents of Guam, the Commonwealth
of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, and the United States
Virgin Islands.
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General
requirements
There are four general
requirements you must meet in order to be granted temporary entry to Canada
under the NAFTA:
1. You must be an American or Mexican citizen.
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Note: A valid
passport is the best proof of citizenship. In the absence of a
passport, which American citizens do not require in order to travel
to Canada, proof can be provided in the form of a certificate
of citizenship or a birth certificate. Becasue the birth certificate
is not a secure document, be prepared to show some additional
identification which bears a photograph, such as a driver's licence.
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You do not
qualify for eased access under the NAFTA if
- You are a permanent
resident of the United States or Mexico, but a citizen of a non-NAFTA
country; or
- You are working
in the United States or Mexico on an employment authorization, but are
a citizen of a non-NAFTA country.
You may, however,
continue to have access to Canada through the normal procedures for the
entry of temporary foreign workers.
2. You must qualify in one of the four categories of business persons
defined in the NAFTA: business visitors, professionals, intra-company
transferees, or traders and investors .
3. You must be seeking temporary entry only.
Temporary entry
means that you have no intention of remaining in Canada permanently. Your
status in Canada will be that of "visitor". If you wish to remain permanently,
you must go through the normal immigration procedures for permanent residence
and apply from outside of Canada.
4. You must meet the universal immigration requirements governing temporary
entry to Canada.
Remember that even
if you are covered under the NAFTA, you may be affected by other provisions
of Canada's Immigration Act and Regulations. The existence of certain
medical conditions or a criminal record, for example, may mean that entry
cannot be granted.
Depending on the
type of job you will have and where you have lived during the past year,
you may be required to have a medical examination. If you want to work
in the field of health services, you will need a medical examination and
a satisfactory medical assessment before you can be issued an employment
authorization.
If any of these
circumstances applies to you (or your accompanying family members), it
would be wise to seek advice from a Canadian embassy or consulate before
travelling to Canada.
Remember that the
NAFTA does not replace the general provisions for temporary entry to Canada,
but merely adds to them. When you are seeking entry to Canada, a Canadian
immigration officer will decide whether it is more advantageous to you,
as the client, to be admitted under the general provisions for temporary
foreign workers or under the NAFTA. In either case, all other provisions
of Canadian immigration law remain in effect with respect to travel and
identity documentation and the protection of public health, safety, and
national security.
Dear Mentor:
