There are three ways to apply for a work permit in Canada:
- Applying online
- Sending a request by mail
- Visiting the border
I am writing here about the third option. I went in November 2015.
Visiting the border is the fastest way I could get my work permit, however, I should warn you that because that decision must be made at that very moment, many factors could play a positive or negative in your application. Some things I can think of at this moment are: making phone calls (someone must answer), and even if the agent who is evaluating is having a good or bad day. The current agent has all the power to accept or reject your application.
Please note I am not an Immigrant Consultant, and the content of this article and any others in this blog is to share my experience.
Don't Bring Electronics
The immigration consultant who helped me gave me some advice: do not bring any kind of electronics (a.k.a. cellphones). The officers at the border reserve the right to ask you for your cell phone if they see it. They have the right to look at their content. So, if you refuse to give it or you have on Facebook (or any other application) some content that could be misinterpreted (or not?) they can refuse your application.
So, don't bring electronics that could put your application at risk. I didn't bring any device, nor a book, it was the longest and boring waiting I have ever had.
Arriving at the Border to Apply for a Work Permit
You should know that not all Canadian entry points can give you a work permit. So, I had to go to the closest one that had that service. The immigration consultant' suggested we should go to St-Armand/Philipsburg, so we went there. Sadly, my boss at that time couldn't make it earlier, so we arrived there at 19.00 hours. The first step was trying to pass to the United States. If I didn't have a VISA, therefore we told the US agent you don't have any intention to cross, and that I needed only to bounce back to get to the Canada Immigration Office; they call this doing a pole flag. They gave me a white paper (administrative rejection I think), that paper is a must. I was about 1 hour in the US point waiting for this document.
When bouncing back, it was a little slow and we explained to all agents the same story. We wanted to reach the Immigration Office for a Work Permit. At the end of the day, we got there.
The Big Waiting
When we got into the office, there was not too much to do. An agent asked me what was my business there, and I only said I was coming for a Work Permit. I gave the work permit package and waited.
It was a long wait, in my case, it was almost 3 hours.
Negotiations
When the big wait ended, the agent wanted to refuse my application. The big argument was that nobody was answering the telephone. Yes I know, we went very late, but we didn't know at that time what they do. Another argument was he claimed I was lying because I didn't see him in the eyes. I must say he was very rude but that guy had all the power in his hand. I refused to talk to him in French and he couldn't believe that I hold two master's (one of them done in France), finally at third argument was that my LinkedIn profile was not showing all the information I gave in the application (since when a Government Entity uses Linkedin as a reliable source?)
Fortunately, my boss at that time was there. The agent was very aggressive. After my boss identified himself as the employer, the agent started to change his attitude. Anyway, after a long discussion, my boss got a 1-year work permit.
Getting the Work Permit
Canadian Immigration Agent gave me my new work permit pasted in my passport. I only had to pay for the process there, at that time it was 155 CAD.
Good Luck!