Open Work Permit for Vulnerable Workers
These work permits are for people who are in an abusive situation at work or who may be at risk of abuse at work. Abuse can be physical, emotional, sexual, psychological, or financial. Please visit our Resources page on human trafficking to learn more about forms of financial abuse, as well as other signs that you may be in an abusive and potentially illegal job situation. If you are, you could qualify for an Open Work Permit for Vulnerable Workers.
Community Legal Education Ontario has a resource on their website for people filling out open work permits. Please contact us if you would like assistance filling out one of these permits.
Guided Pathway work permit: https://stepstojustice.ca/guided-pathways/guided-pathway-for-applying-for-an-open-work-permit/
The Government of Canada has a website with information about the process of filling out one of these permits. www.canada.ca/vulnerable-foreign-workers There is a video on the site, which has been translated into multiple languages. You can access translations here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCA6jA0Tld_queCvX9oXxdCJAxkgNdMnK
If you are granted an Open Work Permit for Vulnerable Workers, you will have the opportunity to find a job with almost any employer. Visit www.canada.ca/vulnerable-foreign-workers for details. If you wish to continue working in Canada after this work permit expires, you will need to either find a new job with an employer who has applied for a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), or you will have to ask your current employer if they are eligible to apply for an LMIA. You need to find a job with an LMIA before the Open Work Permit for Vulnerable Workers expires.
If you are eligible for Permanent Residency and are able to find an employer who is willing to support your application, they can hire you through an immigration pathway so that you don't have to apply for another LMIA job. Applications for Permanent Residency usually involve language skill testing as well as an assessment of your educational credentials. You need to find out whether you are eligible, and have an employer who is willing to support your application for PR, before your Open Work Permit expires. To find out whether you are eligible for PR, you can visit https://www.welcomenb.ca/content/dam/wel-bien/pdf/program_highlights-e.pdf for an overview of the different possible pathways to immigration. However, there is no information about the 2023 Critical Worker Pilot Program. For information on this Program, and more details on the others, visit https://www.welcomenb.ca/content/wel-bien/en/immigration_programs.html. If you have questions about information on the websites or in the program guides, you can contact an Immigration Navigator: https://onbcanada.ca/for-business/navigate-regulation/. You can also use the Canadian government’s Come to Canada tool: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/come-canada-tool.html. Here you will fill out a form to learn about your eligibility for different programs. The Canadian government offers pathways to immigration that you will not find on the New Brunswick website. The immigration process is complex, and you should consider reaching out to an immigration lawyer. If you want to hire an immigration consultant, this federal government website advises you on how to find someone who is legally authorized to represent or advise you: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigration-citizenship-representative/choose/authorized.html.