Immigration process to hire a V.I.E candidate in Canada

Natacha Mignon

Partner of the law firm Immetis

Natacha Mignon is a Franco-Canadian lawyer specialized in corporate immigration and international worker mobility in Canada. Partner of the law firm Immetis, Natacha is a member of the Paris and Quebec Bars.

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Throughout her career, she has been involved in numerous comparative studies between French and Quebec law and has published many popular articles regarding immigration. She is also a recognized speaker and often takes part in business conferences providing training in immigration and international mobility.

Her mission regarding the V.I.E program

In 2013, Natacha was appointed as legal advisor to the General Consulate of France in Montreal, then Quebec in 2018. As a dual citizen of both France and Canada, frequently travelling to Europe, Natacha is often chosen by French companies to manage their mobility projects in Canada. She assists Human Resources managers, business owners and investors with any immigration inquiries, such as:

• Identifying the best immigration strategies;
• Comprehensive preparation of work and student permits for Canada, as per requirements;
• Intra-company transfers or Labor Market Impact Assessments

For the past 3 years, Natacha has been assisting a lot of French companies looking to recruit young professionals through the V.I.E program, which is popular amongst her clients. She is also able to guide V.I.E candidates through the immigration process, both for themselves and for their family members.

During the pandemic, she explains it has been slightly more challenging to assist companies. The program, which is part of IEC (International Experience Canada), has been strongly affected and the companies had to turn to other work permits. Nevertheless, she notes that Canadian authorities made it possible to find solutions by continuously processing work permits.

Main steps of the immigration process in Canada

For the hosting companies, it is a very easy and straight-forward process. The whole process takes only about an hour. Once they have found the right candidate, they simply apply through the IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) online portal in 3 steps:

1. They submit an offer of employment
2. They pay the required fee through the platform
3. They share the job offer number with the candidate

In the meantime, the candidates can prepare all the documents they need for their application, including details regarding travels, family, etc. Once they have filled their application on the IRCC portal, the process will take an average of 2 months to obtain approval.

When they are approved, candidates will obtain a letter of introduction (LOI) enabling them to travel to Canada and receive their official visa at the boarder upon arrival.

Visa specificities for a V.I.E in Canada

Just as in every country, the immigration process in Canada is very strict and it is Natacha’s role to accompany her clients through it all. However, it is important to note that Canada welcomes about 400,000 foreign workers every year and benefits from a well-running immigration process.

In Canada, V.I.E candidates receive a closed work permit. It means that they are only allowed to work for their V.I.E employer at a specific location and their assignment is limited to the one described in the job offer.

The duration of the visa depends on the duration of the contract and can be up to 24 months. After this delay, the candidates must leave the country, except if they obtained a different visa in the meantime. The host companies often propose to hire the candidates at the end of their V.I.E. It is possible, but the candidates will still have to leave the country before entering again with a different work permit. Hence Natacha’s most important advice: “if the hiring company and candidate would like to continue working together once the V.I.E contract reaches its end, anticipate and apply for a new visa as soon as possible! It usually takes about 6 months to apply for a different kind of work permit.”

A final word for both companies and candidates interested by the V.I.E program

Do not forget that if you are a Canadian company registered in France, you are also eligible for the V.I.E program! To host a candidate, you must:

• Be registered in France;
• Own a business at least 1 year old;
• Prove that you make significant revenues in France;
• Have a minimum of 5 employees in France
• Have a subsidiary in Canada to host the young professional.

In 10 years of practice, Natacha has never met a V.I.E candidate who’s regretted his decision to come work in Canada. This valuable experience can always be emphasized during future interviews, and grant access to positions with more responsibility, years in advance as compared to someone who would remain in France.

As a conclusion, Natacha shares her personal experience as a worker in Canada: “After 13 years in Canada, I can say that it was tough at the beginning because I had to take the Bar exam again, but I now very much enjoy the freedom, the entrepreneurship spirit, the easiness to travel to the United States and the nature that makes Canada so famous. Living here is not something you decide, it is something you live.”

To dive deeper into the V.I.E program in Canada, Immetis and Business France are organizing a webinar on February 24, 2022 at 12:30pm EST.