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Visa related services

Running provides professional visa-related services, including application and extension of various types of visas, visiting records, study permits, and work permits.

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Visa Services

Temporary Visitor Visa TRV: Tourist, Family visit, Student's accompanying parents

Temporary Visitor Visa TRV: Chinese citizens entering Canada for tourism, visiting relatives, or accompanying students as parents need to apply for a Temporary Visitor Visa TRV. Generally, the TRV is valid for 10 years, or the same as the passport, and can be used for multiple round trips. After entering Canada, you can stay for up to six months.

Visitor Record

If a temporary visitor needs to extend his/her stay in the country, he/she can apply for a visitor record in the country before his/her visa expires.

It is recommended to apply 30 days before your visa expires.

Super visa

Parents or grandparents of Canadian citizens or permanent residents who plan to stay in Canada for more than six months can apply for a super visa. A super visa is valid for 10 years, or the same as the passport, and can be used for multiple visits. Applicants can enter Canada with a valid super visa and stay for 5 years at a time.


Note: For parents/grandparents who entered Canada with a super visa before June 22, 2023 and have not left Canada, the stay period will be based on the period given by the border official at the time of entry. If you need to extend your stay, there are two options:

1. Leave Canada before the expiration of the given period and re-enter with a valid Super Visa to obtain a 5-year stay;

2. Apply for a visitor record in the country to extend your stay.

Study Permit

Study permit application

Chinese citizens who come to Canada to study usually need to apply for a study permit before they can legally study in  school. Except for special circumstances, college students, university students, master's students, and doctoral students must first apply for a study permit before they can enter the country to study.

 

For primary and secondary school students, if their father and mother do not have a study permit or work permit, they also need to apply for a study permit to enter Canada to attend primary and secondary school. Minors studying in Canada need to be accompanied by a guardian.

 

Study permit renewal

The validity period of a student visa for K-8 grade students is generally 1 year.

 

The study permit for students in grades 9-12 (9-11 in Quebec) is generally equal to the length of their studies plus 90 days, with a maximum of 4 years.

The length of a study visa for college, undergraduate, master's and doctoral students is generally the length of study plus 90 days.


It is recommended to apply for renewal 90 days before the expiration of the study permit to avoid delays in the application.

 

Lost Study Permit Replacement

If the study permit is lost, you should apply to the IRCC for a replacement in a timely manner. To facilitate the application for a replacement, it is strongly recommended to scan and back up the study permit when obtaining it, just in case.

 

Visitor-to-student planning and application

For those who are older, whose study permits have been rejected repeatedly, or who cannot apply to their ideal school due to poor language skills, they can choose visitor-to-student planning to make their Canadian university dream become true.


The visitor-to-student means that students enter Canada with a tourist visa, enroll in university preparatory courses or language schools (the study period does not exceed 6 months), and then apply for a study permit inside  Canada after meeting the university's admission standards and receiving an admission letter.


Since the transfer from a visitor to a student requires strictly following the time line, it is necessary to make a suitable plan and make relevant preparations in advance.

 

Running Immigration Service provides comprehensive and detailed planning services for every customer who wants to adopt the visitor-to-student strategy, allowing customers to smoothly transform from tourist status to student status.

Work Permit

Labour Market Impact Assessment LMIA

 

Unless the employee meets the work permit exemption conditions, LMIA exemption, or holds an open work permit, an employer generally needs to apply to the Canadian Employment and Development Department (ESDC) for a Labour Market Impact Assessment and obtain a positive or neutral result before recruiting foreign workers. Foreign workers apply for a work permit with LMIA.

 

 A Work permit can be open or close. Closed work permits have designated employers, while open work permits do not have designated employers. Work permits supported by LMIA are all closed work permits. After the employer applies for LMIA, the employee obtains the LMIA information and then applies for the corresponding work permit.

 

There are many types of open work permits, the most common ones are graduate open work permits, spouse work permits, bridge work permits, etc. ​

 

Graduation Work Permit PGWP

Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) is a common type of open work permit. After graduation, if international students meet the requirements of the post-graduation work permit, they can obtain an open work permit with a validity period of 8 months to 3 years, which will facilitate their job search.

 

Post-graduation work permit requirements include:

1. Completed studies at a DLI school with an PGWP eligibility major (you can check whether you can obtain a PGWP after completing your major study on the IRCC website: Designated learning institutions list - Canada.ca);

2. The duration of the program is not less than 8 months;

3. Except for the last semester during which you can study part-time, you need to keep full-time study; if you have authorized leave, the maximum leave time is 150 days;

4. Have a valid study permit within 180 days before applying;

5. Apply within 180 days after receiving the school transcript, confirmation of completion of studies or graduation certificate, whichever is received first.

 

Note: During the study period, you should not violate the regulations about study permits, such as taking unauthorized leave for more than 150 days, working off-campus for more than 20 hours/week, or not studying full-time before the last semester, etc. These may lead to the rejection of the post-graduation work permit application.

 

If your study permit has not expired when you apply for a post-graduation work permit, you can work full-time off-campus while waiting for the post-graduation work permit, provided that you meet the full-time work requirements when studying. If your study permit has expired when you apply for a post-graduation work permit, you can apply for restoration of your study permit within 90 days of the expiration and apply for a post-graduation work permit at the same time.

 

Under the new IRCC policy, the validity period of the PGWP is:

1. Master's degree program: As long as the duration of study is not less than 8 months, you can apply for a 3-year post-graduation work permit;

2. Non-master's degree program:

(1) The duration of the major is 8 months to 2 years (not included): The validity period of the post-graduation work permit is the same as the duration of the major;

(2) The duration of the major is 2 to 3 years: The validity period of the post-graduation work permit is 3 years.

 

LMIA is not required for applying for a post-graduation work permit, and the LMIA exemption code is C43.

 

CO-OP paid internship work permit

 

Co-op work permit (Co-op work permit or internship work permit) is applicable to students whose study program includes Co-op internship. In addition to a valid study permit, to apply for a Co-op work permit, you must also have a letter from the school proving that the internship is an essential part of the study program and that the internship does not exceed 50% of the total program.

 

Co-op work permit application does not require LMIA, and the LMIA exemption code is C32.

 

Students: Spouse/common-law partner open work permit

 

Due to IRCC's tightening of the student spouse work permit policy, from April 30, 2024, only spouses/common-law partners of valid study permit holders studying in the following programs can apply for an open work permit:

1. Master's degree or doctoral degree

2. Pilot program that meets the requirements: Quebec's Skills Recognition Program for International Recruitment of Nurses and Caregivers

3. Studied one of the following professional degree programs at university:

  • Dentistry (DDS, DMD) Law Bachelor

  • Doctor of Laws (LLB, JD, BCL)

  • Medicine (MD)

  • Optometry (OD) Pharmacy (PharmD, BSc, BSc, BPS)

  • Veterinary Medicine (DVM)

  • Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN, BSN, BNSc)

  • Bachelor of Education (BEd)

  • Bachelor of Engineering (BEng, BE, BASc)

Work Permit Holders: Spouse/Common-law Partner Open Work Permit

 

The spouse or common-law partner of a work permit holder may apply for a spousal work permit if the work permit is valid for at least 6 months at the time of  application. An LMIA is not required to apply for a spousal work permit. 

 

Bridge Open Work Permit

 

A Bridge Open Work Permit allows applicants from certain economic immigration programs to work legally in Canada after submitting their permanent residency application and passing an R10 complete check or positive eligibility assessment.

 

If the principal applicant applied for permanent residency through the following programs, they can apply for a Bridge Open Work Permit after passing the completeness check:

  • Federal Express Entry Skilled Worker Class

  • Federal Express Entry Experience Class

  • Federal Express Entry Skilled Trades Class

  • Provincial or territorial Provincial Nominee Program, and the Provincial Nominee has no employment restrictions (if the Provincial Nomination Letter states that you can only be employed by a specific employer, you are not eligible).

  • Quebec Skilled Worker Class (QSWC)


​If the principal applicant has applied for permanent residency through the following programs, they can apply for a bridge open work permit after passing a positive eligibility assessment:

  • Agri-food Pilot (AFP) Caring for children or people with high medical needs (before June 18, 2019)

  • Home Child-care Provider Pilot (HCCP)

  • Home Support Worker Pilot (HSWP)

  • Provincial nomination is not an Express Entry program, and the provincial nomination has no employment restrictions (if the provincial nomination letter indicates that you can only be employed by a specific employer, you are not eligible).

 

An LMIA is not required to apply for a BOWP, the LMIA exemption code is A75.

 

The status of the principal applicant at the time of application must meet the following conditions:

  • The principal applicant must be in Canada when submitting the application, but can leave the country after submitting the application;

  • The principal applicant must have a valid work permit, or the work permit has expired but has maintained status, or is eligible to restore the work permit when submitting the application.

 

Note: If the principal applicant submits an application for a bridge open work permit before the work permit expires, as long as he does not leave Canada, he can work legally even if the work permit expires, because he/she has maintained status before obtaining the bridge open work permit. However, if the applicant leaves the country after the work permit expires, the maintained status will be terminated. Before obtaining the bridge open work permit, even if you return to Canada, you cannot continue to work.

 

According to the new IRCC policy, it is no longer required to hold a work permit valid at least 4 months when submitting a bridge open work permit. After the principal applicant obtains a bridge open work permit, the spouse/common-law partner can apply for a spouse open work permit, provided that the bridge work permit is valid for at least 6 months when submitting the spouse open work permit. Spouses/common-law partners do not need an LMIA to apply for the spouse open work permit, the LMIA exemption code is C49.

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