Immigration Operational Bulletin 649 - Issuing work permits for Seaspan above-deck retrofit foreign workers

Summary

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has determined that due to economic investment and job creation in British Columbia, the activities of the foreign nationals fall under paragraph 205(a) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, under Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) exemption code C10.

Issue

The purpose of this Operational Bulletin is to provide information and instructions applicable to foreign workers seeking employment at the Seaspan shipyards in Vancouver and Victoria.

Background

Seaspan is an association of Canadian companies primarily involved in coastal marine transportation, ship docking, ship escort, ship repair and shipbuilding services in western North America. International cruise ships regularly dry-dock at the Seaspan shipyards in Vancouver and Victoria to conduct major retrofit and maintenance work for a period of 2 to 5 weeks. The below-deck portion is typically completed by Canadian tradespeople, while the above-deck retrofit work is done by temporary foreign workers under pre-existing contracts with foreign companies.

The workers are from various countries requiring both temporary resident visas and electronic travel authorizations. Work permits are to be issued for the duration of the contract.

The International Brotherhood of Boilermakers union has been consulted and is supportive of the project. Each application will be accompanied by a document issued by the union indicating that the union has no objections to the issuance of the work permits.

The employer on record, who will not be Seaspan and will instead be an enterprise contracted by Seaspan, will enrol in the Employer Portal and submit offers of employment for all workers.

For workers from visa exempt countries:

The employer must submit the offer of employment in the Employer Portal. Each offer of employment is subject to the $230 employer compliance fee. The offer of employment must be submitted along with the employer compliance fee payment before the worker applies for their work permit.

The worker can apply for a work permit at a visa office or at the port of entry and must present the offer of employment number and the union letter.

The foreign national will be required to pay the $155 work permit application fee.

For workers from visa required countries:

The employer must submit the offer of employment in the Employer Portal. Each offer of employment is subject to the $230 employer compliance fee.

The worker can apply for a visa and a work permit online, by paper or at a visa application centre‎, using the offer of employment number, and must present the union letter. The foreign national may also present documents supporting the use of LMIA exemption code C10 (Significant Benefit).