Visiting Canada In Seattle

So yesterday we left Vancouver to visit Seattle so we can visit Canada. Confused? Well you won’t be after I explain. We’re down in Seattle so we can visit the Consulate General Of Canada office. This is the place that issues work permits to US residents so they can work in Canada. The work permit is for Sarah. She’s getting bored with doing nothing and decided that an option of being able to work in Canada would be cool. However, being a US resident, she is not allowed to work in Canada without a work permit. So that meant a trip to Seattle.

The one common thing I have discovered about Consulate offices, whether from Canada or any other country, is that they are open for only a few hours a day. In the case of the one in Seattle, its operating hours are 8AM-10AM. I don’t know many businesses can survive on those hours but the Canadian government isn’t a business.

In order to get a work permit, you have to supply an offer letter from a Canadian company offering you a job. The company normally has to prove that they can’t get the employee locally. However, in the case of IT workers, no proof is required because there is a huge shortage of IT workers everywhere. This is the loophole we’ll be using to get the work permit.

We’ll be heading back to Vancouver tonight.