International Hires

This post is for folks who are interested in working across national lines.

The upshoot, as far as I can tell from wrk4us listservs (February 23, 2010), is that it's nearly impossible. Most jobs want you to have work eligibility in hand, but most governments won't issue a work visa unless you already have a job. In other words, unless your jobs sponsors your work visa (most don't), you're SOL.

A poster located in a university in Canada suggested applying for the NAFTA visa if it is a US/Canada situation (i.e. U.S.ian who wants to work in Canada or vice versa). I can't imagine Mexican nationals will have the same luck as a Canadian getting into the US on a NAFTA visa, but perhaps I'm being overly pessimistic about U.S. policies towards Mexico and its citizens. Probably not.

For Canadians/USians, even if you don't go the NAFTA route, If you have extended family in Canada, you can apply for Family Class Relative. I think similar categories exist for the US and elsewhere. Under the Canadian protocol, your extended family has to agree to support you for ten years--i.e. you lose your job, you don't get unemployment benefits, etc. In Canada, domestic partners (het and gay) can sponsor each other without having to be married. If you aren't married (for whatever reason), you have to demonstrate that it is a real relationship. This extended family visa can take up to a year.

I believe I have read of U.S.ians "adopting" their Canadian partners so that the Canadian can legally be in the US. My google search isn't showing anything on adult adoptions, so I suspect I'm missing some critical details on this. Like, is this for real?

What happens if you aren't Canadian, US-ian, or Mexican, or don't want to work in NAFTA world? I think the work visa will be an issue where ever you go. If you can get a letter of employment from your prospective employer, you maybe be able to convince the host government to let you in. Otherwise, I guess you should look into marrying a local?