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| Applicant Information |
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Immigration Requirements
Foreign trainees must obtain a work permit before starting their training at McGill University. This permit is issued for a period of time equal to that of the Letter of Eligibility from the Collège des médecins du Québec (CMQ), but not beyond the expiry date of the trainee’s passport, and must be renewed as required. You may visit the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) web site for further details.
A foreign trainee accepted into residency or fellowship is registered as a medical resident with a work permit from CIC which enables him to work in the McGill University hospital centers. Should a trainee wish to pursue a Master’s or a Ph.D. program of study while working as a medical resident, he is also required to obtain a Study CAQ from Immigration Quebec and a Study Permit from CIC. Information on this process can be obtained from the office of International Student Services, Brown Student Services Building, Suite 3215, telephone number 514-398-4349.
The immigration process for foreign physicians, who have been accepted by the Associate Dean's Office in one of our programs, is as follows. For new trainees, please read the following. For returning trainees, please click here. New Trainees
1. Foreign trainees who have entered
Canada as visitors cannot apply for a work permit and/or Temporary
Resident Visa from within Canada. They must leave Canada to submit a
work permit application to a
visa office at a Canadian embassy, high commission or consulate
abroad. Prior to submitting an application, it is best to contact the
visa office to see if it is necessary to fill out any additional forms
or provide any additional documents. The trainee should ensure that his
passport is valid for the duration of his training and that the necessary Temporary Resident Visa
(multiple entry) is obtained (please click here to check the
list of countries and territories whose citizens need a visa).
2. When the trainee has been accepted at
McGill, the CMQ application forms for a Letter of Eligibility and for a
Training Card must be completed and returned to the Postgraduate Medical
Education (PGME) office. PGME submits the application forms to the CMQ
on the trainee’s behalf. Please note that the Letter of Eligibility,
when issued, determines the length of the trainee’s stay in Quebec.
3. Once PGME receives the Letter of
Eligibility, PGME provides a copy to the trainee via
email as a PDF Adobe Acrobat attachment. The trainee must attach a copy
of the Letter of Eligibility to his work permit
application. 4. Applying for a work permit from outside Canada: The trainee contacts a visa office to apply for a work permit (and if appropriate a Temporary Resident Visa (multiple entry)). Consult the relevant visa office Web site regarding accepted methods of submitting applications. The trainee must download the appropriate forms for an application for a work permit (click Immigration applications for persons outside Canada and then click Working in Canada) and submit these with the required documents and payment of processing fee to the visa office through which he is applying. The visa office will require a copy of the trainee’s McGill University, Faculty of Medicine letter of offer and other relevant documents to open an immigration dossier. As part of this immigration application, the trainee must undergo a mandatory physical medical examination by a Designated Medical Practitioner. When the visa office receives the trainee’s application for a work permit, the trainee is informed of his file/dossier number and is provided with a list of medical practitioners (see link above) in his area who perform this mandatory exam. It can take up to ten weeks for the visa office to receive the medical clearance results and the work permit will not be issued without this mandatory document.
Applying for a work permit from within Canada:
The trainee
must download the appropriate
forms for an application for a work permit
(click Immigration applications for persons in Canada and
then click Worker) and submit these with the required
documents and payment of processing fee to Citizenship and Immigration
Canada - Case Processing Centre in Vegreville, Alberta, Canada. 5. When the trainee arrives in Canada, he needs to present the letter of approval, which he obtained from the visa office, to the Canadian officer at the port of entry. A work permit valid for the length of training (but not beyond the expiration date of the trainee’s passport) will be issued to the trainee.
6. The trainee must send a legible copy of his work permit to our office by email (PDF, JPG, or TIFF format) or mail, or deliver a copy in person, in order to be fully registered and to legally work in the hospital.
7. Information on the Quebec Provincial Medical Insurance Plan (Quebec Medicare - RAMQ) can be found at http://www.medicine.mcgill.ca/postgrad/registrationinfo_healthinsurance.htm.
8. Information on obtaining a social insurance card can be found at http://www.medicine.mcgill.ca/postgrad/registrationinfo_sin.htm. 1. In order to renew his work permit, the returning trainee first needs to hold a valid Letter of Eligibility. If need be, PGME obtains a new Letter of Eligibility from the CMQ. 2. Four months prior to the expiration date of his work permit, PGME sends instructions to the trainee for renewal of the work permit, along with a copy of the Letter of Eligibility and McGill University's job offer letter, via email. The trainee needs to attach the two documents to his work permit application.
3. The forms necessary to apply for a work permit and to pay fees are available on the CIC Web site at http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/extend-worker.asp. The trainee submits the application electronically or by mail to the CIC Case Processing Centre in Vegreville, Alberta, Canada, along with the required documents for the trainee and each member of the family. The trainee should keep the post office/courier receipt or the online application confirmation as proof that he applied for a work permit.
4. The returning trainee must make sure that his name and birth date on his new work permit appears exactly as they are written in his passport. He must send a legible copy of the valid work permit to PGME by email (PDF, JPG, or TIFF format) or mail, or he may deliver a copy in person, in order to be registered and to continue to legally work in the hospital.
5. The trainee who needs to renew his
visa will have to send his passport out of the country to the Canadian
embassy or consulate of his choice. The two that are closest to Montreal
are Buffalo and New York City. Below is a link to the CIC website where
you will find the guide and forms necessary to apply for a Temporary
Resident Visa. When applying for a visa renewal the trainee needs to print and attach to his visa application, a McGill University Letter of Standing. To generate the Letter of Standing the trainee can go to the Resident Only Site: http://www.medicine.mcgill.ca/postgrad/residentsonly.htm and click on Login here through Banner "Sign In". Please note that the trainee should apply for a Multiple Entry visa which will allow him to enter Canada from any country multiple times during the validity of the visa. 6. Trainees on a work permit who are also registered in a second program must also hold a Study CAQ and Study Permit. Information is available at: http://www.mcgill.ca/internationalstudents/. This page was last edited on 22 May, 2013 |