Working in Canada as an Athlete
Working in Canada as an Athlete
The sports system in Canada has a three-tiered structure: sports organizations of national, provincial and municipal importance. These organizations are respectively funded from the federal, provincial and municipal budgets. For example, a typical urban swimming pool is funded by the local municipality, while the National Swimming Team of Canada receives federal funding. Sports organizations in Canada are actively promoting a healthy lifestyle, creating special programs for the development of professional sports, family sports, sports for the disabled. The Government of Canada supports special programs aimed at educating the younger generation in sports traditions, funds are allocated for the construction of athletic facilities and the development of sports schools throughout the country. Most Canadians are active fans and are proud of their national activities such as hockey, basketball, football, figure skating, etc. Professional sports clubs are united in Leagues that bring up promising youth. National sports teams have the right to enter into commercial agreements, receive funding from sponsors, set the number of membership fees and pay salaries to players. Foreign athletes and sports representatives can work there temporarily or permanently. If a human being decided to immigrate to Canada and he or she is a professional sportsman, then the most preferable option is to move to the country under the Self-Employed program. Thanks to this program, you can get permanent residence and even citizenship, subject to all the conditions for immigration. The article will consider all of the possible ways to work in Canada as an athlete.
Working in Canada as an Athlete: LMIA Exemptions
The Canadian government is looking for outstanding athletes who can easily and quickly join local sports teams or open their own sports clubs in order to further bring victories in various sports events, both local and global, praising Canada and its sporting achievements or training the younger generation. The country has a significant number of athlete jobs for foreigners and Canadian citizens. There is no discrimination and all athletes' applications must be treated fairly in accordance with the national labour law. The role of athletes in Canada is listed by the National Occupational Classification (NOC). This means that if your job is an athlete, then you could potentially have an in-demand position for Canadian Immigration. The Canadian National Occupational Code 5251 now defines the job of athletes. This indicates that if you play the character of an athlete, you may be sought in Canada. Usually, an applicant who wants to immigrate to Canada needs to register with Express Entry, which is a system for selecting qualified immigrants as permanent residents based on their ability to settle in Canada and participate in the country's economy. Potential candidates submit their applications online in the Express Entry system, in which they documentarily prove their suitability for rating selection (language, education, speciality, and so on). After filling out the profile with the necessary documents, the candidate enters the general system for selecting participants. The winners are determined based on the number of points or points they have scored. People who apply for a work permit with the system require a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) initiated by their employers but athletes are LMIA exempt and apply under significant benefit conditions which include the category of self-employed applicants.
Working in Canada as an Athlete: Self-Employed Immigration Program
Self-Employed Immigration to Canada is considered less popular than other programs. For example, a potential candidate has a better chance and a quicker way to immigrate to Canada through one of the three Express Entry programs. However, all of these programs are designed for applicants with qualified work experience in high-profile jobs in Canada. All individuals, who have applied are included in a single list, in which there is a rating system of assessment based on the points scored for the skills and abilities of the candidate. It is worth noting that the minimum requirements in Express Entry programs are quite demanding and in order to be attractive to a Canadian employer, you need to get a high score. That is why the Canadian government has allocated the Self-Employed Immigration Program specifically for applicants who may benefit the country, but in Express Entry programs will have a low chance of receiving an invitation for permanent residence. A person who is considered self-employed is one who works for himself. This category includes candidates who are athletes or farmers, entertainers or artists, writers or journalists, directors or actors, etc. In this case, a creative activity mustn't be a hobby, but a profitable field of activity. In this case, the candidate must be engaged in his own business for the last 5 years and the total employment was 2 years. The Canadian government has established separate requirements for the length of work experience for a particular field of activity. Naturally, the more work experience and the importance of the very field of activity in society, the more likely the candidate is to get the right to immigration to Canada. To apply for the program, a human being must have 2 years of experience in sports (as an athlete, coach, referee, etc) activities and take part in events on a global scale. The prospective candidate must have the intention of making a valuable contribution to the sports areas of activity in Canada.
Working in Canada as an Athlete: Direct Permanent Residency in Canada
In all immigration programs in Canada, potential candidates are rated on a point scale. The Self-Employed Program is no different, but it has a significantly lower passing score than other programs. As a result, potential candidates with sports experience are more likely to immigrate to Canada with minimal skills and basic background. The minimum passing score for Self-Employed is 35. The maximum score is 100. The categories in which the points are taken into account are as follows: knowledge of English or French, age, education, work experience, adaptation. As a result, an applicant of the proper age who has a minimum of two years of work experience and a basic understanding of a foreign language is already able to apply for this Self-Employed immigration program. The more a potential candidate gains points, the higher he or she rises in the ranking among other applicants and, accordingly, has more chances and faster to receive an invitation to receive permanent residence. It should be noted that the selection process is based on the submitted documents, which confirm the information provided in the online application. As part of the immigration process, it is possible to interview with a visa officer, the purpose of which may be to verify the data and clarify some of the nuances indicated in the questionnaire. For this program, it is not necessary to have a higher education, it is necessary to have at least a school education. But you need to pay attention to the fact that some professions according to the NOC classifier have a requirement for specialized education.
For the application, which will allow you to work as an Athlete and permanently live in Canada, an important point is the state of health of the candidate and family members. In this scenario, the lack of illnesses that may represent a threat to Canada's population's national security is taken into account. Also, it is undesirable to have health problems that can entail significant costs for medical services. To convince the immigration service, the candidate confirms his or her health conditions by passing a medical examination in clinics accredited by the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration of Canada. Besides, it is vital to keep no criminal record and not to be connected with terrorists or any other forbidden organizations. When planning to obtain the right to permanent residence in Canada, a potential applicant should take into account the availability of the financial resources required to pay a living wage for himself and his or her family for the first 6-12 months. A big advantage for the approval of an application for permanent residence will be the provision of an earnings plan in Canada. If at least one of these conditions is deemed not met, the applicant will be refused consideration of the application. A preparatory visit is not included in the list of requirements, but the Canadian Immigration Service recommends making it to assess the conditions in which you will have to live and work on the spot as it can influence adaptation skills which are mentioned in the Express Entry list. It can take about 3 years to process an application for immigration to Canada under the Self-Employed program. The term is quite long, but the case can be considered faster. The immigration applicant may need to provide biometric data (fingerprints).
If you are visiting Canada as an athlete for a short length of time, you will not require a work permit or any paperwork, except visa. A visa to Canada for athletes is issued for up to 10 years. This type of visa does not provide for receiving monetary rewards from organizers of sports events. Sports visas are not only issued to athletes - this document can be issued to a person who was invited to be a judge at competitions held in Canada, or he is a member of the technical staff of the sports team of his country. Unlike some other types of visas, in this case, the host country can officially bear all the costs of travel and stay in Canada.
If you are professional sportsman and prefer work and live in Canada as an Athlete, please contact us directly or fill in application below.
