ARCHIVED – Operational Bulletin 394 - March 8, 2012

Validity of Arranged Employment Opinions

This Operational Bulletin has expired.

Summary

Effective immediately, officers do not require a new Arranged Employment Opinion (AEO) from Service Canada (SC), the service delivery arm of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC), in cases where the AEO has expired while the Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) application is in process. Officers may still issue a permanent resident (PR) visa as long as the AEO was valid at time of receipt of the application, they are satisfied that the job offer is still valid and no adverse information on the employer has come to light.

Background

There may be cases where the validity of an AEO has expired while processing the FSW application. In these cases, officers have been in the practice of requesting that the employer obtain a new AEO from SC even if there have been no changes to the job offer. This has caused frustration for the employer and processing delays at the visa office.

Instructions

Verifying notes in Global Case Management System

Prior to visa issuance, officers must check in Global Case Management System (GCMS) that SC has not made any changes to the AEO and that no adverse information on the employer has come to light.

Effective immediately, in cases where an opinion issued by HRSDC as outlined in R82(2)(c) has expired while the application for Permanent Residence in Canada is in process, an officer may still issue a visa as long as they are satisfied that the offer of employment is still valid and that SC has not revoked the original opinion. If an officer is not satisfied that the offer is valid, they may request that the employer obtain a new AEO from HRSDC.

Role of Service Canada

Prior to visa issuance, officers may want to confirm certain information about the AEO. In order to avoid a duplication of efforts, it is important to note that when issuing positive AEOs, SC officers verify the following:

• the genuineness of the offer of employment and the history of the employer;
• if the job offer is permanent, full-time and not seasonal; and
• if the wages offered to the skilled worker are consistent with the prevailing wage rate for the occupation and the working conditions meet generally accepted Canadian standards.

As part of the normal processing procedure, SC also contacts each employer by phone to confirm that the job offer is still valid, conditions and wages remain the same and to remind the employer of its commitment to hire the named applicant upon arrival in Canada should he/she be issued a PR visa.

HRSDC and SC also ask the employer to submit certain supporting documentation with their AEO application.

Contacting HRSDC

Before issuing the visa, officers may need to verify information about the opinion or the job offer that cannot be found in GCMS. Officers may also have concerns of fraud or the bona fides of the job offer that they would like to verify.

Before contacting the applicant or employer, officers should first contact HRSDC at nc-cic_exchange-gd@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca in order to confirm or obtain information not found in GCMS that may have been acquired by SC during their assessment of the application. This will help eliminate the duplication of efforts by missions and SC.

Following consultations with HRSDC, officers may contact the employer or the applicant for further information and clarification. This includes but is not limited to confirming that the job offer of permanent employment still exists or to address any concerns about the genuineness of the job offer.