Action:
At point of entry, show the appropriate paperwork to be issued with a WORK PERMIT valid for the duration of your posting. This is fee-exempt so please DO NOT PAY. Under the MoU, you and your dependants are entitled to either a Work Permit or Visitor Record. If you pay, please do not claim back on JPA – it will be rejected. You would need to seek a refund from the Canadian government. If, for any reason, you are charged for your visa at the port of entry, YOU will need to contact the CIC in order to claim your money back as you cannot claim for it through the GAU or BDLS. The email address that you should use is IRCC.FINIPRMS-SIGPRFIN.IRCC@cic.gc.ca
The Work Permit or Visitor Record will be issued at point of entry;, i.e. first Canadian airport you arrive at. 95% of Exchange Officers arrive by air whereas the other 5% come in via a land border crossing between CAN/USA. Please let BDLS know if you are arriving via a land border. Please be sure to forward your arrival details to the BDLS Chief of Staff as he will notify his CBSA contact of your arrival (flight details or land border crossing date).
Info:
If you are an Exchange Officer, please show Canadian Immigration Officials the following documents:
Letter of Acceptance from OUTCAN
UK Passport (which is valid for the entire assignment abroad)
UK Military ID
Assignment Order
NATO Travel Order (or eTA)
The Letter of Acceptance is NOT ISSUED to Medical Fellowship Officers, Students on JCSP, MOD civilians or Calgary ‘Movers’ as you are not nominated the way Exchange officers are. BDLS will suggest an alternative for you to show to border officials.
Action:
Book your own hire car for the first 5 days of your arrival in Canada suitable for your family size and needs (mid-size, economy, rather than an SUV). The BDLS Finance Administrator will give the EO an offline JPA Form 016 to submit along with receipts for reimbursement. Claims should be sent to the Finance Administrator for processing – this should not be claimed through JPA
Info:
To assist EOs and their family’s on arrival there is an exceptional provision of a five day hire car which is booked by the subject and claimed back through the BDLS retrospectively. Please note that fuel cannot be included as part of this claim.
Action:
Collect all receipts used for subsistence from your arrival and once you have moved into your residence you should submit a claim via JPA. The Global Admin Unit will audit this and you will be asked to provide receipts for all expenditure claimed.
Info:
If permanent accommodation is not immediately available on arrival to your new duty station, subsistence allowance may be claimed for yourself and your dependants up to 7 days and in some cases 14 (when you are in a hotel). In addition to subsistence allowance, you may claim taxi fares incurred from airport to hotel when you arrive in country. This is booked through HRG/AmexGBT on your losing unit’s UIN, and any costs relating to this are to be claimed via JPA. An advance of subsistence allowance up to 80% of the total cost may be applied for via JPA; speak to your current unit.
© Copyright 2024 by British Defence Liaison Staff (BDLS) Ottawa Information Portal
