Incoming Mitacs Globalink Research Interns

Below we have gathered resources for welcoming Mitacs students to the University of Guelph. Find information below about:

How to Process Mitacs Globalink Research Interns

There are two different processes by which a Mitacs intern can enter Canada and be registered at the University of Guelph: as a Nil-Salaried Intern or as a Visiting International Research Student (VIRS).

The usual process to welcome GRI's is through the Nil-Salaried Intern process. However, the VIRS process can be used as a backup if the Nil-Salaried Intern process poses a problem. 

Steps for inviting a student through the Nil-Salaried Intern process:

  1. Student receives their acceptance letter from Mitacs, which states that these interns are coming through the 120-day work permit exemption stream
  2. Determine what kind of permit or entry document is required using this tool from Immigration Canada: Do You Need a Work Permit to Work in Canada? 
    1. Explore whether your intern may qualify under the Short-term (120-day) work permit exemption for researchers category. If this is a fit, the process outlined in Step 3 is not applicable and you may skip to Step 4 
    2. If an LMIA-exempt work permit is required, proceed to Step 3
  3. If an LMIA-exempt work-permit is required, the hosting professor/department must:
    1. Submit an offer of employment to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) noting that employers are required to pay a $230 compliance fee when submitting this
      • If there is no department administrator with registered access to the IRCC Employer Portal for the University, departments may contact Human Resources (hrhiring@uoguelph.ca) to request a LMIA-exempt visitor information form
      • Hosting Professors are required to complete the form with all of the required details including internal coding required for the $230 employer compliance fee, and send back to HRhiring@uoguelph.ca
      • Human resources will use the information from this form to submit the ‘offer of employment’ to the IRCC Employer portal which generates an offer of employment number. HR will send an email confirmation with this number to the host department contact.
      • The hosting department contact or professor must then provide the visiting intern with a copy of the offer of employment number provided by HR which is required for the work permit application.
    2. Once provided the offer of employment number, student interns must commence the work permit application process which is outlined here: Government of Canada - Work Permit: How to Apply 
  4. The department will need to:
    1. Provide Interns with a letter of invitation, which they may be required to provide upon entry to Canada and/or as part of their LMIA-exempt work permit application. Departments are advised to use the nil-salaried template on FASR website (noting a draft copy may be required by HR to explore the LMIA-exempt option)
      Upon arrival to Canada, departments may set the intern up with a Nil-Salaried Intern appointment in HRER, which will generate a U of G email account for the student.
    2. Request that the intern is registered for the University Health Insurance Plan (UHIP) through Human Resources.
    3. Request an ID card, more information can be found here.
    4. E-access can be set up here.

Steps for inviting an intern through the Visiting International Research Student (VIRS) process:

On the VIRS website, you can find a full description of the eligibility requirements, policy and procedures as well as a sample invitation letter, (attached as files at the bottom of the page). Included here is a brief description of the process

  1. The hosting professor should complete and sign an invitation letter for the incoming student. There is a sample invitation letter provided at the bottom of the VIRS website.
  2. The student should then get the appropriate signatures from their home university.
  3. The student will upload the signed document to the OpenEd website as a registration process, and also be required to pay an application fee of $200 and an additional $85/month for services including mandatory health insurance, I.D. card and library access. 
  4. OpenEd will then issue an acceptance letter to the student that can be used for their visa application. 
    1. Note: the acceptance letter issued by OpenEd states that the interns will be coming to U of G as students (not workers)
    2. On the Government of Canada website students can answer a few short questions to see if they require a study permit.

Things the Hosting Professor should consider: 

Normally, MITACS GRI's will go through the Nil-Salaried Intern progress. If that method is not working for you, you may use the VIRS process.
From the students perspective, the Nil-Salaried Intern route may be faster (in some cases, based on the required immigration documents for their home country) and cheaper. However, through the Nil-Salaried Intern process the Interns will not have access to the walk-in health services on campus, they will be requried to use the local clinics/services. 

If you have already started one of these processes, please continue with it.
Do not combine the VIRS with the Nil-Salaried Intern process.

Make sure you are aware of the process for requesting space from your department and have a plan as to where the student will be able to work while on the U of G campus.

If coming through an Nil-Salaried Intern process, the hosting department will set the intern up as Nil-Salaried in the HRER, which will generate a U of G email account for the student.
If coming through the VIRS process, OpenEd will set the student up with an email account.

E-access to specific buildings/labs/after hours, should be arranged through the administrative secretary in your department to set up the corresponding permissions.

On-Campus Options:

  • Family Housing offers a month-to-month lease
  • Summer Hostel offers options in the East Village over the summer months. If students are looking to make reservations before the booking opens for the summer, please email hostel@uoguelph.ca and specify that they are a Mitacs student. 

Off-Campus Options:

  • Due to the short duration of their stay, students may find it difficult to find accommodation for the duration of their stay as most landlords require longer-term leases. 
  • Places4students.com is a site where students can view listings in Guelph 
  • Incoming interns may be able to find U of G students who are subletting their room on sites like The Cannon or Facebook Marketplace 
  • They may choose to explore options on AirBnb or Vrbo for long-term rentals without a lease. 
  • Other tips and information can be found on the Off-Campus Living website. 

 

Resources and Information for Incoming Mitacs Interns:

  • The Government of Canada refers to ‘visas’ and ‘entry permits’ (study permit, work permit or temporary resident visa). 
  • Determine if your hosting department at Guelph is registering you as a Nil-Salaried Intern (possible work permit required) or as a Visiting International Research Student (possible study permit required) then check the Immigration Canada website to see what type of entry permit you need: For Nil-Salaried Intern complete a short quiz to find out if your need a work permit here. For Visiting International Research Students (VIRS), use this website to determine if you require a study permit.
  • On the Mitacs website, under Immigration, you will find a link to the Globalink Immigration Processing Resource. This document describes what you should consider and what you need to know when applying for an entry permit.
  • Some information and useful links are also provided on the Immigration Information page on the U of G Student Experience website. 
  • If you have questions about the entry permit process, the International Student Advisors at the University of Guelph are qualified to answer questions you may have. Find more information about the International Student Advisors here.

On-Campus Options:

  • Family Housing offers a month-to-month lease
  • Summer Hostel offers options in the East Village over the summer months. If you are looking to make reservations before the booking opens for the summer, please email hostel@uoguelph.ca and make sure to tell them you are a Mitacs student. 

Off-Campus Options:

  • Due to the short duration of your stay, you may find it difficult to find accommodation for the duration of your stay as most landlords require longer-term leases. 
  • Places4students.com is a site where you can view listings in Guelph 
  • You may be able to find U of G students who are subletting their room on sites like The Cannon or Facebook Marketplace 
  • You may choose to explore options on AirBnb or Vrbo for long-term rentals without a lease. 
  • Other tips and information can be found on the Off-Campus Living website.

If you came to U of G through the Nil-Salaried Intern process, your department will register you as a NIL salaried employee and you will have to purchase UHIP health insurance throught Human Resources at the Unviersity of Guelph. Because Guelph requires you to purchase health insurance through the University, you should opt out of the insurance provided by Mitacs.
If you came to U of G through the VIRS process, you will have purchased Guard.Me insurance at the time you registered through the OpenEd website. 

There are many options to consider when looking to get from the airport to the U of G campus. Check out this website, under the 'Public Transportation' section for the options that will apply to you. 

 

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