“Preparing for a Visa, It Is Just Right to Start What Feels Far Too Early”: From a Working Holiday to an LMIA Work Permit｜Ms. T
Date Posted:June 14, 2025
Last Updated:September 20, 2026
Starting with language study because she wanted to test her own potential, Ms. T went on to work locally and then to obtain an LMIA-based work permit. Through a long wait for a decision and a temporary return to Japan, she kept moving forward and made her move to Canada a reality. Here she tells us what it was really like to progress through a study permit, a working holiday and a work permit.
What this experience brought home to me is that when it comes to visa preparation, it is just right to start what feels far too early.
LMIA Work Permit
Travel Clerk Supervisor
Working Holiday Visa
Greater Vancouver Area, then temporarily back in Japan
1 year for the LMIA review; work permit issued same day at the airport
Customer Comments and Testimonials
Why did you decide to immigrate to Canada?
At first I obtained a study permit with the feeling that I wanted to test my own potential, and I attended a language school and then a college. After that I switched to a working holiday visa and continued my stay, and through a fortunate connection I was able to work at a local company, which offered to support me for an LMIA work permit. Accepting that opportunity is what led me to decide to move to Canada.
What made you choose Shiraishi VisaJP Canada?
The company supporting my LMIA work permit had entrusted the application process to Shiraishi VisaJP Canada, so I ended up asking them as well.
What was the most memorable part of the process?
Above all, the period from filing to approval was long. It was apparently the company’s first LMIA application since the pandemic, and a state of not knowing whether it would go through continued for a long time. My visa status remained unclear and I was left in limbo, which was an anxious period. In the end I had no choice but to return to Japan once before the LMIA decision came out, but looking back now, perhaps it was good that it gave me time to spend in Japan.
How was your experience using Shiraishi VisaJP Canada’s services?
I was able to entrust the detailed steps of the application to them with confidence. There were times when communication with our company’s administration crossed wires, or when notice came at the last minute, but as a well-known agency they were someone I could trust.
Future outlook and a message for those planning to travel to Canada
What this experience really brought home to me is that when it comes to visa preparation, it is just right to start what feels far too early. Moving with room to spare, both in time and in money, ends up meaning less of a burden overall. I ended up having to return home once, after all.
From here I want to think carefully about my own future: whether to keep working in Canada and obtain permanent residence for a long stay, or to return to Japan and put this experience to use there.
Additional Comments
There were long stretches of waiting with no word at all and plenty to be anxious about, but I am truly glad the LMIA came through in the end. Thank you sincerely for all your efforts from filing to approval.
We received this LMIA work permit request through an employer who uses our services regularly.
As with others who applied around the same time, from spring 2024 onward, the LMIA review took an abnormally long time. Because we were dealing mainly with the employer, we may have left her feeling uneasy.
After the LMIA was approved she travelled to Canada and obtained her work permit smoothly at airport immigration.
Immigration Consultant
Born in Japan. Worked in tour planning and led international tours at a major travel agency, visiting dozens of countries. After immigrating to Canada in 2003, she worked at a software company in Montreal focusing on the Japanese market. She studied Immigration Consulting at Vanier College and became a licensed immigration consultant. Wanting to support the Japanese community more actively, she relocated to Vancouver where she currently resides and works.
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