Below we have gathered resources for welcoming Mitacs students to the University of Guelph. Find information below about:
- For Departments: How to process visiting Mitacs GRIs
- For Hosting Profs: Info and things to consider
- For Incoming Interns: Resources and information
How to Process Mitacs Globalink Research Interns
Please follow the steps below to invitie the GRI through the Nil-Salaried Intern process:
- Student receives their acceptance letter from Mitacs, which states that these interns are coming through the 120-day work permit exemption stream
- 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]
- Most GRI's will fit under the Short-term (120-day) work permit exemption for researchers [2] category. If this is a fit, the process outlined in Step 3 is not applicable and you may skip to Step 4
- If an LMIA-exempt work permit is required, proceed to Step 3
- If an LMIA-exempt work-permit is required, the hosting professor/department must:
- 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 [3]) 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 it back to HRhiring@uoguelph.ca [4]
- 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.
- 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 [5]
- 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
- The department (usually the admin person) will need to:
- 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 attached below (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. - Request that the intern is registered for the University Health Insurance Plan (UHIP) [6] through Human Resources.
- Request an ID card, more information can be found here [7].
- E-access can be set up here [8].
- Set up Library access by sending the intern's full name, their U of G email address, a physical address/phone number, and a picture of the ID card (so the library can attach the barcode to the library account) to library@uoguelph.ca [9].
- 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 attached below (noting a draft copy may be required by HR to explore the LMIA-exempt option)
Things the Hosting Professor should consider:
As MITACS states that GRI's interns are coming through the 120-day work permit exemption stream, they should be processed as Nil-Salaried Interns. The Visiting International Research Student (VIRS) process, which produces an acceptance letter confirming the incumbent will be registered as a student, is therefore not an appropriate process.
However, for Summer 2024, if you have already started processing an incoming GRI through VIRS, please continue with this process. 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.
Set up Library access by sending the intern's full name, their U of G email address, a physical address/phone number, and a picture of the ID card (so the library can attach the barcode to the library account) to library@uoguelph.ca [9].
E-access [8] 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 [10] offers a month-to-month lease
- Summer Hostel [11] 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 [12] and specify that they are a Mitacs student.
- Please note, that normally the Summer Hostel doesn't open until the third week in May. If they plan to stay in the Summer Hostel and arrive before it opens, they will be required to arrange their own short-term accommodation until it opens.
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 [13] 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 [14] or Facebook Marketplace
- They may wish to explore short-term rental options, such as AirBnb [15] or Vrbo [16] for long-term rentals without a lease.
- Other tips and information can be found on the Off-Campus Living website [17].
As Nil-Salaried Interns, the GRIs will not have access to the walk-in health services on campus and will be required to use the local clinics/services or go to the emergency room at Guelph General Hospital. Use the Ontario Government Health811 [18] to find a local health service.
Ensure you have the time to support the incoming GRI. They are new to Canada and will need support and advice throughout their stay. Know who in your department will be able to provide them the support they need.
Resources and Information for Incoming Mitacs Interns:
Please review the information we provide to the incoming GRI Interns [19] so that you are familiar with the frequently asked questions and information provided to them.
