Advice needed - pilot moving to Canada

[Mutley]

Hi,

I am a UK citizen who works as a pilot in South East Asia. I work six weeks on and then have six weeks off. I would like to live permanently in Canada. I'm aware that I could just visit Canada during my time off with no real issues and not have to pay tax etc but I wish to gain permanent residency, hopefully dual citizenship and make Canada my home. I also wish to pay taxes in Canada and contribute to the system.

Everytime I have filled in questionnaires to test my eligibility it seems to ask if I will be sponsored to work in Canada etc but as I am already working outside of Canada my circumstances do not seem to fit any of these tests.

Can anyone help me with my options please?

Many thanks in advance for any help and advice.

 

[Leon]

Immigration Canada is geared towards people who want to settle and work in Canada. As far as I know, there is no immigration class for people who want to live in Canada part time and work overseas. If you were willing to sacrifice your job temporarily, you could look into trying to get a job offer in Canada and using that to qualify for your immigration. Once you get your PR and land in Canada, you could of course continue to work overseas.

As for citizenship, you would not be able to qualify if you only spend 50% of the time. However, you would be able to keep your PR as long as you spend at least 40% of the time in Canada.

 

[Mutley]

Hi Leon,

Thanks for the quick reply. Much appreciated. There's no way I could give up my job temporarily due to financial reasons.

You mentioned PR - permanent residency I assume?. I would be spending all of my time off in Canada. Do you think it would be straight forward for me to gain permanent residency initially in my circumstances? I have searched for information on this but my circumstances don't seem to fit any of the examples I have found on huge numerous websites! But I have been told by a canadian company that if I had permanent residency that they could look at sponsoring me. Any thoughts.

 

[Leon]

If you had permanent residency already, you wouldn't need to be sponsored.

If you have already looked at the website of immigration and seen what they require, you see that most immigration classes require a job offer or even a labour market opinion which is something than an employer generally has to apply for in order to prove that he has problems finding qualified people in Canada in order to bring people over on a work permit. There is cost involved for the employer applying for an LMO and they will not get it unless they have advertised the job and have proven that they really can't find Canadian employees. Therefore, employers are not willing to do that unless they really need you and if they really need you, they might want to get the LMO and get you on a work permit and working for them before they agree to sponsor you for PR. If that was not a requirement, you could continue your current job until you get your immigration or even after you get your immigration because even though a job offer may be required to get PR, nobody can force you to take the job after you arrive in Canada.

However, there may be a way to get your immigration without a job offer too. How is your French? One immigration class that still doesn't require a job offer as far as I know is Quebec skilled worker. You can do a self assessment here: http://www.form.services.micc.gouv.qc.ca/epi/index.jsp?languageCode=en

If you qualify for that, you would have to agree to settle in Quebec and you would have to land there. You could however continue your current job during the application process and after you move to Canada. If you end up not liking it in Quebec, you can move somewhere else. Getting PR through a provincial program means you should intend to settle there at least when you apply and land. However, if you choose to move to another province later on, there's no problem with that.

 

[Mutley]

Yes I think I got that part wrong regarding sponsorship.

My French is basic.

Seems a shame that it's so difficult for someone who has a job elsewhere but wants to contribute and pay taxes in Canada to be granted a pr card.

It seems strange that I can continue to live for six months of the year in Canada whilst working abroad but not be able to get a pr card if I pay taxes.

I'm not sure how to go about this anymore.

Many thanks for your advice so far.

 

[scylla]

Leon has provided you with very good advice. Based on your profession and the fact you won't have a job offer in Canada, your options for applying for PR are quite limited. I agree Quebec seems like your only option right now. If you want to go ahead, I'd recommend you focus on improving your French to a higher competency level before you apply. While it's not mandatory that you know French to apply, there is always a chance Quebec may request an interview. If they do, they will expect you to demonstrate a passing knowledge of French in order to approve you. Good luck.

 

[Mutley]

Thanks for all the advice.