Hi there,
I'm planning on starting my application for the BC PNP program very soon, but would like to check with some people here to see if there could be any problems along the way, as I'm not really in a standard situation (I think). My name is Daan, I'm 24 yrs old and am from The Netherlands.
I came to Canada in March of 2007 for a university research project of 5 months. After my project, I was offered a job by the company I was doing my research with and I gladly accepted. I applied for a regular work permit (LMO-exempt "Software Products Developer", I program web applications) and got this in February 2008. On my work permit it says it's limited to just the company that offered me a job, I cannot work for another company.
Now, 1 month after I came to Canada (April 2007) I met my (now) girlfriend. We moved in together in October 2007 and applied for common-law in November 2008. My girlfriend was able to get an open work permit based on my work permit in December 2008. Since my current work permit expires in November 2009, so will hers.
Fast forward to January 2009, I am now certain I want to stay and settle down in Canada with my girlfriend, so I'd like to go for my PR status. After some research, I found out that this would be quickest through the BC PNP program. I still have some questions:
1. I would like to apply for the PNP with my current employer. This shouldn't be a problem, right? I will get a new job offer and everything, my employer is fully cooperative.
2. I'm worried about the time it will take to process my PNP and PR applications. My current work permit expires at the end of November 2009. From now, that leaves me with 10 months. Will that be enough for both PNP and PR? What are realistic processing times for both PNP and PR?
3. What is going to happen to my girlfriend's work permit when I receive my PNP status? Will she be able to keep her current permit or would she have to apply for a new one, based on my changed status?
4. About the PNP: is the PNP visa a work permit in itself, or is it merely a status?
I'm sure I'll come up with more questions later, but that's it for now.
Thanks so much!
Daan from Vancouver
I'm planning on starting my application for the BC PNP program very soon, but would like to check with some people here to see if there could be any problems along the way, as I'm not really in a standard situation (I think). My name is Daan, I'm 24 yrs old and am from The Netherlands.
I came to Canada in March of 2007 for a university research project of 5 months. After my project, I was offered a job by the company I was doing my research with and I gladly accepted. I applied for a regular work permit (LMO-exempt "Software Products Developer", I program web applications) and got this in February 2008. On my work permit it says it's limited to just the company that offered me a job, I cannot work for another company.
Now, 1 month after I came to Canada (April 2007) I met my (now) girlfriend. We moved in together in October 2007 and applied for common-law in November 2008. My girlfriend was able to get an open work permit based on my work permit in December 2008. Since my current work permit expires in November 2009, so will hers.
Fast forward to January 2009, I am now certain I want to stay and settle down in Canada with my girlfriend, so I'd like to go for my PR status. After some research, I found out that this would be quickest through the BC PNP program. I still have some questions:
1. I would like to apply for the PNP with my current employer. This shouldn't be a problem, right? I will get a new job offer and everything, my employer is fully cooperative.
2. I'm worried about the time it will take to process my PNP and PR applications. My current work permit expires at the end of November 2009. From now, that leaves me with 10 months. Will that be enough for both PNP and PR? What are realistic processing times for both PNP and PR?
3. What is going to happen to my girlfriend's work permit when I receive my PNP status? Will she be able to keep her current permit or would she have to apply for a new one, based on my changed status?
4. About the PNP: is the PNP visa a work permit in itself, or is it merely a status?
I'm sure I'll come up with more questions later, but that's it for now.
Thanks so much!
Daan from Vancouver