Employment Insurance

[vehementsnow]

Hello all! Here is my situation.

Currently waiting for PR.

PGWP expiring February 2012.

Applied for LMO, but it looks to be negative.

I doubt I will be able to receive my PR by February. Thus, I will have to stop working until I receive my PR.

I have been paying my EI premium for the last two years.

Question here... Will I be able to claim on my EI and receive some money while I wait for my PR?

 

[jes_ON]

not after your work permit expires....

 

[Leon]

I think it is unlikely that you will be able to get EI after your work permit has already expired as you are not unemployed since you will not have the status of a worker any more. You can apply to change your status to visitor to avoid becoming out of status but a visitor is not a worker.

Now, you can say it is not fair that you paid into EI and all that but this is a problem with all TFW's. They must pay like everybody else but they don't have full rights to benefits. They can get sickness and parental benefits but they are often denied employment insurance if they are on closed permits based on that they are unable to take any job which is not fair to other unemployed people who would have to take any job that comes along. And of course if their permits expire and they don't have status, they must leave and once you must leave, you are of course not getting EI.

You can still apply for it though. Doesn't hurt to try.

 

[jes_ON]

Thus, I will have to stop working until I receive my PR.

This statement worries me a bit - you do realize that after your work permit expires, you are not authorized to remain in Canada? You will either have to leave Canada, or change your status to a Visitor...

 

[error]

Theoretically, your wife could get a study permit and enroll in a college or university (grad school, may be?).

In this case you would be eligible for an open work permit as the accompanying family member.

 

[Leon]

Vehementsnow, error is right. If your wife manages to enrol in a course for January, you could get an open work permit. However, I have been reading your other posts and see that your wife is pregnant. She will probably be near delivery at the end of the semester in the spring so for that reason they might not give her a permit. Another thing, depending on the province where you live, she might not have health care as a student.

Another option, if your wife is working right now, she could possibly get an LMO from her employer and change her permit to a closed permit. This will allow her to have health coverage and if she is skilled, you would be able to get an open permit based on hers.

If nothing happens with the PGWP or LMO or other means for you to get a work permit, you will both be out of status when the PGWP expires. That means she will no longer have health care. You can change your status to visitor but if the baby comes in the meantime, you will have a big hospital bill.

If you decide to go home and have the baby there, if you get your passport request at a time that your wife is no longer able to travel in order to land, you should not send your passports but instead tell them that you are having a baby and will be waiting until you can add it to the application. If you get the visas before baby but your wife is unable to land, your visas become invalid as soon as the baby is born because your family composition has changed.

 

[vehementsnow]

Thank you everyone for your input.

I failed to mention a few things here..

My wife has her own study permit and it does not expire until later this year.

Also, both of us are S. Korean citizens. S. Korea has visitor visa exemption for 6 months.

So I am guessing when my PGWP expires in February, my status will automatically change to visitor status. Am I wrong?

 

[Leon]

So I am guessing when my PGWP expires in February, my status will automatically change to visitor status. Am I wrong?

Yes, you are wrong. As I stated above, once your PGWP expires, you become out of status although there is a 90 day grace period where you can still apply to restore your status without ill effect. This is however more expensive than if you apply to change your status to visitor before your PGWP expires. Once you have applied to change or restore your status, you have implied status and may stay until you hear back. If you want to buy more time, you apply by mail. You will however lose your health care and not be able to work.

Is your wife graduating her course at the time her permit expires or will she be asking to extend it? If she graduates, she can apply for a PGWP and you could try to get a work permit as a spouse. If she will extend her study permit, you can apply for an open permit as a spouse of a student.

 

[error]

It makes the things easier - you may be able to apply for an open WP as mentioned before. I would apply ASAP - there might be a possibility to get new WP before your current WP expires.

Check with CIC though.

If your wife has a study permit and you get an open work permit, you may be eligible for provincial health plan, and your wife would be a dependent from the Medicare point of view. It looks like a positive feedback loop circuit, but it might work.

 

[vehementsnow]

Yes, you are wrong. As I stated above, once your PGWP expires, you become out of status although there is a 90 day grace period where you can still apply to restore your status without ill effect. This is however more expensive than if you apply to change your status to visitor before your PGWP expires. Once you have applied to change or restore your status, you have implied status and may stay until you hear back. If you want to buy more time, you apply by mail. You will however lose your health care and not be able to work.

Is your wife graduating her course at the time her permit expires or will she be asking to extend it? If she graduates, she can apply for a PGWP and you could try to get a work permit as a spouse. If she will extend her study permit, you can apply for an open permit as a spouse of a student.

My wife has a study permit and also has PGWP already. She has two visas. She will not extending her study permit.

Wow.. this is opening up another can of problems.. I have been covered under BC MSP since 2008. So once my working permit expires, my BC medical coverage will also expire?

 

[Leon]

My wife has a study permit and also has PGWP already. She has two visas. She will not extending her study permit.

Wow.. this is opening up another can of problems.. I have been covered under BC MSP since 2008. So once my working permit expires, my BC medical coverage will also expire?

Ok, if your wives PGWP is still valid throughout her pregnancy and she has MSP because of that work permit, at least you wouldn't have to worry about that.

As for yourself, if you end up without a work permit, whether you let yourself get out of status or change to visitor, you are not eligible for MSP any more. If you still have an MSP card and use it during the period you are out of status or under visitor status, they can make you pay them back.

You could try applying for an open work permit based on the PGWP of your wife. However, you might be refused because according to the rules, spouses of people on study permits and skilled TFW's are entitled to open work permits but it doesn't say anything about spouses of PGWP holders. Sometimes they get them, sometimes they are denied.

Still, it is worth a try. You could actually apply for that now. If they refuse, your PGWP stays valid and you can continue working on it until it expires.

 

[error]

An accompanying family member of a PGWP holder can get an open WP (see Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations Section 205(c)(ii), LMO Exemption Code C41) ONLY if the PGWP holder is working in a highly skilled occupation (NOC 0, A, B). Otherwise it has to be a closed WP with positive LMO.

With your WP application you must include a letter from your spouse's employer stating the employment duration, skill level, main duties and salary (pretty much the same letter you would send for immigration under CEC), plus copy of your marriage certificate etc.

We were in a very similar situation last summer, and my wife's WP extension was denied first time for this very reason (I'm on PGWP). Missed a piece of paper, and $500 went down the drain ($150 application + $200 restoration of status + private medical insurance). I called CIC, explained the situation, and the second time it went through without a hitch.

 

[vehementsnow]

An accompanying family member of a PGWP holder can get an open WP (see Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations Section 205(c)(ii), LMO Exemption Code C41) ONLY if the PGWP holder is working in a highly skilled occupation (NOC 0, A, B). Otherwise it has to be a closed WP with positive LMO.

With your WP application you must include a letter from your spouse's employer stating the employment duration, skill level, main duties and salary (pretty much the same letter you would send for immigration under CEC), plus copy of your marriage certificate etc.

We were in a very similar situation last summer, and my wife's WP extension was denied first time for this very reason (I'm on PGWP). Missed a piece of paper, and $500 went down the drain ($150 application + $200 restoration of status + private medical insurance). I called CIC, explained the situation, and the second time it went through without a hitch.

My wife is pregnant and unemployed.. lol I gues my only option is obtain a visitors visa and hope PR will arrive soon...