Getting to Canada - I can do. Work - I cannot???

[wibble1]

Hello,

I find myself bemused by the CIC rules and regs. Maybe someone can help me out - I might be missing the obvious. It seems I can get to Canada, but then I won't be allowed to work for a year. Crazy!

Background first:
Me: From the UK (educated to PhD level)
Wife: From Canada (educated to PhD level)
(we live in UK)
Son1: UK + Canadian citizenship
Son2: UK citizenship

The Plan: All the family moves to Canada, and I take over my father-in-law's business interests. I will not be working for anyone/a company so I cannot get a job offer. I will set up my own and be self-employed. We want to do this quickly - we do not want to wait for years. It has to be soon.

The Issue: To achieve "the plan" above the best route seems to be to apply for permanent residency under the "sponsor your spouse" route. I can do this in Canada or out of Canada. It seems the application time is the same - 2 yrs! The best option seems to be to go to Canada and apply for PR there, however it seems to take 1yr before they give stage 1 approval (approval of sponsor)!

It seems that until that point, I cannot work. Is this correct?

I appreciate I may be able to apply for a work permit at the point I apply for PR, but these are typically closed permits. I would need an open work permit as I want to be self-employed. How likely is this?

Am I missing anything? Is there another way I can tackle this?

Many thanks for reading!
Wib

 

[andrew-brit]

If you apply Outland (meaning you can be in Canada as a visitor, or in the UK as a citizen, or in fact reside in any country that you legally entered) the processing time according to CIC is 11 months.

Applying Outland gives you the benefit of not having to stay in Canada indefinitely until a decision is made.

 

[kickb]

Hello,

I find myself bemused by the CIC rules and regs. Maybe someone can help me out - I might be missing the obvious. It seems I can get to Canada, but then I won't be allowed to work for a year. Crazy!

Background first:
Me: From the UK (educated to PhD level)
Wife: From Canada (educated to PhD level)
(we live in UK)
Son1: UK + Canadian citizenship
Son2: UK citizenship

The Plan: All the family moves to Canada, and I take over my father-in-law's business interests. I will not be working for anyone/a company so I cannot get a job offer. I will set up my own and be self-employed. We want to do this quickly - we do not want to wait for years. It has to be soon.

The Issue: To achieve "the plan" above the best route seems to be to apply for permanent residency under the "sponsor your spouse" route. I can do this in Canada or out of Canada. It seems the application time is the same - 2 yrs! The best option seems to be to go to Canada and apply for PR there, however it seems to take 1yr before they give stage 1 approval (approval of sponsor)!

It seems that until that point, I cannot work. Is this correct?

I appreciate I may be able to apply for a work permit at the point I apply for PR, but these are typically closed permits. I would need an open work permit as I want to be self-employed. How likely is this?

Am I missing anything? Is there another way I can tackle this?

Many thanks for reading!
Wib

Till the first stage is not approved you are not eligible to work.

 

[rhcohen2014]

the outland processing time is not 2 years, i believe the "trend" is 8-10 months, maybe 12? to know for sure, ask in the london thread. there are now applicants who have applications being sent to ottawa, which is processing applications much quicker. it is yet unknown how quickly the uk apps will be processed, as this just started happening. rule number one of this forum is to not go by the posted processing times for visa offices. the statistics are not updated and do NOT reflect TODAY'S processing of applications.

if you apply outland, then yes, you are not eligible for a work permit. you can be in canada as a visitor, and continue working remotely for NON canadian clients.

if you apply inland (which is NOT recommended), then you will be eligible to apply for an open work permit. keep in mind, the open work permit is not approved until AFTER fist stage approval, which is taking an upwards of 12 months right now. you would still need to wait AT LEAST another 8 months to get total approval.

again, to know the current trends for the london visa office, check the spreadsheet in the visa office thread. the spreadsheet tracks the progress of applicants.

 

[Rob_TO]

Get your medical and police checks done and apply NOW for your PR status while you're still in the UK. Do an OUTLAND application which would be processed in the London visa office. The times for visa offices posted on the CIC site are NOT average times, they are more worst-case times. An app through London office considering you are married with 2 kids so should have zero issues... should take around 8 months.

You will be able to work in Canada when your PR is approved, but no sooner. If you get the processing started immediately, then hopefully by the time you are ready to actually move to Canada your PR would already be approved or almost there. You can also enter Canada at any time during processing as a visitor, but of course wouldn't be able to work.

If your "Son2" is from another relationship so can't be passed on Canadian citizenship by your wife... then he will also need to do a medical and be sponsored for PR (assuming he's 18 or younger).

 

[Alurra71]

Just a note, in case you didn't understand what Rhcohen or Rob were saying.

Your wife can apply to sponsor you while you ALL remain in the UK. You can then continue to work there as needed and move to Canada when your PR is approved and take over the business or whatever it is you plan to do.

For that your wife would only need to show them her 'intent' to move back to Canada once your PR is approved.

As others have said, the quicker you get the application together and filed (don't rush so much you forget things though) then the quicker you are a PR.

I am assuming the 2nd child is also a Canadian citizen by decent but hasn't yet gotten his/her citizenship certificate. I would also get to work on that ASAP. You would be the ONLY applicant for PR sponsorship in this scenario.

 

[Amazingsho]

Hello,

I find myself bemused by the CIC rules and regs. Maybe someone can help me out - I might be missing the obvious. It seems I can get to Canada, but then I won't be allowed to work for a year. Crazy!

Background first:
Me: From the UK (educated to PhD level)
Wife: From Canada (educated to PhD level)
(we live in UK)
Son1: UK + Canadian citizenship
Son2: UK citizenship

The Plan: All the family moves to Canada, and I take over my father-in-law's business interests. I will not be working for anyone/a company so I cannot get a job offer. I will set up my own and be self-employed. We want to do this quickly - we do not want to wait for years. It has to be soon.

The Issue: To achieve "the plan" above the best route seems to be to apply for permanent residency under the "sponsor your spouse" route. I can do this in Canada or out of Canada. It seems the application time is the same - 2 yrs! The best option seems to be to go to Canada and apply for PR there, however it seems to take 1yr before they give stage 1 approval (approval of sponsor)!

It seems that until that point, I cannot work. Is this correct?

I appreciate I may be able to apply for a work permit at the point I apply for PR, but these are typically closed permits. I would need an open work permit as I want to be self-employed. How likely is this?

Am I missing anything? Is there another way I can tackle this?

Many thanks for reading!
Wib

I am the one trusted what said on CIC website(6 months for 1st stage apprv), applied for inland and now stuck in my home ended pausing my career to "abide" with the canadian immigration law, or get ass kicked. Do outland now and keep doing what you have in UK until you get PR. Never trust time frames on CIC website or whatever said in case you called their call center. CIC change their rules and time frames like B change lovers, high turn over!

 

[andy_7830]

I think you are allowed to take over business under your wife or your name while paper. Work under your wife with no pay. You can declare earning when pr on your own.

Andy

 

[wibble1]

Thank you all for the responses! It has really helped put some things into focus. I appreciate it! In particular you've made me think again about this inbound -v- outbound issue with respect to processing times.

I was thinking to go to Canada and apply there, and be close to my father-in-law as there is a lot of detail I need to pick up for the business. However, given the apparent difference in application times between inbound and outbound, this does not seem the best way at all (thanks to all for highlighting this). I guess one option is to apply from the UK, and visit Canada periodically as a visitor to skill-up on the business (i.e. not "work", be unpaid, and just learn at his side.).

I haven't managed to find (yet) any info on UK processing times. If/when I do I'll post it just in case it is useful to others.

Again - thanks to all who responded!

Wibble1
p.s. Regarding Son2: Yes he has the same parents as Son1 (us!) so I can get him his Proof of Citzenship, so as was pointed out it is just poor old me who needs sponsorship.

 

[Chevy23]

Thank you all for the responses! It has really helped put some things into focus. I appreciate it! In particular you've made me think again about this inbound -v- outbound issue with respect to processing times.

I was thinking to go to Canada and apply there, and be close to my father-in-law as there is a lot of detail I need to pick up for the business. However, given the apparent difference in application times between inbound and outbound, this does not seem the best way at all (thanks to all for highlighting this). I guess one option is to apply from the UK, and visit Canada periodically as a visitor to skill-up on the business (i.e. not "work", be unpaid, and just learn at his side.).

I haven't managed to find (yet) any info on UK processing times. If/when I do I'll post it just in case it is useful to others.

Again - thanks to all who responded!

Wibble1
p.s. Regarding Son2: Yes he has the same parents as Son1 (us!) so I can get him his Proof of Citzenship, so as was pointed out it is just poor old me who needs sponsorship.

Really??!!

There's a WHOLE thread for London UK applications

and an amazing spreadsheet (in my signature) keeping track of current trends for Outland UK processing times

All you would have had to do is scroll down the forum to see the thread... you wouldn't even need to search for it!!

Anyway here's the link to the thread for you

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/thread-for-outland-london-uk-applications-t49436.14010.html

 

[scylla]

I guess one option is to apply from the UK, and visit Canada periodically as a visitor to skill-up on the business (i.e. not "work", be unpaid, and just learn at his side.).

You can visit Canada - but you can't work un-paid. Un-paid work that someone would normally be paid to do is still classified as work from CIC's perspective which will mean you'd be working illegall. So you can certainly come to Canada - but you cannot do anything in support of the business at all.

 

[wibble1]

You can visit Canada - but you can't work un-paid. Un-paid work that someone would normally be paid to do is still classified as work from CIC's perspective which will mean you'd be working illegall. So you can certainly come to Canada - but you cannot do anything in support of the business at all.

Thanks for pointing this out. I suspected this would be the case hence my idea to stick to understanding the business for now. Which, to be honest, is the main thing in the short term anyway. This will also involve me having to get myself up to speed on Canadian personal and corporate tax issues during visits, so I will attend some courses (Hopefully that is permitted - I will check).

Really??!!

There's a WHOLE thread for London UK applications

and an amazing spreadsheet (in my signature) keeping track of current trends for Outland UK processing times

Thanks for this - I was being completely useless. : No excuses. Nice spreadsheet - thanks so much for pointing it out. Time to roll up my shirt sleeves and look at the PR documentation I guess!

 

[tink23]

Thanks for pointing this out. I suspected this would be the case hence my idea to stick to understanding the business for now. Which, to be honest, is the main thing in the short term anyway. This will also involve me having to get myself up to speed on Canadian personal and corporate tax issues during visits, so I will attend some courses (Hopefully that is permitted - I will check).



Thanks for this - I was being completely useless. : No excuses. Nice spreadsheet - thanks so much for pointing it out. Time to roll up my shirt sleeves and look at the PR documentation I guess!

You are allowed to study as a visitor as long as the requirements for the course are less than 6 months in duration. So, if it was a one year certificate, you won't be permitted, but if they are just individual courses not related to an overall degree or diploma, that are less than 6 months, then this is fine.

 

[Rob_TO]

You are allowed to study as a visitor as long as the requirements for the course are less than 6 months in duration. So, if it was a one year certificate, you won't be permitted, but if they are just individual courses not related to an overall degree or diploma, that are less than 6 months, then this is fine.

Just to add, even if you do want to study a course greater than 6 months, it's relatively easy to apply for and get the necessary study permit.

 

[Amazingsho]

Thank you all for the responses! It has really helped put some things into focus. I appreciate it! In particular you've made me think again about this inbound -v- outbound issue with respect to processing times.

I was thinking to go to Canada and apply there, and be close to my father-in-law as there is a lot of detail I need to pick up for the business. However, given the apparent difference in application times between inbound and outbound, this does not seem the best way at all (thanks to all for highlighting this). I guess one option is to apply from the UK, and visit Canada periodically as a visitor to skill-up on the business (i.e. not "work", be unpaid, and just learn at his side.).

I haven't managed to find (yet) any info on UK processing times. If/when I do I'll post it just in case it is useful to others.

Again - thanks to all who responded!

Wibble1
p.s. Regarding Son2: Yes he has the same parents as Son1 (us!) so I can get him his Proof of Citzenship, so as was pointed out it is just poor old me who needs sponsorship.

Its not necessarily to be "Unpaid". The only way CIC finds you "Worked" is by obtaining tax information from revenue service.
But technically as long as you are not on any payroll account of any company you are safe.