Immigration prospect for provincial visa as an IT freelancer

[Champlain]

Hello All,

I have a long and successful track record as a consultant in corporate IT, having worked for Fortune 500 companies over many ears.
Unfortunately the recent changes in Canadian immigration laws have made it impossible for me to immigrate to Canada under the federal program.
This is because I work as a freelance consultant, and there is no such work category as "IT anything" for freelancers in the federal program.
So I wonder if there is any province in Canada looking for freelance IT consultants, who have sufficient funds readily available to settle down and start their own small business?
While I don't have enough to qualify under the investor's program, I do have enough for a freelancer/independent worker's visa - as long as they accept my profession for their immigration visa program.

 

[scylla]

Not sure why you think you can't apply under FSW. There's nothing stopping you from doing so. You shouldn't be looking for a NOC with "freelancer" in it. You should be looking for the NOC that most closely matches your role/responsibilities (it doesn't matter if that job was done as an employee or freelancer).

 

[Champlain]

I don't know what you mean with "NOC", but both two lawyers (from separate offices), as well as the Canadian online "immigration wizard" told me that I had almost no chance to qualify under the Federal Program - because it doesn't list "IT <anything>" as an eligible category.
Farm workers, bakers and mining professionals yes, but not IT engineers.
And I don't have a permanent job offer from a Canadian employer able to sponsor me, and to be honest I like freelancing - because it pays way,way much better than perm work (about 4x more).
I can't just file under a wrong category, because as good as I am at my current profession, I got no clue at all about farming, baking or working in a mine.
So how should I survive the Interview with that ?

The lawyer told me that I have to find a province in need of IT professionals, so I can file as an independent professional there.

 

[scylla]

NOCs are occupation codes. There are no restrictions on what occupation you apply under for the FSW program provided it is a skilled / semi-skilled occupation. There were restrictions last year. These rules changed effective January 1st. Programs and criteria regulary change year to year. Any research you did last year is no longer valid.

If you were told LAST YEAR that there were no IT occupations on the list - this was correct. If you were told THIS YEAR that there are no IT occupations on the list - then the lawyer you spoke to have no idea what they are talking about and should be avoided like the plague.

You need to familiarize yourself with THIS YEAR'S rules and read about the Express Entry program. Again, there is nothing stopping you from submitting an application for the FSW program (via Express Entry).

 

[Champlain]

There is no NOC for IT workers of any kind - except Graphical (Computer) Artists, which most certainly wouldn't be me.
That is at least what the official Canadian Immigration Wizard website told me - twice.
What good does it do me if I just pick an(y) NOC and then it turns out I got no clue and no work history to show for that profession?

And two lawyers told me independently of each other, that I would have had no problems to immigrate under last year's rules, but that now the Federal Program no longer offers "open slots" that are available regardless of profession.
Now the slots have to match the requirements of the provincial and federal job market - and there doesn't seem to be a need on federal level for independent IT professionals.

So I am looking for a province in need of independent IT professionals - and *please* stop telling me to just pick any NOC.
That doesn't even make any sense - why would they introduce a job market based approach to immigration, and then allow the applicant to just make one up along the way?
How could I apply as a farm worker, if I can barely find the working end on a sheep?

PS: To make it crystal clear, I don't just want to apply for applying's sake - I want a reasonable chance to suceed.
And I can't have that if I couldn't survive the Interview - not even with the immigration officer handcuffed to a hot stove and me holding the keys to the cuffs.

 

[scylla]

Once again - there are no NOC restrictions for applying for FSW through Express Entry provided the NOC fall under skill level A, B or 0. I don't know how many more times I can say this. IT professionals of any kind can apply. The list you are looking at is from last year and no longer applies. The wizard doesn't work for the 2015 rules - don't use it - it still reflects the 2014 rules (which no longer apply).

You can find the full NOC list here: http://www5.hrsdc.gc.ca/NOC/English/NOC/2011/OccupationIndex.aspx

The list above includes great stuff like (sample only):

2171 Information systems analysts and consultants
2172 Database analysts and data administrators
2173 Software engineers and designers
2174 Computer programmers and interactive media developers
2175 Web designers and developers
2281 Computer network technicians
2282 User support technicians
2283 Information systems testing technicians
0211 Engineering managers
0212 Architecture and science managers
0213 Computer and information systems managers

If you continue to insist that you cannot qualify under FSW - feel free. You are just making the process far more difficult than it needs to be.

If you continue to want to discredit what I say, I would at a minimum recommend that you post your question in the Express Entry section of this forum (the section you are posting in now is for the 2014 program which has since closed and is no longer accepting applications). Those in the Express Entry section of the program will be more than happy to confirm there is no NOC limitations and that IT professionals of all sorts (not just graphic artists) can apply. But your choice. Feel free to ignore this advice as well.

 

[Champlain]

Three law firms looked at my case.
The first one even refunded me my advanced payment and the other two told me that I was a year too late with my application.
In both of the two remaining cases I was the one trying to convince them to continue nevertheless.
All of those lawyers looked at the requirements of the federal express entry program in detail (!!)

And all of them - including the Canadian Online Immigration Wizard for 2015(!) - agreed that as an IT engineer I could only immigrate if I had a Canadian employer willing to sponsor me - but not as an independent freelancer.

So yes scylla, I don't believe you - not the least because you claim this and claim that, but provide no proof for any of it.
You claim all those lawyers plus the *official* Canadian website got it dead wrong - so where is your proof for that?
Where is the URL, that shows that which you claim to be correct ?

 

[arkscan]

Three law firms looked at my case.
The first one even refunded me my advanced payment and the other two told me that I was a year too late with my application.
In both of the two remaining cases I was the one trying to convince them to continue nevertheless.
All of those lawyers looked at the requirements of the federal express entry program in detail (!!)

And all of them - including the Canadian Online Immigration Wizard for 2015(!) - agreed that as an IT engineer I could only immigrate if I had a Canadian employer willing to sponsor me - but not as an independent freelancer.

So yes scylla, I don't believe you - not the least because you claim this and claim that, but provide no proof for any of it.
You claim all those lawyers plus the *official* Canadian website got it dead wrong - so where is your proof for that?
Where is the URL, that shows that which you claim to be correct ?

You don't need to believe...Just as I can't believe either that 3 law firms looked at ur case and said u weren't qualified to apply..What kind of law firms did u go to??? U shud get ur fees refunded from all of them...The Online Wizard gives wrong info for everyone....

Look at my timeline on the left...I got thru this year on an IT NOC...Look at this spreadsheet for FSW 2014->

http://tinyurl.com/FSW14-Spreadsheet

Hundreds of ppl got thru..the 4 Open IT NOCs were amongst the most demanding ones and all were capped to their maximum cap 1000 in a matter of months after it opened in May last year...

From this year Express Entry has started and that means all NOCs r open...including the ones scylla mentioned...If you can prove ur experience in any one NOC and get sufficient points you would be invited to apply for PR....Start reading here->

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/noc.asp?bcsi_scan_510c2960d4f4e50e=XLX/z0jVYhHKSTDdrdMhlz6e/7MPAAAAoV2YSQ==&bcsi_scan_filename=noc.asp

Calculate your points here->
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/express-entry/grid-crs.asp

Fill out ur profile here (you can test if it's allowing u to apply on an IT NOC )
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/profile.asp

Check the forum here->
http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/express-entry-expression-of-interest-b54.0/

Good luck to u!!

 

[Champlain]

Good joke scylla, really.
You complain that my lawyers and the Canadian Immigration Wizard rely on outdated 2014 information, but then come back at me by posting me info from 2011: English/NOC/2011/OccupationIndex.aspx ->
Clicking on the "Welcome" page link gets: NOC/English/NOC/2011/Welcome.aspx

Welcome to the National Occupational Classification 2011

So yeah, I can see how information from 2011 easily trumps 2014 and 2015 for accuracy (not). ;D

 

[Champlain]

Hello arkscan,

I went to your weblinks, but truly most of them are useless to me as a legal amateur.
That is what lawyers are used for, to interpret all that numerical gibberish.

But on one link I stumbled upon the Express Entry Eligibility calculator again - which still wants me to apply for a specific province - which was exactly the info I had been asking for:
Which province has a listed need for IT freelancers ?

I think it best to terminate this fruitless exercise here.

I am not sure, but to me it looks like you two are basing your immigration advice on an "hey, let's try this, let's try that and if those don't work out, then why don't you try flipping with your ears to get in" approach.

That might actually work for folks a lot younger and more eager than me, who can afford to try and try and try again.
But I don't have that much time left in life.

If you two can not - or will not - tell me of a(ny) specific province(s) in Canada looking for IT freelancers, and can not - or will not - provide proof that the lawyers' advise, that I need a Canadian employer as sponsor for the Federal Program, was wrong, then I'll just give it a rest here and go my merry ways elsewhere on earth.

Happy trails

 

[zardoz]

Good joke scylla, really.
You complain that my lawyers and the Canadian Immigration Wizard rely on outdated 2014 information, but then come back at me by posting me info from 2011: English/NOC/2011/OccupationIndex.aspx ->
Clicking on the "Welcome" page link gets: NOC/English/NOC/2011/Welcome.aspx
So yeah, I can see how information from 2011 easily trumps 2014 and 2015 for accuracy (not). ;D

You are comparing apples and mice. The immigration rules change regularly and such a change occurred on January 1st 2015.
The NOC list doesn't change often and the most recent was prepared in 2011, which is still current. It is used for much more than just immigration purposes. CIC have stated on their website that the 2011 list is the one they use currently. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/noc.asp

 

[scylla]

Good joke scylla, really.
You complain that my lawyers and the Canadian Immigration Wizard rely on outdated 2014 information, but then come back at me by posting me info from 2011: English/NOC/2011/OccupationIndex.aspx ->
Clicking on the "Welcome" page link gets: NOC/English/NOC/2011/Welcome.aspx
So yeah, I can see how information from 2011 easily trumps 2014 and 2015 for accuracy (not). ;D

You're not understanding at all. This is my last post and then I'm giving up. The NOC (National Occupation) list and the 2014 FSW rules are two completely separate entities, with separate purposes, managed by two separate arms of the Canadian government.

The NOC list is maintained by Human Resources and Skill Development Canada (HRSDC) and serves as Canada's authoritative identification system for occupations. It was last updated in 2011 (prior to that it was 2006). It contains a COMPLETE LIST of occupations and their descriptions linked to occupation codes. It is used for many purposes - only one of those being immigration.

The FSW 2014 immigration rules were determined by CIC (Citizenship and Immigration Canada). One of the criteria of applying under the FSW 2014 program was that your NOC had to fall on a list of specified and desired occupations (i.e. select occupations from the complete list published by HRSDC) where it was felt there was a shortage of these skills in Canada. You can see this list here:

http://www.cicnews.com/2014/04/breaking-news-reopening-federal-skilled-worker-program-043382.html

The FSW 2014 program closed December 31, 2014 and was replaced by Express Entry. Under Express Entry, anyone can submit their profile for consideration under FSW provided they have at least one year of full time paid experience in the last 10 years in a NOC that falls under class A, B or 0 (i.e. a skilled occupation). In other words, there is no longer an occupation list as there was in previous years. All profiles submitted under Express Entry are reviewed every week or two by CIC and a select number of invitations to apply for immigration (ITAs) are then issued to those with the highest number of points at that time. Points are granted for: experience, having a job offer in Canada, education completed, language capabilities, etc.

 

[scylla]

provide proof that the lawyers' advise, that I need a Canadian employer as sponsor for the Federal Program

One last post. The lawyer who said this is grossly incompetent. If you have already paid him money - ask for it back. See what CIC themselves say on this matter: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/notices/2014-12-01.asp

33. Do I need a job offer to get into the Express Entry pool?
If you meet the criteria of one of the economic immigration programs subject to Express Entry, you will be accepted into the Express Entry pool. A job offer supported by an Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) from an employer in Canada is a significant asset, but not a requirement.

Over in the Express Entry section of this forum there are already a number of forum members who have been invited to sumbit their PR applications under FSW/Express Entry without job offers.

I now officially give up since you seem to know more than the rest of us.

 

[Champlain]

scylla, I am also "giving officially up" here, because you just don't want to understand that merely "trying it out for trying it out's sake" is not an option for me.
I need a reasonable chance to succeed here, and I am 52 years of age.
All lawyers, and the Canadian Immigration Wizard, told me that at my age I *need* a Canadian corp willing to sponsor me a for a permanent position, or otherwise I could not reach enough points to qualify.
And that is exactly because my skill set, as high as it might be, is not included in the Federal program under a qualifying category.
Not a single URL you posted (including that last one) says anything to contradict this.

What is the problem with simply saying, "sorry I don't know of any province registering a need for IT freelancers ..." ??
But instead you keep insisting I try a program under which I would have next to no chance to qualify.
That would only cost me thousands of CA$, and once I failed I'll only be one year older than I am already.

 

[zardoz]

http://www.canadavisa.com/provincial-nomination-program.html