Hi all,
First of all I just wanted to say that I have found this forum extremely useful in all the stages of my PR application as an observer, so thanks to everyone for that! Unfortunately I have a situation that I haven't been able to find the answer to while looking through the forum so figured I had better post in the hope that someone knew the answer better than I do at the moment...
SO, the situation. I am an Australian who is currently on his 3rd WHP (expiring December 9/2015), and have been living in Canada since November 2009. I applied for my inland spousal PR in August 2014 (My wife is Canadian-born, and we have a 13 month old girl who was born in Canada), and I see in looking today that the processing time is out to 26 months. I completed the Medicals/criminal checks and pre-paid everything that I could for my application, so am hoping that will work in my favour once the spousal assessment is completed, however obviously my application will not be processed before my WHP visa expires in December.
I am currently working for Telus as a Fibre Optic Technician, which is a skilled trade, but I was hired at the entry level, so LMO would not be on my side.
What I am wondering is kind of a two parter - Firstly, am I able to continue working while my PR application is being processed once my WHP visa has expired under implied status, or will I have to apply for a new WHP visa? And, if I do have to apply for a new WHP visa, will this affect/be affected by my in progress PR application?
My apologies for the long winded question, I know this is still a few months away from being a real problem, but I just wanted to start getting my ducks in a row as my wife and I are looking to be purchasing a house here in the near future, and I don't want anything jeopardising that...
If anyone has any advice/has been through this situation and could let me know how they resolved it or steer me in the right direction that would be a massive help!
Thanks in advance for your time everyone!
Cheers,
clbain89