Hi there everyone,
I'm currently studying in Vancouver at UBC for one term, on a visitors visa until the 24th of February. However, I really want to stay in Canada after that. I have technically already graduated (bachelors) and would like to take some time out and just do some travelling and working, so I was thinking about applying for a working holiday permit for when my visitor visa expires.
I have been walking up against a gigantic brick wall in the process however. I've been to embassies, called every number I can find, and sent about 10 emails trying to obtain information and so far I have got practically no where.
My situation is this, I have a British passport (my entire family is British and most live there), but I have personally not lived in the UK for the past 14 years, I have been living and studying in the Netherlands and have a visa there. I don't have a Dutch passport or dual nationality. I have a dutch social security number, not a British one.
At first I didn't know if I should apply through the Dutch or the British system, but seeing as I have a British passport, I understand that I am therefore technically a "British Citizen" and have to apply through the UK system.
This leads to the problem that their website is currently being changed and updated: http :// www .canadainternational.gc.ca/united_kingdom-royaume_uni/work-travail/index.aspx
I don't want to have to wait until the 18th of January to obtain any information on what the application or eligibility entails and am trying to gather information about the application process before then. As my visitor visa expires very shortly after that and it won't give me much time to plan or figure out my other options.
In the meantime I have also found the following website, BUNAC, which states that the only way to obtain a working holiday visa as a British citizen is through them (which is frankly confusing) and that the only way to be eligible is to be a UK passport holder and a resident of the UK for the past 3 years. Which I am not.
http :// www .bunac.org/uk/workcanada/eligibility.aspx
The same goes for the Dutch version of this organization and the Dutch visa office website...they clearly state you have to be a Dutch citizen in order to apply. But seeing as I don't have Dutch nationality (aka a Dutch passport) I do not apply. Is this correct?
Does this therefore mean that I fall into some kind of bureaucratic loophole and am simply not eligible for a working holiday permit at all??? This doesn't make any sense.
As you can see I am at a huge loss here and have no idea where to go from here. The only people I've been able to get hold of at the DFAIT and the CIC have no idea what I should do and the automated call centre messages never helped anyone.
Is there anyone out there that can tell me which category I fall into and how I can apply for a working holiday visa? I just want to know what documents I need and where to send them by what date, and what the processing time is. I also want to know if I have to leave the country in order to process it and if I can stay in the country passed my visitor visa expiry date until I get an answer to my application??
Also, on a side note, would it be a good idea to get a visitor visa extension? How easy is this to do? How long can an extension be for? What are legitimate reasons for a visitor visa extension? and the processing times?
If anyone can give me any help whatsoever on any of these points, it'd be highly appreciated.
Thank you!
I'm currently studying in Vancouver at UBC for one term, on a visitors visa until the 24th of February. However, I really want to stay in Canada after that. I have technically already graduated (bachelors) and would like to take some time out and just do some travelling and working, so I was thinking about applying for a working holiday permit for when my visitor visa expires.
I have been walking up against a gigantic brick wall in the process however. I've been to embassies, called every number I can find, and sent about 10 emails trying to obtain information and so far I have got practically no where.
My situation is this, I have a British passport (my entire family is British and most live there), but I have personally not lived in the UK for the past 14 years, I have been living and studying in the Netherlands and have a visa there. I don't have a Dutch passport or dual nationality. I have a dutch social security number, not a British one.
At first I didn't know if I should apply through the Dutch or the British system, but seeing as I have a British passport, I understand that I am therefore technically a "British Citizen" and have to apply through the UK system.
This leads to the problem that their website is currently being changed and updated: http :// www .canadainternational.gc.ca/united_kingdom-royaume_uni/work-travail/index.aspx
I don't want to have to wait until the 18th of January to obtain any information on what the application or eligibility entails and am trying to gather information about the application process before then. As my visitor visa expires very shortly after that and it won't give me much time to plan or figure out my other options.
In the meantime I have also found the following website, BUNAC, which states that the only way to obtain a working holiday visa as a British citizen is through them (which is frankly confusing) and that the only way to be eligible is to be a UK passport holder and a resident of the UK for the past 3 years. Which I am not.
http :// www .bunac.org/uk/workcanada/eligibility.aspx
The same goes for the Dutch version of this organization and the Dutch visa office website...they clearly state you have to be a Dutch citizen in order to apply. But seeing as I don't have Dutch nationality (aka a Dutch passport) I do not apply. Is this correct?
Does this therefore mean that I fall into some kind of bureaucratic loophole and am simply not eligible for a working holiday permit at all??? This doesn't make any sense.
As you can see I am at a huge loss here and have no idea where to go from here. The only people I've been able to get hold of at the DFAIT and the CIC have no idea what I should do and the automated call centre messages never helped anyone.
Is there anyone out there that can tell me which category I fall into and how I can apply for a working holiday visa? I just want to know what documents I need and where to send them by what date, and what the processing time is. I also want to know if I have to leave the country in order to process it and if I can stay in the country passed my visitor visa expiry date until I get an answer to my application??
Also, on a side note, would it be a good idea to get a visitor visa extension? How easy is this to do? How long can an extension be for? What are legitimate reasons for a visitor visa extension? and the processing times?
If anyone can give me any help whatsoever on any of these points, it'd be highly appreciated.
Thank you!