Hi,
I am on a WP in Canada for the last 2.5 months; I am being offered a permanent job offer by another company. I want to first apply for change of employer on the WP so that I can start work with the new employer soon. And then I want to apply for PR to CIC with the permanent job offer. I am in an IT specialist occupation and I believe after I have the new employer's WP, I should be able to apply for the PR (via the Arranged Employment route) without LMO (Labour Market Opinion) or AEO (Arranged Employment Opinion).
I'd like someone who made a similar application (FSW PR from an IT Specialist WP status, without LMO or AEO) or an immigration consultant/expert to verify what I am trying to conclude below. Thanks!
Work Permit:
For IT Speicalists' NOCs there is a "national confirmation" and no separate application needs to be made to HRSDC/Service Canada for LMO for the work-permit. The following links describe this provision which comes to an end on 31st Septemeber 2010.
HRSDC:
hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/workplaceskills/foreign_workers/itexemp.shtml
CIC:
cic.gc.ca/english/work/special-tech.asp
(I also validated this provision by downloading and reading the paragraph on Information Technology workers in section 2.5 of the CIC Foreign Worker Manual.)
Permanent Residence:
I need to take the Arranged Employment route (I am good on points even without AEO) to satisfy the elibility criteria mentioned here for the FSW PR.
cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/apply-who-employment.asp
(I do not want to wait one year before applying for PR; and my occupation is not in the list of 38.)
Now I would have satisfied the requirements for the Arranged Employment (#1 on cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/apply-who-employment.asp) route, if I could argue, as per the HRSDC-WP link above, that I already have an LMO by virtue of my occupation NOC being in the list of the IT Specialists facilitated NOCs.
Also, AEO (Arranged Employment Opinion) does not seem to be right for me either. The first question on the AEO form (typically filled by the employer) has this note which indicates that AEO is not what I need.
"Do you intend to employ the skilled worker before he/she becomes a permanent resident?"
"If yes, you are not completing the correct form - please complete the Application for a Labour Market Opinion Form"
From the above, I deduce that as an IT specialist on a work permit whose "occupation" has been "issued" a national LMO, I should be directly able to apply for the PR to CIC with a permanent job offer letter.
Is this conclusion accurate? Has someone done this?
Besides, I was wondering that the IT specialists program coming to an end in September, is going to mandate the LMO for me, in the event I make the PR application after September (I know I need to make the WP change of conditions before September.) However, as far as the PR application is concerned, I want to believe that it will not matter if I apply after September. The "was originally issued by CIC" in the note in the following HSRDC link makes me think so.
hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/workplaceskills/foreign_workers/poworkperm.shtml
** Note
Please note that the Skilled Worker can apply directly to CIC for permanent residency (Step 4) and can gain additional points for having a permanent job offer from you if he/she already holds a work permit that:
* Is valid at the time of the application and was originally issued by CIC based on a positive HRSDC labour market opinion (including national opinions like the Canada Research Chairs program); or
* Is valid at the time of application and was originally issued by CIC based on an international trade agreement (e.g. NAFTA) or an economic benefit exemption.
My second conclusion from the above HSRDC note is - it will be okay if I apply for PR after Septemeber, because my work permit would still be "originally issued" by CIC based on a national opinion (Information Technology workers program.)
Is this conclusion accurate?
The CIC phone agent seems to be clueless.
Any expert opinion on this?
Thank you for your time!
-Kaps
I am on a WP in Canada for the last 2.5 months; I am being offered a permanent job offer by another company. I want to first apply for change of employer on the WP so that I can start work with the new employer soon. And then I want to apply for PR to CIC with the permanent job offer. I am in an IT specialist occupation and I believe after I have the new employer's WP, I should be able to apply for the PR (via the Arranged Employment route) without LMO (Labour Market Opinion) or AEO (Arranged Employment Opinion).
I'd like someone who made a similar application (FSW PR from an IT Specialist WP status, without LMO or AEO) or an immigration consultant/expert to verify what I am trying to conclude below. Thanks!
Work Permit:
For IT Speicalists' NOCs there is a "national confirmation" and no separate application needs to be made to HRSDC/Service Canada for LMO for the work-permit. The following links describe this provision which comes to an end on 31st Septemeber 2010.
HRSDC:
hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/workplaceskills/foreign_workers/itexemp.shtml
CIC:
cic.gc.ca/english/work/special-tech.asp
(I also validated this provision by downloading and reading the paragraph on Information Technology workers in section 2.5 of the CIC Foreign Worker Manual.)
Permanent Residence:
I need to take the Arranged Employment route (I am good on points even without AEO) to satisfy the elibility criteria mentioned here for the FSW PR.
cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/apply-who-employment.asp
(I do not want to wait one year before applying for PR; and my occupation is not in the list of 38.)
Now I would have satisfied the requirements for the Arranged Employment (#1 on cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/apply-who-employment.asp) route, if I could argue, as per the HRSDC-WP link above, that I already have an LMO by virtue of my occupation NOC being in the list of the IT Specialists facilitated NOCs.
Also, AEO (Arranged Employment Opinion) does not seem to be right for me either. The first question on the AEO form (typically filled by the employer) has this note which indicates that AEO is not what I need.
"Do you intend to employ the skilled worker before he/she becomes a permanent resident?"
"If yes, you are not completing the correct form - please complete the Application for a Labour Market Opinion Form"
From the above, I deduce that as an IT specialist on a work permit whose "occupation" has been "issued" a national LMO, I should be directly able to apply for the PR to CIC with a permanent job offer letter.
Is this conclusion accurate? Has someone done this?
Besides, I was wondering that the IT specialists program coming to an end in September, is going to mandate the LMO for me, in the event I make the PR application after September (I know I need to make the WP change of conditions before September.) However, as far as the PR application is concerned, I want to believe that it will not matter if I apply after September. The "was originally issued by CIC" in the note in the following HSRDC link makes me think so.
hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/workplaceskills/foreign_workers/poworkperm.shtml
** Note
Please note that the Skilled Worker can apply directly to CIC for permanent residency (Step 4) and can gain additional points for having a permanent job offer from you if he/she already holds a work permit that:
* Is valid at the time of the application and was originally issued by CIC based on a positive HRSDC labour market opinion (including national opinions like the Canada Research Chairs program); or
* Is valid at the time of application and was originally issued by CIC based on an international trade agreement (e.g. NAFTA) or an economic benefit exemption.
My second conclusion from the above HSRDC note is - it will be okay if I apply for PR after Septemeber, because my work permit would still be "originally issued" by CIC based on a national opinion (Information Technology workers program.)
Is this conclusion accurate?
The CIC phone agent seems to be clueless.
Any expert opinion on this?
Thank you for your time!
-Kaps