Job offer with LMIA (closed work permit) and BOWP

roland1990 · Jan 14, 2021

Hello everyone. I claimed 50 points for job offer (closed work permit with LMIA), does anyone know, if I could go for a bridging open work permit or should I get my employer apply for an fresh LMIA and get a closed work permit based on that new LMIA. I have already worked for the employer for more than a year based on the LMIA and closed work permit and continuing my job with the same employer.

The following lays out the conditions for the offer of employment to be valid. Would the conditions highlighted in bold font be met for an applicant who (claiming 50 points for the job offer) applies for BOWP ? Does that mean for an applicant who has obtained 50 points due to job offer with LMIA (Closed Work Permit), bridging open work permit cannot be used ?

Anyone with a similar experience ? your valuable suggestion will be much appreciated. Thanks.

if you’re currently working in Canada in a NOC 0, A or B job on a work permit that was issued based on an LMIA, and:

you’re working for an employer listed on your work permit
you’re authorized to work in Canada on the day you apply for a permanent resident visa, and when the visa is issued
your current employer made you an offer to give you a full-time job for at least one year if you’re accepted as a permanent resident OR

Reference:

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/express-entry/documents/offer-employment.html

SSGray · Jan 21, 2021

roland1990 said:
Hello everyone. I claimed 50 points for job offer (closed work permit with LMIA), does anyone know, if I could go for a bridging open work permit or should I get my employer apply for an fresh LMIA and get a closed work permit based on that new LMIA. I have already worked for the employer for more than a year based on the LMIA and closed work permit and continuing my job with the same employer.

The following lays out the conditions for the offer of employment to be valid. Would the conditions highlighted in bold font be met for an applicant who (claiming 50 points for the job offer) applies for BOWP ? Does that mean for an applicant who has obtained 50 points due to job offer with LMIA (Closed Work Permit), bridging open work permit cannot be used ?

Anyone with a similar experience ? your valuable suggestion will be much appreciated. Thanks.

if you’re currently working in Canada in a NOC 0, A or B job on a work permit that was issued based on an LMIA, and:

you’re working for an employer listed on your work permit

you’re authorized to work in Canada on the day you apply for a permanent resident visa, and when the visa is issued

your current employer made you an offer to give you a full-time job for at least one year if you’re accepted as a permanent resident OR

Reference:

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/express-entry/documents/offer-employment.html

Hello,
I am in the same boat and cannot find exact answer for this question. My BOWP has been recently approved but PR application is in process. I am really worrying if I should have applied for BOWP instead WP (LMIA) in order not to lose 50 points for the job offer.
Could you please share if you managed to find the answer for your question?

roland1990 · Jan 22, 2021

SSGray said:
Hello,
I am in the same boat and cannot find exact answer for this question. My BOWP has been recently approved but PR application is in process. I am really worrying if I should have applied for BOWP instead WP (LMIA) in order not to lose 50 points for the job offer.
Could you please share if you managed to find the answer for your question?

Although I assume BOWP may work, I'm not 100% sure. In the AOR, it says you can use the AOR letter to obtain BOWP. However, it is not clear whether applicants specifically who have claimed the 50 points for job offer with a current closed permit with LMIA can apply for this BOWP. Still looking for an answer before I decide to go with BOWP or ask employer to renew the closed WP with LMIA.

Ilya127 · Jan 22, 2021

roland1990 said:
Hello everyone. I claimed 50 points for job offer (closed work permit with LMIA), does anyone know, if I could go for a bridging open work permit or should I get my employer apply for an fresh LMIA and get a closed work permit based on that new LMIA. I have already worked for the employer for more than a year based on the LMIA and closed work permit and continuing my job with the same employer.

The following lays out the conditions for the offer of employment to be valid. Would the conditions highlighted in bold font be met for an applicant who (claiming 50 points for the job offer) applies for BOWP ? Does that mean for an applicant who has obtained 50 points due to job offer with LMIA (Closed Work Permit), bridging open work permit cannot be used ?

Anyone with a similar experience ? your valuable suggestion will be much appreciated. Thanks.

if you’re currently working in Canada in a NOC 0, A or B job on a work permit that was issued based on an LMIA, and:

you’re working for an employer listed on your work permit

you’re authorized to work in Canada on the day you apply for a permanent resident visa, and when the visa is issued

your current employer made you an offer to give you a full-time job for at least one year if you’re accepted as a permanent resident OR

Reference:

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/express-entry/documents/offer-employment.html

Hi!
My situation is similar. The one of conditions you took from Canada website clearly state that: "you’re authorized to work in Canada on the day you apply for a permanent resident visa, AND when the visa is issued". If the period validity of your current work permit is good enough that they can make a decision while it is still valid, there are no worries at all. If your WP is getting expired sooner than in 6 months you may need a new LMIA. In my case I applied twice to Express Entry. First time after one full year of work in Canada, and second time after refusal, but it still was a little more than 6 months until my WP had to expire. It was Ok with IRCC, and I passed they eligibility stage. They did not question my points. Because of covid the processing time is higher than normal, but it is not our fault. I think you can apply for BOWP when your EE PR application is in process, but you should continue to work for the same employer with exactly the same conditions like was stated in original WP. You can even work in implied status if you applied for WP on time. It happened to me. I applied to extend my WP 5 months in advance, when my PR application was already in process and eventually was working for about 2 weeks in implied status.
The only difference of my case, that I am provincial nominee and I have second PR application under nominee stream. I was using my nomination to extend my WP without LMIA. But I think BOWP should also work if you apply at least 6 months before the expiration of current WP and pass eligibility stage, which is first stage of application processing.

roland1990 · Jan 22, 2021

Ilya127 said:
Hi!
My situation is similar. The one of conditions you took from Canada website clearly state that: "you’re authorized to work in Canada on the day you apply for a permanent resident visa, AND when the visa is issued". If the period validity of your current work permit is good enough that they can make a decision while it is still valid, there are no worries at all. If your WP is getting expired sooner than in 6 months you may need a new LMIA. In my case I applied twice to Express Entry. First time after one full year of work in Canada, and second time after refusal, but it still was a little more than 6 months until my WP had to expire. It was Ok with IRCC, and I passed they eligibility stage. They did not question my points. Because of covid the processing time is higher than normal, but it is not our fault. I think you can apply for BOWP when your EE PR application is in process, but you should continue to work for the same employer with exactly the same conditions like was stated in original WP. You can even work in implied status if you applied for WP on time. It happened to me. I applied to extend my WP 5 months in advance, when my PR application was already in process and eventually was working for about 2 weeks in implied status.
The only difference of my case, that I am provincial nominee and I have second PR application under nominee stream. I was using my nomination to extend my WP without LMIA. But I think BOWP should also work if you apply at least 6 months before the expiration of current WP and pass eligibility stage, which is first stage of application processing.

May I ask you about how you got the 6 months time frame ? How is 6 month time frame related to if we can apply for BOWP or closed work permit with LMIA. I claimed 50 points for job offer while on the current 2 year closed work permit with LMIA . At the time of AOR (Feb 2020), the closed work permit with LMIA still had almost 1.5 years left to expire. Now almost one year passed after launching my PR application and there is only 4 months left on my current closed work permit with LMIA. So I'm thinking whether to apply for BOWP. My only concern was that, if I apply for BOWP (which is open) there would not be any employer on my bridging open work permit and there is no need for LMIA, so will that be a problem for the following condition ?

if you’re currently working in Canada in a NOC 0, A or B job on a work permit that was issued based on an LMIA, and:

you’re working for an employer listed on your work permit

Ilya127 · Jan 22, 2021

roland1990 said:
May I ask you about how you got the 6 months time frame ? How is 6 month time frame related to if we can apply for BOWP or closed work permit with LMIA. I claimed 50 points for job offer while on the current 2 year closed work permit with LMIA . At the time of AOR (Feb 2020), the closed work permit with LMIA still had almost 1.5 years left to expire. Now almost one year passed after launching my PR application and there is only 4 months left on my current closed work permit with LMIA. So I'm thinking whether to apply for BOWP. My only concern was that, if I apply for BOWP (which is open) there would not be any employer on my bridging open work permit and there is no need for LMIA, so will that be a problem for the following condition ?

if you’re currently working in Canada in a NOC 0, A or B job on a work permit that was issued based on an LMIA, and:

you’re working for an employer listed on your work permit

Hi!
The most important point is that you can claim 50 points for job offer without having new LMIA if you fulfil the 3 conditions that you referred to:
- an employer listed on your work permit;
- you’re authorized to work when applied and when the visa is issued;
- current employer made you an offer;

The most tricky point is that you need to be authorized to work when decision is made. Nobody knows when decision will be made, and what if they will still be processing your application when your WP expires. This is how I came to 6 months, which is officially stated PR processing time under EE. What we are discussing now is just my assumption, as I was not able to find more info on this. If you applied for PR and claimed points for job offer without new LMIA, they should trust, that you will retain your current status when they make a decision.
In your case my understanding that you are absolutely safe. You applied when your WP had 1.5 years to expire, I am assuming you have passed the eligibility stage. They trusted in your points for job offer. It is not your fault that they work on your application for so long. Please apply to BOWP and keep working as you were. And again, I am not professional lawyer, but this is how I see the situation. They approved my eligibility with understanding when my WP expires and did not question my score.

roland1990 · Jan 22, 2021

Ilya127 said:
Hi!
The most important point is that you can claim 50 points for job offer without having new LMIA if you fulfil the 3 conditions that you referred to:
- an employer listed on your work permit;
- you’re authorized to work when applied and when the visa is issued;
- current employer made you an offer;

The most tricky point is that you need to be authorized to work when decision is made. Nobody knows when decision will be made, and what if they will still be processing your application when your WP expires. This is how I came to 6 months, which is officially stated PR processing time under EE. What we are discussing now is just my assumption, as I was not able to find more info on this. If you applied for PR and claimed points for job offer without new LMIA, they should trust, that you will retain your current status when they make a decision.
In your case my understanding that you are absolutely safe. You applied when your WP had 1.5 years to expire, I am assuming you have passed the eligibility stage. They trusted in your points for job offer. It is not your fault that they work on your application for so long. Please apply to BOWP and keep working as you were. And again, I am not professional lawyer, but this is how I see the situation. They approved my eligibility with understanding when my WP expires and did not question my score.

Thanks @llya127. Yes, I'm assuming that the BOWP would be okay. I'm just trying to make sure. The thing I'm really concerned is that the applicant should not be put in a position to make guesses to make sure that the 50 points which is so critical remains valid. The rule should be clear and not ambiguous. As of now, I was not able to find a document / link which says that applicant who has claimed 50 points for job offer working for the employer on a closed WP with LMIA at the time of AOR could switch to BOWP without loosing 50 points. Again, for the the following 3 conditions, it does not say if the applicant till when the applicant needs to have these conditions fulfilled. That is should these conditions be met 1) at the time of eAPR OR 2) till the eligibility is passed OR 3) until the PR card is issued

if you’re currently working in Canada in a NOC 0, A or B job on a work permit that was issued based on an LMIA, and:

you’re working for an employer listed on your work permit
you’re authorized to work in Canada on the day you apply for a permanent resident visa, and when the visa is issued
your current employer made you an offer to give you a full-time job for at least one year if you’re accepted as a permanent resident OR

SSGray · Jan 22, 2021

roland1990 said:
Although I assume BOWP may work, I'm not 100% sure. In the AOR, it says you can use the AOR letter to obtain BOWP. However, it is not clear whether applicants specifically who have claimed the 50 points for job offer with a current closed permit with LMIA can apply for this BOWP. Still looking for an answer before I decide to go with BOWP or ask employer to renew the closed WP with LMIA.

As I am already on BOWP, the only one way to know how it works is to wait patiently for the decision about my PR application...

roland1990 · Jan 23, 2021

SSGray said:
As I am already on BOWP, the only one way to know how it works is to wait patiently for the decision about my PR application...

Would appreciate if you post the outcome as I'm curious too.

rohan_b1992 · Jan 26, 2021

roland1990 said:
May I ask you about how you got the 6 months time frame ? How is 6 month time frame related to if we can apply for BOWP or closed work permit with LMIA. I claimed 50 points for job offer while on the current 2 year closed work permit with LMIA . At the time of AOR (Feb 2020), the closed work permit with LMIA still had almost 1.5 years left to expire. Now almost one year passed after launching my PR application and there is only 4 months left on my current closed work permit with LMIA. So I'm thinking whether to apply for BOWP. My only concern was that, if I apply for BOWP (which is open) there would not be any employer on my bridging open work permit and there is no need for LMIA, so will that be a problem for the following condition ?

if you’re currently working in Canada in a NOC 0, A or B job on a work permit that was issued based on an LMIA, and:

you’re working for an employer listed on your work permit

Which date of expiry did you use the one mentioned in the letter or WP expiry date? I used LMIA expiry date mentioned on the letter and got 50 points , but curious to know to avoid rejection in future.

roland1990 · Jan 26, 2021

rohan_b1992 said:
Which date of expiry did you use the one mentioned in the letter or WP expiry date? I used LMIA expiry date mentioned on the letter and got 50 points , but curious to know to avoid rejection in future.

I do not have a date of expiry in the offer letter. BTW, when you ask "Which date of expiry did you use ?", you mean the date I used where ?

rohan_b1992 · Jan 27, 2021

roland1990 said:
I do not have a date of expiry in the offer letter. BTW, when you ask "Which date of expiry did you use ?", you mean the date I used where ?

When you fill-up express entry profile you get a question about the LMIA expiry date. I used the LMIA letter expiry date ( 6months one), and not the Work Permit expiry date.

roland1990 · Jan 27, 2021

rohan_b1992 said:
When you fill-up express entry profile you get a question about the LMIA expiry date. I used the LMIA letter expiry date ( 6months one), and not the Work Permit expiry date.

Okay, its been almost a year since I filled up the express entry application. I believe if the question asks the LMIA expiry date, I would have provided the LMIA expiry date. My question was about when it is time for work permit renewal, should we go for a new LMIA again or could we file for a BOWP. The main concern was since BOWP does not have an LMIA or employer tagged to the BOWP, then will it satisfy the conditions highlighted in bold below for the job offer to remain valid till the time of final PR decision ?

if you’re currently working in Canada in a NOC 0, A or B job on a work permit that was issued based on an LMIA, and:

you’re working for an employer listed on your work permit
you’re authorized to work in Canada on the day you apply for a permanent resident visa, and when the visa is issued
your current employer made you an offer to give you a full-time job for at least one year if you’re accepted as a permanent resident OR

raj285 · May 10, 2021

Hi
I just started tracking this post. I am in the same boat. Can anyone who applied for BOWP, clarify if everything was smooth with the PR, especially on the 50 points gained because of LMIA

Thanks
Raj

Akashyap · Jun 16, 2021

raj285 said:
Hi
I just started tracking this post. I am in the same boat. Can anyone who applied for BOWP, clarify if everything was smooth with the PR, especially on the 50 points gained because of LMIA

Thanks
Raj

Did you get the answer to your question? If so, please share as I am also in the same boat.

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Job offer with LMIA (closed work permit) and BOWP

roland1990

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