Lacking 2 weeks of employment to qualify for CEC

[Jozzef]

Hey,
I would be really grateful if someone could provide some assistance for the problem I have.
My 1-year open work permit is about to expire on April, 2, 2015. I would fulfill the requirement of 1 year full-time employments in a skilled occupation on April 16, 2015. What are the options since I am missing two weeks to qualify for CEC?
Applying for an LMO to extend my work permit is not an option since I guess I wouldn't get it. I work in a managerial position but not that there are no people in Canada that could do the same job, so I do not qualify for positive LMO.

1) Can I apply for an extension of the work permit before my current one expires (on paper because it takes longer to process) and work towards meeting the requirements of 1 year full time employment while waiting for an answer for a work permit extension (taking into consideration that at that point I will have an "implied status" which allows me to work in Canada)? Once I fulfill the requirements I would apply for PR under CEC and bridging work permit. Is that an option at all?

2) Any other alternative?

Thanks in advance.

 

[arowberry]

You are not going to get a simple yes or no answer to your question. There are pretty regular debates on here as to whether work whilst on implied status is eligible to count for the Canadian Experience Class. For example, some people suggest that you cannot be on implied status if you have applied for PR and a BOWP from an IEC visa.

My personal opinion is that always come down to the specific VO who looks at your case. If there is no chance of you getting your work permit extension, then a VO may choose to reject your implied status work. Another VO may accept it.

You can find plenty of other posts on this forum about very similar situations.

This is a good one:
http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/making-up-1-year-for-cec-during-implied-status-so-that-i-can-apply-for-ee-t268209.0.html

Have a look through these results and make up your own mind:
https://www.google.ca/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=implied+status+to+get+canada+experience+site:www.canadavisa.com&safe=off&start=10


My situation was a little different. My IEC visa was expiring and I had not yet received my AOR, so I applied for the BOWP without it and continued working under 'implied status' (I did have over 1 years experience when I applied for CEC). A number of people in this forum would say I was working illegally, but I have always regarded it as something of a grey area and was worth the risk. In any case, my PR and BOWP went through just fine.

It definitely depends on whether you are in fact eligible for the work permit extension you mention. At the end of the day, I think you will have to decide whether it's worth taking a punt on it.

 

[jes_ON]

1) Can I apply for an extension of the work permit before my current one expires (on paper because it takes longer to process) and work towards meeting the requirements of 1 year full time employment while waiting for an answer for a work permit extension (taking into consideration that at that point I will have an "implied status" which allows me to work in Canada)? Once I fulfill the requirements I would apply for PR under CEC and bridging work permit. Is that an option at all?

Lots of people apply for the extension to get the extra time they need to qualify under implied status, many succeed, but there are no guarantees.

But you have to understand, your "hail mary" work permit application will likely be refused before you are eligible for the BOWP. Which means, you won't be eligible for the BOWP. So, once your application is refused, you have 2 choices - leave Canada and wait while your application is processed, or apply for restoration and a visitor's permit. (If by any chance you're from a visa exempt country, you could exit and *might* be permitted to return as a visitor). But you won't be able to work.