Opinions to take this job offer or not

[TSeeker]

Hey there !

I thought of coming to this forum and posting as I'm likeliest to get an informed opinion/guess rather than a random one as some folks here seem to have undergone the struggles and rigmarole of getting the PR.

This is my situation: I am in the UK and here for a little over 3 years. After 5 years (a little under 2 years from now) I would be eligible to apply for an ILR (PR equivalent in UK terms). However I'm on a lookout for a new job as the company I'm working with just now is not doing great financially. IT jobs in the UK are not quite as dense in other parts of the world and combined with the fact that someone would need to sponsor me, the chances of offers either bleak though there are some but they either don't want to quite pay very well or they offer tech in which I'm not interested. While on this job hunt, I recently got a call and cleared interview rounds for a job offer from BC Canada. That offering is not too shabby and the area is that of my interest. Now comes the question if I should risk leaving the UK and head off to Canada in the hope of getting the PR there within say 1.5 to 2 years.

Here are some pointers:

1. I'm 33 and so is my wife - so right off the bat I seem to be starting with a slight disadvantage.
2. My job offer will likely be NOC type-A 2174 (not the coveted Type starting with 00).
3. I've over 9 years of work ex. out of which 1st 3 yrs are in a domain which I couldn't find and equivalent NOC for. Even if I forget that I'll have 6 yrs to show for, out of which 1 year I was working as a remote developer/contractor for an overseas company.
4. I can see it's a hassle to get the reference letters in the format that EE needs but I'm slightly hopeful I'll be able to arrange them.
5. I've never taken IELTS so that obviously needs a reasonable guess w.r.t. my and my SO's scores in it.
6. For education I've BE from Nagpur university, a 4 year course. I understand I need to go through the hassle of getting the transcripts to WES. Does anyone know what this translate to in terms of education from p.o.v. of WES/Canada ? Is it "Bachelors, 3yrs or more" category ?
7. My SO has hers as MA English - so WES will likely ask both BA and MA degrees.
8. We are also planning on being parents by the end of next year or so. Don't know how that affects the scores (with baby around).
9. My SO has a slight onset of rheumatoid arthritis (very slight and speculative at this point if anything). Don't know if that will play a part in Medical Screening for the PR later.

Given that info what would be the opinions of the experienced folks here regarding what's a sane(est) step to take ? Is my profile likely going to be good for PR ? Would you take a chance and go do something in Canada expecting a PR and leave the chances of getting a UK ILR behind ? Would you rather take a safer route - like a pay cut and rough it out even if those new job offers aren't very motivating ?

 

[Bs65]

A detailed post but have you estimated the best case EE points that either you or your partner might get assuming a job offer to see if greater than say 450.

 

[spirit.varun]

You are 2 years shy of UK ILR, IMO start with CA EE in parallel, go for whichever comes early

Start playing with CRS calculator (you can google this if you haven't already done so far)

Time Speculation (if no significant hiccups):
You haven't appeared for IELTS yet (say 1-2 months if you and SO are really confident to get the required band score)
You can start WES in parallel to IELTS prep (Total time taken would be 2-4 months if no hiccups, your BE would be equivalent to bachelors with 4 years, for your SO, it would something along the lines of 2 or more bachelors degree, my wife has same profile: BCOM+MCOM)

If you get ITA:
Then you can expect it to take around 2 months(to gather and submit all docs) + approx ~6 months (after you submit your docs (AOR), this is greatly varying across)

So, in total, you should see around 1-1.5 years in total if no significant hiccups (I mean your application glides through literally)

Note : I am not exactly sure on how long would it take for LMIA for job offer prospect if you do score one, but this will raise your CRS scores, you can toggle this in CRS calculator and search this forum
Note : There is PNP route as well, but it take significant additional time as well

 

[lampbreaker]

The best case score I see with you as primary is 424, not close to getting you an ITA. If your spouse has over 3 years of work experience, you can make it to 449 with them as primary. This assumes that you both get CLB 10 in all 4 sections of IELTS.
If you get yourself some more education, you can bump it up to 449 with yourself as primary.
With 449, it is highly likely that you will get an ITA by the end of the year.

If the Canadian job offer comes with LMIA (not highly likely), then it will add 50 points, which will be sufficient to get an ITA.

Other things such as sibling in Canada, French language skills etc. can add some points.

Having a kid does not make a difference to your score, but does bump up the settlement fund requirement a little.
Having very serious medical conditions can make you ineligible, but, not so with milder conditions. I don't know much about your specific case.

 

[TSeeker]

Thanks a lot guys. I played with the online calculator CRS calculator a bit.

The best case score I see with you as primary is 424, not close to getting you an ITA.

Can you please let me know how did you get that ?

Here's what I did and got 468 instead:
1. Marital status: Married
2.i. Spouse citizen or PR of Canada: No
2.ii. Spouse coming with me to Canada: Yes
3. Age: 33
4. Level of Education: Bachelor's Degree (three or more year...) ##This is according to what @spirit.varun said here
4.b. Earned Canadian Degree/Diploma: No
5.i. Are IELTS results less than 2 years old: Yes
5.ii. IELTS Score: Speaking: 7.5-9.0 ;; Listening: 8.0 ;; Reading: 7.0-7.5 ;; Writing: 7.5-9.0 ## I hope I'm not keeping these unrealistically high. I haven't taken these but I took a mock and scored above these; still keeping it lower for the sake of a bad-case scenario.
5.iii. Any other lang results: No
6.i. Work exp. in Canada: None
6.ii. Work exp., foreign skilled: 3yrs or more
7. Certificate of qualification from Canadian province: No
8. Valid job offer backed by LMIA: Yes ## I'll have a job offer after the final round, though I don't know if it's LMIA or not
8.a. NOC: Skill type A
9. Nomination Certificate from province: No
10. At-least one brother or sister who is Canadian citizen or PR: No
11. Highest level of Spouse education: 2 or more certificates or degrees ## This is again according to what @spirit.varun wrote above for an MA degree
12. Skilled work exp in Canada for Spouse: None
13. IELTS taken by spouse: Yes
13.i. IELTS Score: Speaking: 7.5-9.0 ;; Listening: 8.0 ;; Reading: 7.0-7.5 ;; Writing: 7.5-9.0

Score: 468

If I vary it to Age=34 and 1 year of Canada Work Experience (assuming I take the offer and go there), I get 511

The way I get 418 is if I put no LMIA for the job offer (hence not a valid job offer). So was that how you obtained 424 ?

Are the job offers in Canada not usually LMIA ? Probably something to ask the company offering me the job then; good point, I had taken this point for granted.

 

[scylla]

Hey there !

I thought of coming to this forum and posting as I'm likeliest to get an informed opinion/guess rather than a random one as some folks here seem to have undergone the struggles and rigmarole of getting the PR.

This is my situation: I am in the UK and here for a little over 3 years. After 5 years (a little under 2 years from now) I would be eligible to apply for an ILR (PR equivalent in UK terms). However I'm on a lookout for a new job as the company I'm working with just now is not doing great financially. IT jobs in the UK are not quite as dense in other parts of the world and combined with the fact that someone would need to sponsor me, the chances of offers either bleak though there are some but they either don't want to quite pay very well or they offer tech in which I'm not interested. While on this job hunt, I recently got a call and cleared interview rounds for a job offer from BC Canada. That offering is not too shabby and the area is that of my interest. Now comes the question if I should risk leaving the UK and head off to Canada in the hope of getting the PR there within say 1.5 to 2 years.

Here are some pointers:

1. I'm 33 and so is my wife - so right off the bat I seem to be starting with a slight disadvantage.
2. My job offer will likely be NOC type-A 2174 (not the coveted Type starting with 00).
3. I've over 9 years of work ex. out of which 1st 3 yrs are in a domain which I couldn't find and equivalent NOC for. Even if I forget that I'll have 6 yrs to show for, out of which 1 year I was working as a remote developer/contractor for an overseas company.
4. I can see it's a hassle to get the reference letters in the format that EE needs but I'm slightly hopeful I'll be able to arrange them.
5. I've never taken IELTS so that obviously needs a reasonable guess w.r.t. my and my SO's scores in it.
6. For education I've BE from Nagpur university, a 4 year course. I understand I need to go through the hassle of getting the transcripts to WES. Does anyone know what this translate to in terms of education from p.o.v. of WES/Canada ? Is it "Bachelors, 3yrs or more" category ?
7. My SO has hers as MA English - so WES will likely ask both BA and MA degrees.
8. We are also planning on being parents by the end of next year or so. Don't know how that affects the scores (with baby around).
9. My SO has a slight onset of rheumatoid arthritis (very slight and speculative at this point if anything). Don't know if that will play a part in Medical Screening for the PR later.

Given that info what would be the opinions of the experienced folks here regarding what's a sane(est) step to take ? Is my profile likely going to be good for PR ? Would you take a chance and go do something in Canada expecting a PR and leave the chances of getting a UK ILR behind ? Would you rather take a safer route - like a pay cut and rough it out even if those new job offers aren't very motivating ?

Make sure the job offer is real. Tons of scams out there...

 

[scylla]

Thanks a lot guys. I played with the online calculator CRS calculator a bit.



Can you please let me know how did you get that ?

Here's what I did and got 468 instead:
1. Marital status: Married
2.i. Spouse citizen or PR of Canada: No
2.ii. Spouse coming with me to Canada: Yes
3. Age: 33
4. Level of Education: Bachelor's Degree (three or more year...) ##This is according to what @spirit.varun said here
4.b. Earned Canadian Degree/Diploma: No
5.i. Are IELTS results less than 2 years old: Yes
5.ii. IELTS Score: Speaking: 7.5-9.0 ;; Listening: 8.0 ;; Reading: 7.0-7.5 ;; Writing: 7.5-9.0 ## I hope I'm not keeping these unrealistically high. I haven't taken these but I took a mock and scored above these; still keeping it lower for the sake of a bad-case scenario.
5.iii. Any other lang results: No
6.i. Work exp. in Canada: None
6.ii. Work exp., foreign skilled: 3yrs or more
7. Certificate of qualification from Canadian province: No
8. Valid job offer backed by LMIA: Yes ## I'll have a job offer after the final round, though I don't know if it's LMIA or not
8.a. NOC: Skill type A
9. Nomination Certificate from province: No
10. At-least one brother or sister who is Canadian citizen or PR: No
11. Highest level of Spouse education: 2 or more certificates or degrees ## This is again according to what @spirit.varun wrote above for an MA degree
12. Skilled work exp in Canada for Spouse: None
13. IELTS taken by spouse: Yes
13.i. IELTS Score: Speaking: 7.5-9.0 ;; Listening: 8.0 ;; Reading: 7.0-7.5 ;; Writing: 7.5-9.0

Score: 468

If I vary it to Age=34 and 1 year of Canada Work Experience (assuming I take the offer and go there), I get 511

The way I get 418 is if I put no LMIA for the job offer (hence not a valid job offer). So was that how you obtained 424 ?

Are the job offers in Canada not usually LMIA ? Probably something to ask the company offering me the job then; good point, I had taken this point for granted.

Yes - your employer needs to get an approved LMIA. Some companies know this and some don't. Best to ask. LMIA processing time is typically around 4 months.

 

[TSeeker]

Make sure the job offer is real. Tons of scams out there...

Ah yes it's pretty real and from a reputed international company. Thanks for the heads up though.

 

[scylla]

Ah yes it's pretty real and from a reputed international company. Thanks for the heads up though.

Good.

Definitely check on the LMIA. You can't get a work permit or claim job offer points for EE without an approved LMIA. Make sure your employer is aware of the process and knows you need one.

 

[lampbreaker]

424 or 418 is immaterial since neither will get you ITA.

You mostly need LMIA to get a work permit.

 

[TSeeker]

424 or 418 is immaterial since neither will get you ITA.

Yes, that I understand (from looking at the trends for ITA).

You mostly need LMIA to get a work permit.

This ^^^ combined with:

If the Canadian job offer comes with LMIA (not highly likely)

is what is confusing me a bit. Can you please explain that if they "mostly have to" get an LMIA (perhaps with positive score ?) to give me a job offer and get me a work permit, then how is it "not highly likely" that it'll come with an LMIA ? That seems contradictory.

However, as I said, I have noted down that point now to ask them about it after my final interview round and that was indeed a good thing to know.

 

[scylla]

Yes, that I understand (from looking at the trends for ITA).


This ^^^ combined with:

is what is confusing me a bit. Can you please explain that if they "mostly have to" get an LMIA (perhaps with positive score ?) to give me a job offer and get me a work permit, then how is it "not highly likely" that it'll come with an LMIA ? That seems contradictory.

However, as I said, I have noted down that point now to ask them about it after my final interview round and that was indeed a good thing to know.

Your employer MUST obtain an approved LMIA in order for you to qualify to apply for a work permit. The approved LMIA is also a MUST for you to get the extra 50 points under EE for having a job offer.

 

[lampbreaker]

Yes, that I understand (from looking at the trends for ITA).


This ^^^ combined with:

is what is confusing me a bit. Can you please explain that if they "mostly have to" get an LMIA (perhaps with positive score ?) to give me a job offer and get me a work permit, then how is it "not highly likely" that it'll come with an LMIA ? That seems contradictory.

However, as I said, I have noted down that point now to ask them about it after my final interview round and that was indeed a good thing to know.

It means that in order to get a work permit, the employer needs to get an LMIA. Secondly it is highly unlikely that an employer will get it for you.

 

[TSeeker]

Ah right, OK. I was probably not too clear, but this potential employer is the one who approached me and is going through the process of hiring me (subject to me clearing the final round). So if they don't get an LMIA for me they probably won't be able to get a work permit for me. In that case it is obvious that I'm not going to go to Canada so I don't think they would not get an LMIA for me since they are already spending money in conducting these rounds and also flying me there for the final round on a temp/visitor visa for a week or so before giving me the offer.

Am I still misunderstanding this ?

 

[scylla]

Ah right, OK. I was probably not too clear, but this potential employer is the one who approached me and is going through the process of hiring me (subject to me clearing the final round). So if they don't get an LMIA for me they probably won't be able to get a work permit for me. In that case it is obvious that I'm not going to go to Canada so I don't think they would not get an LMIA for me since they are already spending money in conducting these rounds and also flying me there for the final round on a temp/visitor visa for a week or so before giving me the offer.

Am I still misunderstanding this ?

The LMIA is something your employer must apply for. Just because they apply for one doesn't guarantee approval.

The work permit is generally something you would apply for. To apply for the work permit, you need the approved LMIA.

Agreed they are most likely aware of the LMIA process, however doesn't harm to confirm.