Self-employed experience for Express Entry

[come4all]

Hi All,

I am a newcomer to Canada and I started working here since June 2019.
I was trying to fill in my tax forms and I saw that my employer which was a recruiting agency left the box 14 blank and filled box 81 which means I was working as a self-employed.
1st, I want to know if I am right and 2nd, I want to know if I can use this work experience for Express Entry.
thank you.

 

[come4all]

@dan_and thanks for the quick response.
so, what are my chances?
how much is it going to be if I don't qualify for CEC?
is it a risk for me?
I contacted the agency to see if they can fix it however I don't have faith in it.
my 1 year of work experience will be done in June and I was thinking of getting into the pool but it seems it is creating a problem for me.
please help me.
also, as of COVID-19 all IELTS exams are suspended however IELTS indicator is started which is somehow an exam from home.
do you have any idea that CIC will accept that or not?
thank you for your help.

 

[come4all]

@dan_and
also I was looking into Canada.ca website for self-employed people.
is there a chance of getting PR for self-employed people who worked here?
you may already know about the link but please see below:
How can I qualify to immigrate to Canada as a self-employed person?

 

[Islander216]

You're either self-employed or you're not.

Are you employed by the recruitment agency on a full time basis as an employee or are they subcontracting to you as a consultant?

 

[come4all]

You're either self-employed or you're not.

Are you employed by the recruitment agency on a full time basis as an employee or are they subcontracting to you as a consultant?

thanks for your response.
the problem was that I didn't know anything about those kinda contracts and I told them I need it for my immigration status and should not be considered a self-employed. I trusted them but it seems I made mistake.
on the contract says that I am on a SoleProp T4 contract and I was a subcontractor. I didn't see any CONSULTANT wording in the contract.
and they previously said that I just need to fill in a T1.

 

[Islander216]

So they're treating you as a subcontractor, or rather a freelancer.

You should figure out whether your type of work permit allows you to be employed in this type of contractual arrangement, this is the most important aspect. Are you on an open or closed work permit?

This isn't within my area of knowledge, i think you might need legal advice. As long as you're respecting the terms of your visa, you're fine.

 

[come4all]

As @Islander216 is alluding to, your first task is to definitely determine your employment status. Talk to the recruiting agency and find out.

If you are indeed self-employed, you will not qualify for CEC. CEC is easier to qualify for than FSW because basically all that's needed is 1 year of Canadian skilled work experience (it must not have been obtained while self-employed or while being a full time student).

Your next best option is the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSW). It has higher hurdles, e.g. you need to have a certain amount of money etc.

Suggest you read through the requirements in detail:

Minimum criteria: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/express-entry/eligibility/federal-skilled-workers.html
FSW points grid: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/express-entry/eligibility/federal-skilled-workers/six-selection-factors-federal-skilled-workers.html

thanks for the help.
I will have a look into them.

 

[come4all]

So they're treating you as a subcontractor, or rather a freelancer.

You should figure out whether your type of work permit allows you to be employed in this type of contractual arrangement, this is the most important aspect. Are you on an open or closed work permit?

This isn't within my area of knowledge, i think you might need legal advice. As long as you're respecting the terms of your visa, you're fine.

I am on a OWP.
my wife is the main applicant however because I started to work earlier, because she was a student, I was thinking of going forward with my EE profile creation to maybe get PR sooner than we expected however it seems I ruined that chance.
also, I want to add that I have paystubs from that employer and I was considered as an employee.

 

[Islander216]

I am on a OWP.
my wife is the main applicant however because I started to work earlier, because she was a student, I was thinking of going forward with my EE profile creation to maybe get PR sooner than we expected however it seems I ruined that chance.
also, I want to add that I have paystubs from that employer and I was considered as an employee.

You're probably fine, it's just important to check if your employment arrangement is sanctioned by your work permit. Self-employment is a bit of a special circumstance, and so there are usually certain conditions you have to fulfill.

It seems to me that you're not really self-employed, you're employed by your employer but they're declaring you as a freelancer. On an OWP i think you should be fine, but it's just making sure you 're okay from a bureaucratic point of view. So i would try to get advice from someone who is knowledgeable about this just to be sure everything is above board.

If everything is fine, why shouldn't you apply through EE? Every day it becomes more competitive, if you can apply now you should.

 

[come4all]

You're probably fine, it's just important to check if your employment arrangement is sanctioned by your work permit. Self-employment is a bit of a special circumstance, and so there are usually certain conditions you have to fulfill.

It seems to me that you're not really self-employed, you're employed by your employer but they're declaring you as a freelancer. On an OWP i think you should be fine, but it's just making sure you 're okay from a bureaucratic point of view. So i would try to get advice from someone who is knowledgeable about this just to be sure everything is above board.

If everything is fine, why shouldn't you apply through EE? Every day it becomes more competitive, if you can apply now you should.

thanks for your reply.

the only reason I am holding back is the IELTS exam which is suspended now however with one year of Canadian experience (NOC B), a 2 year diploma at university, age of 37 and a CLB 9 of IELTS I wouldn't have more than 400 points of scores.
however I wanted to give it a try.
as I said, my wife is the main applicant and she will have enough scores after one year of full-time work experience but I wanted to try my chances as well.

 

[Islander216]

Yeah, but you never know, you might get a provincial nomination while you're in the pool. Stranger things have happened.

Stay in the pool until your wife can qualify, then apply as her spouse once she's in a position to get an ITA.

 

[come4all]

Yeah, but you never know, you might get a provincial nomination while you're in the pool. Stranger things have happened.

Stay in the pool until your wife can qualify, then apply as her spouse once she's in a position to get an ITA.

that's the plan but our IELTS got expired a month ago. next possible available exam is on July.
about the PN, if I am just in the pool am I supposed to receive a PN or I should apply for that?

 

[Diamond42]

Hi guys,

My PR was refused in December 2019. Now I am about to re-enter the pool. I found out that I made a mistake, claiming employment from back home where I worked, going back to my forms signed with the company, i found out it was self-employment. In this new application, I am not claiming points for foreign experience (only canadian experience-CEC). In my personal history section of my EE profile, I sill have to list the companies from back home as part of my history.

My question is do I leave it as EMPLOYMENT in my personal history and provide a letter of explanation stating that I wont be claiming points for foreign work experience? Or do I change it to self-employment and provide some supporting documents (like the forms i signed with the company, ID card, bank statements showing i was paid by the companies and letters from some of my business partners attesting that I worked with them) and an affidavit stating that it was a honest mistake?

Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks!

 

[Islander216]

Safer to put it as self-employment, especially if this was not accepted as employment previously.

 

[Diamond42]

Safer to put it as self-employment, especially if this was not accepted as employment previously.

thanks for your reply. Better to add all those supporting documents too?