sunnyinlombardy said:
The problem is for his to apply for PR outland, the processing time in Italy is 18 months. If he looks for a job offer of someone willing to do LMIA, it would ideal but I'm just worried that it would be impossible. What if he applies for OWP together with inland PR application, at least we know that after 4 months or little bit longer, he'll be able to work. We have enough money to live off, four months is not an issues for us. He just doesn't want to sit around doing nothing.
first you need to confirm how long it ACTUALLY takes Italian applicants to be approved. just because CIC states it's 18 months, it is highly unlikely that is true. the stats posted online are "worst case scenarios" and are misleading. For example. The CIC website suggests the Ottawa visa office which processes US applications takes 16 months. We know this is not true because all of us on this forum have been approved in less time than that, most of us within 6 months start to finish. to confirm how long it REALLY takes for real life applicants TODAY at rome, then find the thread specific to that visa office. MOST visa offices have an average time of 8-10 months, some more, some less.
again, regarding the owp, here are my two cents in cased you missed it in my original response:
"While "survival jobs" can be easier to find, remember it takes an average canadian 6-8 months to find a full time position (at least by ontario stats), so it is difficult to believe foreigners without canadian references will be able to find jobs quicker, unless they have a specific skill that requires no licensing or has networked their butt off."
so let's say it takes an italian 8-10 months to get fully approved with an outland application just for comparison purposes. that means in 8-10 months he can land, apply for healthcare and start working legally.
when he applies inland he's gotta first GET the OWP in the stated 4 months time (again, no know knows if this will prove to be true. the first time we will see this as true is probably in March), THEN he's got to get a job offer from an employer. Like I said, "survival" jobs can be easier (ie: retail and or restaurant work), but they don't guarantee full time work or high wages. To get a PROFESSIONAL FULL TIME job, it takes time. That means in order for the visa exempt applicant to benefit from the OWP they must be able to find full time work in 4-6 months after being issued the OWP. While it's not impossible to do, it will be still be tough and financially, you will certainly want more than 4 months in reserves. There are not a lot of employers who will hold jobs for people waiting for permits. Not saying it doesn't happen, it's just really few and far between. I'm sure it can be argued the OWP gives you a jumpstart on applying to jobs and that means getting a job that much sooner, i just don't personally see that amount of time as a huge advantage. Also, remember until he gets a job, he won't be eligible for healthcare in certain provinces.
It seems you have already made the decision and are banking on your husband getting the OWP in 4 months and being able to find a job soon after that. You and your husband know what's best for your situation, I would just highly recommend double checking the ACTUAL processing time for rome before you end up stuck in a situation that may not pan out exactly as planned.
