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The 430-437 club! Let's strategize here!

Ashwell

Star Member
Nov 8, 2017
77
141
Check the website, but from what I have seen on this forum it should be possible to apply together. Good luck.
I have scoured CIC's website and I can't find anything that specific about it. I did see on UBC's website that they say you can do it at the same time and the fact that they give the option on my application I'm going to go for it. Thanks for you help anyway
 

freshguy777

Member
Jun 9, 2018
15
1
Hi. I have a stepbrother in Manitoba, Winnipeg. He added me to the list of those he wants to come to Manitoba when he was immigrating. I have filled my Manitoba Express of Interest and had 549 points for choosing to reside in Winnipeg. But when I choose Portage la Prairie as my settlement I got extra 50 points to make it 599 points.
1. Can I go ahead and chose Portage la Prairie, though my step-brother resides in Winnipeg?
2. Would my Express of Interest be invalid if I chose any city outside Winnipeg where my stepbrother resides?
kindly help; am in a fix. Please ASAP!
 
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lightning_crashes

Hero Member
May 13, 2018
275
197
NOC Code......
0213
Hi. I have a stepbrother in Manitoba, Winnipeg. He added me to the list of those he wants to come to Manitoba when he was immigrating. I have filled my Manitoba Express of Interest and had 549 points for choosing to reside in Winnipeg. But when I choose Portage la Prairie as my settlement I got extra 50 points to make it 599 points.
1. Can I go ahead and chose Portage la Prairie, though my step-brother resides in Winnipeg?
2. Would my Express of Interest be invalid if I chose any city outside Winnipeg where my stepbrother resides?
kindly help; am in a fix. Please ASAP!
i dont know if you will get a response here. i see that you have tried the PNP thread already. thats the right place i think
 

samikdg

Hero Member
Apr 27, 2018
550
397
I have been in the pool since October 2017 with my husband as primary applicant we had a CRS score of 438 until early June where we lost 5 points due to my husbands birthday.
Early in May we realized that express entry was not looking so hopeful and decided to go this route. I was accepted to start studying in September this year but you have to send transcripts and pay the fee before they will send you an official acceptance letter, and as the university is tardy getting back to emails this took longer than expected. It takes 11 weeks to process a study visa in my country and with only 12 weeks till the start of the course this was not a viable option as I think the stress of waiting for that would be too much for any human. Lucky I had the option to defer to the next start of the course which is January 2019. It will be the middle of summer in South Africa and we will land in Canada in the middle of winter, not ideal but it will not deter us from the Canadian dream! I am just waiting for my PCC and then will apply, now with plenty of time to get everything else in order.

From my experience, my advice to anyone looking to go this route. Start looking/applying for programs NOW. The universities in Canada take very long to respond and the process is not as straight forward as it seems. But it will be worth it in the end!

I also have one question, @vensak if you could possible give me advice. I have started my application on the CIC website and I am given the option to apply for my study visa as well as my husbands open work visa. Should I apply together or do I need to wait till I have received my study visa before applying for his work visa? Thanks in advance
Thank you so much for sharing your story, gives hope and strength to pursue the dream of immigrating to Canada even if CRS score is in the 430s :)

I have couple of questions, if you could shed any light, that will be much appreciated!

1. Did you choose a course which is in line with your earlier field of study and/or work experience? Also, what is the duration of the course if you do not mind sharing.
2. I understand the Spouse OWP is valid only till the Study visa is valid, which is reasonable. Now when you apply for PGWP at the end of your study, will your spouse be eligible for extension of OWP along with that?

My wife is contemplating applying for a 8months Certificate course in York University, Toronto in Human Resource Management, or similar programs in HR in other universities. But she has an Master degree in Economics in India and subsequently she has worked in Newspapers, Knowledge Management and Editing jobs for 6 years over a 15 year period. I was thinking about two basic queries before proceeding:
1. How much chance does she have of getting accepted in such a course with a gap in study for 15 years
2. If she gets admission, is there a high, medium or low chance of Study visa getting rejected due to long gap as well as course mismatch with academic background and work experience
Any insights on these will be great!
 

Ashwell

Star Member
Nov 8, 2017
77
141
Thank you so much for sharing your story, gives hope and strength to pursue the dream of immigrating to Canada even if CRS score is in the 430s :)

I have couple of questions, if you could shed any light, that will be much appreciated!

1. Did you choose a course which is in line with your earlier field of study and/or work experience? Also, what is the duration of the course if you do not mind sharing.

I will be doing Masters of Education, I have a Bachelor of Education and I am a English as a second language teacher, it's a minimum year and a half full time. I personally chose masters as international student fees in Canada are pretty high so I wanted to do something that would be beneficial for my career in the future. Also remember to make sure the university you choose qualifies for PGWP

2. I understand the Spouse OWP is valid only till the Study visa is valid, which is reasonable. Now when you apply for PGWP at the end of your study, will your spouse be eligible for extension of OWP along with that?
Yes as long as you have a valid work or study visa your spouse and dependents are eligible for work/study visas as well. IT's also great that they can apply for these visas from within Canada.

My wife is contemplating applying for a 8months Certificate course in York University, Toronto in Human Resource Management, or similar programs in HR in other universities. But she has an Master degree in Economics in India and subsequently she has worked in Newspapers, Knowledge Management and Editing jobs for 6 years over a 15 year period. I was thinking about two basic queries before proceeding:
1. How much chance does she have of getting accepted in such a course with a gap in study for 15 years
I'm no expert but what I have researched it would be totally up to the university whether to accept her or not, from my experience a lot of universities prefer work experience when choosing candidates and even ask for reference letters etc. so I don't think it will affect university acceptance, however it could affect chances of getting a study visa.
2. If she gets admission, is there a high, medium or low chance of Study visa getting rejected due to long gap as well as course mismatch with academic background and work experience
It is possible to still get a study visa even though the program is different to previous studies and work experience as long as you have a good explanation as to why she has chosen that particular course. It's all about convincing the visa officer that you are not studying for the sole purpose of immigrating so a well worded LOE will be very beneficial to a successful application

Check out this website, although quite vague it has some interesting points for applying
https://www.canadim.com/5-reasons-study-permit-application-refused/


Any insights on these will be great!
Please find answers above

I think the best overall advice I can give is to just take it one step at a time and make sure you have all you ducks in a row. Start with applying to universities, if you can afford it apply to more than one.

Everything I has said here is completely my interpretation of what I have read online after weeks of researching, I have no first hand experience of the actual study visa application process but I will keep everyone posted as I find out more, like I said it will take +- 11 weeks!

I wish you the best of luck and I hope we all get to Canada soon!
 
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Metalhead_666

Star Member
Apr 12, 2016
145
61
Thank you so much for sharing your story, gives hope and strength to pursue the dream of immigrating to Canada even if CRS score is in the 430s :)

I have couple of questions, if you could shed any light, that will be much appreciated!

1. Did you choose a course which is in line with your earlier field of study and/or work experience? Also, what is the duration of the course if you do not mind sharing.
2. I understand the Spouse OWP is valid only till the Study visa is valid, which is reasonable. Now when you apply for PGWP at the end of your study, will your spouse be eligible for extension of OWP along with that?

My wife is contemplating applying for a 8months Certificate course in York University, Toronto in Human Resource Management, or similar programs in HR in other universities. But she has an Master degree in Economics in India and subsequently she has worked in Newspapers, Knowledge Management and Editing jobs for 6 years over a 15 year period. I was thinking about two basic queries before proceeding:
1. How much chance does she have of getting accepted in such a course with a gap in study for 15 years
2. If she gets admission, is there a high, medium or low chance of Study visa getting rejected due to long gap as well as course mismatch with academic background and work experience
Any insights on these will be great!
Hello,

Having lived in Canada for the past two years. here's my two cents on this :

1. How much chance does she have of getting accepted in such a course with a gap in study for 15 years

There are a lot of people from South America and Caribbean who come to Canada to study. Most of them are in their mid or late thirties. They usually come here along with their spouse who is entitled for an open work permit. I did a two year course in a Canadian college and we even had a gentleman from Brazil who was 56 years old studying with us. So as long as you make a strong SOP, the chances of getting the visa is quite high!

2. If she gets admission, is there a high, medium or low chance of Study visa getting rejected due to long gap as well as course mismatch with academic background and work experience

She can always state that she wants to move in a different direction and pursue a career in Human Resources!

Best wishes! :)
 
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deanbentleyfalcke

Full Member
Feb 18, 2018
46
80
Johannesburg, South Africa
Category........
PNP
NOC Code......
2174
Just to clarify for those who don't know too much about Ontario's Provincial Nomination programmes (OINP).
1. You need to be invited to apply, and they're only looking at EE profiles created in 2018. If you already have an EE profile that was created in 2017, you have to cancel and create a new one (changing your position in the EE queue).
2. They're using specific criteria for their 3 streams (French, Masters and Human Capital Priorities) - most people will fall into HCP. I've seen priority given to software developer codes etc at this point but you can search for what they're looking for.
3. They'll send you an invite via your profile. You will have 45 days to accept and upload all the documentation, and pay the CAD$ 1500 processing fee.
4. Documentation required is heavily around work employment history of primary applicant, and you'll need your Proof of Funds - basically, if you've been diligent about documentation for your EE profile, you'll have 90% of it already
5. You must send them a copy of your WES evaluation from WES
6. If they have not begun processing it, you can be refunded (as in you got an ITA without it). I waited 60 days for processing, but I suspect it was because I didn't do the duplicate WES because nowhere did it state I had to :/
7. Estimated timelines are 2-3 months - then once approved, you must still accept the nomination before points are updated on your profile.
8. If they have a problem with any of your docs, there are additional time delays while they notify you and you supply updated docs.

In short, PNP from Ontario isn't quick, cheap or easy, BUT they were targeting the EE scores (430+) of this thread.
I was just nominated yesterday, so total it took 92 days and an extra CAD$1550 to go this route. Which, given what is happening with the draws, has been totally worth it (I didn't think so at the start). I wish everyone else the best to get out of the 430-437 club (and while I was 438, I lose 5 points in July because #gettingolder)
 

samikdg

Hero Member
Apr 27, 2018
550
397
Please find answers above

I think the best overall advice I can give is to just take it one step at a time and make sure you have all you ducks in a row. Start with applying to universities, if you can afford it apply to more than one.

Everything I has said here is completely my interpretation of what I have read online after weeks of researching, I have no first hand experience of the actual study visa application process but I will keep everyone posted as I find out more, like I said it will take +- 11 weeks!

I wish you the best of luck and I hope we all get to Canada soon!
That is such a nuanced and comprehensive reply! Thank you very much for taking time out to write this :) Also, thanks for website link, the reasons sound reasonable and interesting, will explore the site further.

Looking at your feedback, we will be exploring other course options which are closer to her academic/professional background and try to take out the uncertainty factor from the Study Visa as much as possible. But it really gives us a viable option to immigrate soon when we were really feeling stuck with CRS in low 430s.
 

samikdg

Hero Member
Apr 27, 2018
550
397
Hello,

Having lived in Canada for the past two years. here's my two cents on this :

1. How much chance does she have of getting accepted in such a course with a gap in study for 15 years

There are a lot of people from South America and Caribbean who come to Canada to study. Most of them are in their mid or late thirties. They usually come here along with their spouse who is entitled for an open work permit. I did a two year course in a Canadian college and we even had a gentleman from Brazil who was 56 years old studying with us. So as long as you make a strong SOP, the chances of getting the visa is quite high!

2. If she gets admission, is there a high, medium or low chance of Study visa getting rejected due to long gap as well as course mismatch with academic background and work experience

She can always state that she wants to move in a different direction and pursue a career in Human Resources!

Best wishes! :)
Great to hear about the examples, especially the 56 year old gentleman :)

I think we'll also spend some more time in thinking and working on the SOP and then try to choose the course accordingly.
 

samikdg

Hero Member
Apr 27, 2018
550
397
I was just nominated yesterday, so total it took 92 days and an extra CAD$1550 to go this route. Which, given what is happening with the draws, has been totally worth it (I didn't think so at the start). I wish everyone else the best to get out of the 430-437 club (and while I was 438, I lose 5 points in July because #gettingolder)
That's great mate! Did you already get the ITA in yesterday draw?