Visa Extension UK---->Can

[Jackwaltoncan]

Hey all!

My two year working holiday permit will run out in July this year and I want to stay longer.

I am currently working as a dog walker, as an employee of a company. The company also "employs" contractors who are technically self employed. I have gone through the questionnaires on the CIC website regarding visa extension and as it stands I will need a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) Which cost $1000 for my employer, successful or not. If I fill out the questionnaire as "Self employed/Entrepreneur" then the LMIA is not required (but is an "optional" document).

Has anybody been successful applying for a extension as self employed?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated

 

[ozlis]

You cannot extend an IEC working holiday permit unfortunately.

As I understand it, you will need an employer specific permit. Someone may have more information about the self employment avenue but I don't think it applies here.

 

[Jackwaltoncan]

After completing the "extending your stay" questionnaire it stated that I may be eligible. Is this wrong?

 

[ozlis]

You are extending your stay by getting a new permit in a different category - not extending your current permit.

So it is back to requiring an employer specific permit and down to the LMIA exemption codes. From my understanding (and it is limited, very happy to be wrong) the self employment/entrepreneur category would apply to those who are demonstrating a significant financial impact to the local economy. Ie, generating more Canadian jobs, supplying something that Canada can't do on its own etc. A single person dogwalking would not meet these requirements.

Entrepreneur category - http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/apply-who-permit-result.asp?q1_options=1k

And the self employed section:

When applying to immigrate as a self-employed person, relevant experience means:
at least two one-year periods of experience in the period from five years before the application date to the day a decision is made on the application.
Experience must be in one of these areas:

self-employment in cultural activities or athletics,
participating in cultural activities or athletics at the world-class level or
farm management.

Again - very happy to be wrong, I'd suggest speaking with an immigration consultant to clarify these categories.