WHP Extension or Permanent Residency (Australian)

[entropy]

Hello,

Due to the complexity and uncertainty of the visa situation, I hoped to shed some light upon my best next move from the experienced folks here!

Currently I am on a WHP VISA that has been valid for 24 months within Canada - which is expiring mid August 2014 . I have a full time job in the IT field with a great company which I plan to be with for a long time.
I am also now engaged to a Canadian citizen ( the reason I came here - for love) and we are now expecting a child within the year.

I am sure I could easily extend my WHP visa for another 24 months but I will be applying for PR within the month also ( my fiance will be sponsoring me)
I simply do not want to be away from my family for any amount of time so want to do this the proper and most legal way.

Should I reapply for my WHP visa to relax my situation and then apply for my PR? Keeping in mind I already have a full time job.
Or should I simply apply for my PR and obtain a temporary work visa for while it processes? if so how do I go about this?

Also I hear that you can schedule an interview with a immigration officer? This would be fantastic as this would guarantee I go down the best path!
We have just bought a house too which I could only assumes helps?

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[scylla]

It's not possible to schedule an interview with an immigration officer. If you would like professional guidance on how to proceed, you would need to hire either an immigration consultant or lawyer. Interviews with immigration officers are typically held when there are concerns about an application (e.g. concerns the relationship isn't genuine). So an interview is something you ideally want to avoid.

Applying for PR won't allow you to continue working after your WHP expires. So if you want to keep working, you either need to obtain a new WHP before your current one expires. Or your employer needs to obtain an approved Labour Market Opinion and then you need to obtain a closed work permit based on that approved LMO. The LMO process takes a number of months to complete. So if you're planning on going down this route - you should start asap. You're already short on time.

If you have enough experience and in the right category, another option would be to apply for PR asap through either the Canadian Experience Class program or the Provincial Nomination program. Once you receive AOR (confirmation your application has been received) - you can then apply for a bridging open work permit. I believe that AOR is currently taking 2-3 months from the time the application is received.