Work Permit Extension

[1mind]

I have a little over a year left on my work, and spousal sponsorship application is no longer valid, because my spouse and I just separated. I have been self employed, but that doesn't count toward the CEC, so now I need 52 weeks and a bit over 1500 hours of work experience as an employee. I believe one needs to apply for an extension of a work permit 4 months before it expires, and this should ideally be done at the same time as submitting ones PR application. Yet in my case, I will not have time to get 52 weeks of work experience before I apply for an extension. Any suggestions there?

 

[scylla]

You'll need to find an employer who is able to obtain an approved LMIA if you want to extend your work permit before you have applied for PR and received AOR. Get started on finding an employer now. It's typically difficult to find employers willing to go through this process and it's quite possible for it to take 4-6 months to obtain an approved LMIA.

No - you don't need to apply for the work permit extension four months before it expires. CIC just needs to receive your extension application before the current one expires.

Note that getting a year of work experience and qualifying for CEC doesn't necessarily mean you will actually be selected. You should calculate your points under Express Entry. So far only those with 450 or more points have been selected - and recently only those with more than 480 points.

 

[jes_ON]

I have a little over a year left on my work, and spousal sponsorship application is no longer valid, because my spouse and I just separated. I have been self employed, but that doesn't count toward the CEC, so now I need 52 weeks and a bit over 1500 hours of work experience as an employee. I believe one needs to apply for an extension of a work permit 4 months before it expires, and this should ideally be done at the same time as submitting ones PR application. Yet in my case, I will not have time to get 52 weeks of work experience before I apply for an extension. Any suggestions there?

Sorry to hear about the separation.

Well, this doesn't help much, but the "4 month rule" is a "good idea," not a requirement. As long as your (valid, complete) application for a new work permit is received BEFORE the old one expires, then you go on what is called "implied status" until you get a response to your work permit application. So you have a little more wiggle room. You can also apply to change to a visitors permit (if things don't go well for the work permit), but of course then you can't work.

And yes, if you get to the point where you can submit a permanent resident application, you can also submit an application for a "bridging open work permit" at the same time.

You don't say what province you are in, what your country of citizenship is, or your occupation, whether you have skilled work experience from outside of Canada, that might help with ideas.

But there are a number of employer-based work permit options that can also help support permanent resident applications, the primary one being that when looking for employment, find an employer who may be willing to apply for an LMIA for you. There are two types of LMIAs - one that can be used to support Permanent Resident applications only (free) and one that can be used to support a temporary work permit (along with PR applications) for a fee of $1000. Many employers are reluctant to do this because they are (a) afraid of the unfamiliar, (b) know that it can be difficult to succeed, (c) not that willing to invest in you. But others are. Large corporations *tend* to be more familiar and comfortable with it, depending on your occupation.

Provinces also have provincial nominee programs, some that require employer support.

Anyway, without more information, there's nothing more specific that I can think of. Spend some time on the IRCC website to inform yourself about all the options.

 

[kasinow]

I'm in the similar boat as well. I had IEC Working Holiday visa and now I'm on IEC Young Professionals visa which will expire in a month. My employer can't get LMIA. I tried to take IELTS two times already and did my best, but my score is only 457. I'm lacking 6 weeks of legal work in Canada so I can add 2 years of Canadian work experience to my EE application and then I would have 482 points.

I live and work in skilled occupation in BC, my employer was willing to get me an LMIA, but the lawyer said that due to some circumstances it's not possible this time. So I'm on my own.

I love Canada and don't want to leave it and start my life from scratch sowehere else again. And I don't want to work here illegally as it may result in negative consequences in the future when applying for PR or something. Any ideas what can I do? I'm desperate.. :'( Please share your ideas.

EDIT: I was thinking about applying for work permit extension by regular mail and benefiting from implied status for those 6 weeks or more, but in other thread somebody said that I'll be rejected and won't get implied status and if I continue working while waiting a decision and be rejected later that means that I worked here illegaly.. Any advice on this? How to be sure if you have implied status or not when submitted your application?

 

[jes_ON]

I'm in the similar boat as well. I had IEC Working Holiday visa and now I'm on IEC Young Professionals visa which will expire in a month. My employer can't get LMIA. I tried to take IELTS two times already and did my best, but my score is only 457. I'm lacking 6 weeks of legal work in Canada so I can add 2 years of Canadian work experience to my EE application and then I would have 482 points.

You have a good score, but unfortunately, you probably won't get the ITA in time. Even if you did, are you ready to submit right away (e.g. have all PCCs, documents ready)?

- try the CELPIP - some people find they do better on one test over the other. Note you can only take it in Canada, so if you want to try it, do it ASAP.

- have you done the ECA? Not required for CEC, but it will give you points.

One month left doesn't give you a lot of room. you can apply to change status to a visitor, but you'll have to stop working when your work permit expires.

Unfortunately, sometimes good applicants have to leave and apply from outside Canada...

 

[scylla]

EDIT: I was thinking about applying for work permit extension by regular mail and benefiting from implied status for those 6 weeks or more, but in other thread somebody said that I'll be rejected and won't get implied status and if I continue working while waiting a decision and be rejected later that means that I worked here illegaly.. Any advice on this? How to be sure if you have implied status or not when submitted your application?

There's no implied status with IECs. They are a special class of visa that can't be extended and so don't benefit from implied status. You'll need to have a new and approved work permit in hand when your IEC expires if you want to keep working.

 

[kasinow]

You have a good score, but unfortunately, you probably won't get the ITA in time. Even if you did, are you ready to submit right away (e.g. have all PCCs, documents ready)?

- try the CELPIP - some people find they do better on one test over the other. Note you can only take it in Canada, so if you want to try it, do it ASAP.

- have you done the ECA? Not required for CEC, but it will give you points.

One month left doesn't give you a lot of room. you can apply to change status to a visitor, but you'll have to stop working when your work permit expires.

Unfortunately, sometimes good applicants have to leave and apply from outside Canada...

Well I'm not sure about CELPIP. In IELTS I score ~8 out of 9 in reading, listening and writing and I get ~6 in speaking part which draws my points down significantly.

I already have all documents ready (IELTS, ECA, proof of foreign work experience, except medical exam). So I'm almost fully prepared for an ITA.

If I apply for a visitor status, how long it would be? 6 months? And if during that time I get ITA, can I get BOWP right away (my IEC YP permit expired, but I'm still in Canada under visitor visa) when I submit all the required documents?

There's no implied status with IECs. They are a special class of visa that can't be extended and so don't benefit from implied status.

Are you sure there's no implied status for IEC? Maybe you could provide some official source where I could read more in depth about this?

Btw, here's the link where was a discussion about that: canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/iec-visa-expiring-in-less-than-30-days-t442104.0.html;msg5368781#msg5368781 (I'm sorry I'm not allowed to post normal links yet).

Another thought: what if I would apply for some university course, get a study permit allowing me to work part time legally and then after 6 weeks I drop the university possibly without having to pay tuition? At least that's possible to do in Europe (get into university and then drop it without paying anything within certain amount of time).

 

[jes_ON]

If I apply for a visitor status, how long it would be? 6 months? And if during that time I get ITA, can I get BOWP right away (my IEC YP permit expired, but I'm still in Canada under visitor visa) when I submit all the required documents?

Unfortunately, one of the requirements of the BOWP is to have a valid work permit at the time of application. So once your permit expires, even with the ITA, you won't be eligible for the BOWP.

Visitors status is usually 6 months. You may have to prove sufficient funds to support yourself for that time.

 

[jes_ON]

Another thought: what if I would apply for some university course, get a study permit allowing me to work part time legally and then after 6 weeks I drop the university possibly without having to pay tuition? At least that's possible to do in Europe (get into university and then drop it without paying anything within certain amount of time).

Not so easy to do here, and you probably don't have enough time. You would have to be accepted into a program of study that is full time. But you can read the rules...
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/study/study-who.asp

Note that your study permit would be cancelled if you drop out of the program.

 

[Bs65]

Not so easy to do here, and you probably don't have enough time. You would have to be accepted into a program of study that is full time. But you can read the rules...
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/study/study-who.asp

Note that your study permit would be cancelled if you drop out of the program.

many Unis/colleges either want the first semester upfront or the whole first year non refundable once the course has started.

Partial refunds depending on the UNI/ college I expect may be negotiable in extenuating circumstances such as family loss cutting short attendance but not being inclined to continue or dropping out would not be a reason. Anyway as previous poster said the minute you pull out the UNi/ college will report non attendance and the study permit would be cancelled.