rado

Hi everyone, our family is thinking about moving to Canada. Recently I found that we can apply under the self-employed category. My husband is a swimming coach, but he has not worked as a self-employed during last 5 years. Accorging to the reguirements listed at cic it is sufficient that he participate at a world-class level in athletics and this is his case. But the immigration consultant is sure that we can't apply because he should be self-employed. If there someone that applied under this category ? What is your situation ?

I'll appreciate every information concerning self-employed category.

Thanks in advance

PMM

Hi



The consultant is correct. From CIC

Relevant experience in respect of

a self-employed person, means a minimum of two years of experience, during the period beginning five years before the date of application for a permanent resident visa and ending on the day a decision is made on the application. The experience must consist of

in respect of athletics,

two one-year periods of experience in self-employment in athletics, or
two one-year periods of experience in participation at a world class level in athletics, or
a combination of a one-year period of experience described in (A), above, and a one-year period of experience described in (B), above,

rado

Hi,

I'm just wonder what do they mean by: or
two one-year periods of experience in self-employment in athletics, or
two one-year periods of experience in participation at a world class level in athletics.
As I understand these requirements are independent.

bigals

whether he has participated in athletics or world class athletics he must have been self employed whilst doing it ,emphasis on Self employed

rado

There is another consultant from Canada which is absolutely sure that we can apply under self-employed category. He said that he can prove that my husband can succeed as self-employed coach at Canada. I'm doubt if we can trust him. Is there any way to receive consultation from official sources (as cic for example)?

Jim Humphries

No - the CIC does not provide advice of that kind.

christmasoompa

Why not just get a second opinion, another consult with an immigration lawyer/consultant?

Alternatively, you can check the CIC operating manual to see for yourself if you meet the criteria. http://www.cic.gc.ca/EnGLIsh/resourc...p/op08-eng.pdf

Good luck.

Wolfie and Will

we are applying under this route (arts based) and I am afraid the language is very vague and you have to prove your case as best you can. If you husband has been fully self-employed for at least 2 yrs, during the period beginning five years before the date of application then you would have no problem. If you were going for world class, I would assume he would have to be coaching swimming on a professional/international level to qualify.

Just bare in mind the processing on this route is painfully slow at the moment with a wait time currently of 53 months. We have been waiting nearly three years now and not heard a thing since our file was fully submitted two years ago. So if you did have a quicker way and wanted to get to Canada quicker, I would do that.

R I C H

You can apply to emigrate as self-employed via the temporary work permit process - coincidentally I did that to also work in the sports/recreation industry. I was issued a 3yr TWP, on the basis of a detailed business plan and evidence that documented how my business would deliver 'substantial benefit' to the local community.

There's no lengthy waiting period for this sort of application, just the time it takes for you to put a business case together, then apply at point of entry. I'd suggest engaging with an immigration lawyer to assist you, as a self-employed TWP route into the country is an unusual approach.

tee1

Sorry to hijack but RICH that's real interesting to hear, I'm just wondering do you know if you can get any kind of Canadian business funding or business loan with this type of route?
I'm an outdoor guide and would like to start an adventure company in BC. I'm currently here in an IEC visa but with me being young unfortunately I dont have 10's of thousands to get started and am reluctant to spend what I do have without PR.

Aviator

Little or no free money, even for Canadians. Loans are available through financial institutions, most (if not all) lenders require security such as land or hard assets, and it is still dependent on the business plan and risk. If you're not prepared to sink your own money into it, you are very unlikely to get a loan. If you lack the confidence in the plan before you've even started, lenders are not going to be inspired.

We just looked at a business loan for one of our enterprises and even with the level of sales we have, the business being established for many years, the lender still wants security, either on the inventory or other hard assets. The security charge alone will cost us $3k to set-up if we go that route.

rado

Thank you, Rich.
I suppose that temporary work permit can be received only having a job offer ?

tee1

Thanks for the info. I'm going to look more into the self employed twp route. I am prepared to put my own pennys into getting set up I just dont have enough at the mo so am considering options. My main concern is plowing money into something when i'm not a PR, which is extremely difficult to get as an outdoor guide as almost every job is seasonal so not eligible for pnp or skilled worker

Aviator

You'd need a comprehensive business plan and cash flow, together with security for the loan, such as real estate. Without security (hard assets) you will have little chance of getting finance from conventional sources and some unconventional ones are best kept away from.

Making any investment into a business is a risk and lenders look at risk and loan to equity ratio. Restaurants are hard to get financing for as the failure rate is so high. Being on a TWP makes it more of a risk for the borrower and you should look at a worst case scenario, if you don't get PR how you get your money out. You may want to look into some angel financing if you can fin d someone intersted, but it would depend a lot on you, your idea and business plan.

R I C H

You've misunderstood. The TWP I applied for was to be self-employed. No job offer. I had to prove my business plan viability, illustrate the investments I was making in creating a business and then employ myself. You're unlikely to gain a TWP just to contract yourself out for work - you need to create a business and employment opportunities for other people.