NewAdven

Hi all,

As the title says I am confused about immigration paths.

I don't seem to have the points for a straight out EE.

So I've seen something called IEC that is a 2 year permit to work and travel in Canada. It says between ages 18-30 so I turn 30 soon would I still be able too apply and get the 2 year permit? If that is the case and I am out there and decide I want to stay can I apply for PR via EE? Would the 2 years of Canadian work experience count?

I also looked at PNP to add points for a EE PR but from what I have seen I can only get a PNP if I have a job offer in that province?

I apologise if this has been asked 1000 times before or I haven't read something correctly.

I just want to make a change in my life and the sooner I get the chance the better.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and getting back to me.

christmasoompa

Hi, and welcome to BE.

It's for those aged 30 and under, so as long as you apply before you turn 31 you're ok. However, you're highly unlike to get a visa for this year, unfortunately you're just a bit too late (there's a quota each year). You can try though (apply asap), it's a lottery system so you may get lucky but there aren't many visas left and there are still lots of people in the pool.

And of course, if you don't turn 31 until later next year, you could apply under the 2019 program when it opens.

Yes, although ideally you'll apply after the first year of work experience, so that you can get PR before your IEC expires. If you wait until you've got 2 years, you will potentially have to leave Canada and wait for PR in the UK unless you can get another interim visa.

Not necessarily, although that is the case for most PNP streams. But it does depend on the province, where are you looking to move to?

HTH a bit, best of luck.

NewAdven

Thank you for getting back to me with a lot of confusion cleared up.

I have only turned 29 but I was planning on saving and trying end of the year. But you are saying it is a once a year lottery?

What is the likelihood of getting an extension if I was to apply after the 2 years. I would most likely apply after a year as financially it would not make sense coming back to the UK if there was a chance to make the transition out there.

I've only been in Alberta (Edmonton and Calgary) so ideally I was going for Alberta but I've been recommended BC and Ontario. Is there a time limit you must live and work in a province immigrating on an PNP?

Thank you again for you help!

christmasoompa

It's a lottery, but draws take place regularly until all the visas are gone. So this year the program opened in January (iirc), and visas have nearly run out. The earlier you apply, obviously the more chance there is! Personally I'd apply now if eligible, just on the off chance you get lucky, as you may not do next year. Sounds like you may have 2020 as an option too though if you're not 31 until then?

IEC's cannot be extended, it's a one time only 2 year permit. So you'd need either PR, or another visa if you wanted to stay i.e. a 'normal' Temporary Work Permit (much harder to get as you need an employer to sponsor you, pay $1000 and prove they can't hire a Canadian for the job).

No time limit, but you are expected to settle there. If, for example, you couldn't find work there, and moved on after a year or two, that would be fine, but you would be at risk of having PR revoked if you moved straight on to somewhere else. So best to only chose provinces you actually want to live in. All of the ones you've mentioned you would need a job offer for (or to buy a business etc).

HTH, good luck.

NewAdven

If I landed a good temp job that the company wanted to offer me a permanent position then they would require an LMIA as part of my EE application?

I know things could completely change with EE for Canada but I did the calculation tool that with a year of Canadian work experience I would be looking at 459 points. Which at the minute would be high enough to meet some of the invitation scores. Better than the 411 I currently have.

If already in Canada when applying do you still require the proof of funds, If you already have a job offer and currently living there on the IEC?

christmasoompa

Nope. If you've worked in the same job for a year or more, then as your IEC is LMIA exempt you can still claim the points for a job offer (assuming you also have a written permanent job offer of course). You'd only need the LMIA if you needed the 50 points for arranged employment and hadn't worked in that job for a year or more.

Same as above, if your job offer counts as arranged employment, then no, it's not needed. Although worth noting that most people spend far more than the amount specified by CIC in moving to Canada and setting up life there, it's considered by most to be quite low, so you might want to make sure you've got that amount anyway!

HTH, best of luck.

christmasoompa

Just one other thing to note - don't forget that your points for age will drop when you turn 30/31, so although at the moment you'd have 459 with a year of Canadian work experience, that would be less by the time you've got it due to you being a bit older.

NewAdven

Well this IEC is looking like a lot better way for me to get out there. Ideally save as much as possible and get applying fast. Even if It is 2019 intake.

The calculations I did that got me 459 was with me being 30 and 1 years experience. I believe it was 453 with my age being 31 which is still better than 411.

Thank you so much for your time and effort in helping me clear things up. I was genuinely thinking it was going to be bad news but it has gave me a little more confidence that I am able to get out there an potentially stay.

RealVileLev

My backup plan may be to move to another province if my work experience gets rejected. What province tends to have the lowest points needed and where do they hover around?

NewAdven, if you are planning on IEC and then potentially staying after, try and get a skilled job as soon as possible, that will help with your PR. What do you do?

christmasoompa

The 'easiest' provinces to get in via a PNP are probably the less popular ones i.e. MB or SK. But Ontario PNP has a minimum points threshold of 400 for their EE stream, so that's an option (although they often can choose from much higher, as so many apply).

Just make sure that you genuinely want to move to wherever it is!

HTH.

RealVileLev

I feel like anywhere in Canada is at least closer than here in Europe...I guess once I stayed somewhere for long enough I could get citizenship and move?

christmasoompa

Not sure I follow.......closer to what?

But yes, if you've genuinely made an effort to settle in the province that sponsored you and then moved on, it wouldn't be an issue. The only potential issue would be if you moved on straight away.

Be aware that some provinces are very picky about ties to other provinces too i.e. MB rejected a forum member because he'd simply visited Ontario twice on holiday. But because he'd visited there rather than going to MB, they wouldn't accept him under the PNP.

RealVileLev

Hahaha, wow, that's outrageous.

Basically I just know I want to be in North America long term and I'll do whatever it takes to get there, even if I have to live and work somewhere I'd rather not be for a few years in order to one day move to the city I want to be in.

I'm just trying to reassure myself if my BC application fails I will somehow find a way...

Engineer_abroad

I do think you need to spend a little bit of time researching and understanding the different provinces. Canada has a provincial government system so each province mostly governs itself, at least on most issues. They can be very different politically, socially and economically from each other. Moving countries is hard as it is without tieing yourself to a province that you end up hating when it could of been prevented by some initial research.

Siouxie