6scottishbarrons

Hi all

We're just starting the whole process in the hope of being able to move to BC. We have our language tests booked i n the next few weeks and ECAs are being processed.

We did have a chat with an Immigration consultant who advised us on our best route to maximising our points through the FSW system. Our basic outline is as follows.

Family of 6, Me (39), Husband (42), 4 daughters (10, 7, 3, 3)

Me - I have a post graduate Diploma in Legal Practice. Employed for over 11 years as a Personal Assistant (almost identical to the Admin Assistant)

Husband - Degree in Engineering. Self employed as a Chartered Accountant for 7 years, employed for 3 years prior to that.

Looking at our points, I think we will be fairly tight so need to maximise them as best we can. The consultant thought I could get around 430 (husband only just over 400) so I should be the principal applicant which is fine. However, I still need some of his work experience points I think to keep my points up near 430.

Therefore, just a couple of things for advice if anyone can help.

With my job although I have worked for the same Director for the whole time of my employment, the company itself merged into its parent companies so the name changed. Do I need to declare this on my initial EE application as 2 different employers? If so will I require 2 different references from each (technically it's the same personnel I would be asking for a reference).

In terms of my husband, if I need to use his experience for points (I presume I can do this?) how does he get a reference when he is self employed? Is it a reference from a client(s), which wouldn't be a problem.

We've been given a quote for the consultant to take us through the whole process but it's very steep and I'd like to think that we could manage this ourselves with help from the fab forum. However, given my age and the tight timeline (as in my points would presumably drop a fair bit if we had to go back into the pool in 12months time after I'm 40) we really want to get this right first time and avoid any daft errors.

Timescale is looking like we'd enter the pool at the end of Jan all being well with our language tests and WES certificates coming back.

Sorry for the lengthy post, just thought it would be best to get as many questions out in one go, though I'm sure there will be a ton more as we go along.

Thanks in advance

scilly

I'm sure that someone will be along soon who can give you more practical advice than I can .............


However, I do know that the usual recommendation is NOT to use an immigration consultant unless you have some very complicated problem (eg, married 3 times, 10 children etc).


You will pay a very high amount (several thousand £) but you will do all the work ............. getting together all the documentation, paying the costs of getting letters, degrees etc, paying for medical tests, English language tests, etc. All the consultant will do is to look over what you have gathered together and then submit.


NO consultant can guarantee you entry to Canada, nor can they improve your scores .......... and NO consultant should ever promise that they can do that.


Your admittance to Canada will depend solely on you and our husband's qualifications.


The cost of applying for visas is high enough without paying several thousand £ over and above to a consultant.

6scottishbarrons

Thanks scilly.

I know that the consultant fees are almost daylight robbery and to be fair they didn't promise they could improve my scores, it's more about me making sure I'm selecting the right boxes in the first place!

I'm still slightly confused about my own degree, as I have a law degree and a postgrad diploma in legal practice but I'm not sure whether this classes as a professional degree (not convinced from other reading elsewhere on the forum), two degrees/diplomas or more (I think this is most appropriate), or just a straight forward bachelors degree (which would give me slightly less points).

Guess its just questions like this which don't fill me with confidence at getting the rest all done right myself!

Engineer_abroad

+1 to what Scilly says about going it alone. There is an initial steep learning curve in working out the details of how the system works, the forum can help with this, and then it is just form filling and data collection.

Your qualifications sound like 2 degrees or diplomas to me but only the ECA will tell you for sure.

Have your education assessed — Skilled immigrants (Express Entry)


Details of how to prove employment as self employed are on the CIC website here and repeated below
Applications received on or after January 1, 2015, for permanent residence programs subject to the Express Entry completeness check

The following documents are mandatory for each work experience declared:
•if the applicant is self-employed, articles of incorporation or other evidence of business ownership, evidence of self-employment income and documentation from third-party individuals indicating the service provided along with payment details (self-declared main duties or affidavits are not acceptable proof of self-employed work experience).

6scottishbarrons

That's great Engineer_abroad, really helpful. I'll get the other half to start thinking about his work experience stuff.

I've now applied to add my law degree to my WES application as initially I'd only requested it for my post grad Diploma. However, I think that both is the best way to go in terms of qualifying for the right section and having the evidence to back it up.

In relation to my work experience, how do you think I should approach it? I've worked for the same 'company' since 2006 as a Personal Assistant. In 2016 the company merged into one of it's other arms and I was TUPE'd across. Then at the beginning of 2017 my job title changed as my boss got a promotion. Will I need to class this as working for 2 different employers and potentially 3 different roles?

Thanks both : )

christmasoompa

Just in case you're not aware, your points will drop with every birthday, not just when your profile expires - so in other words, if you turn 40 3 months after applying and haven't been selected by then, you'll lose points whilst you're still in the pool.

HTH and best of luck! Welcome to the forum.

6scottishbarrons

Ah ok, thanks for the heads up. Will get things going as soon as we can!

Engineer_abroad

I would think a single reference letter would be ok with start date the old company and the date it changed.. The fact that the company merged will not effect you but it would be good to mention it in either the reference letter. Note these reference letters are more stringent that those you might normally get from an employer. Worse case can provide a letter of explanation to detail.

6scottishbarrons

Thanks engineer_abroad. Do you think I put it down as 2 employers (as if it were 2 jobs) then leave the reference letter/document to explain the detail and add something into an LoE to tie it all up?

In which case do I state my employer as the current company name for the last year and then the old company name prior to that?

Alternatively I could put down my current company as the only employer but that's not strictly true (and I think most of my contract details etc are still in the old company name!) so I'd be slightly worried about doing that.

Engineer_abroad

I would state it as one employer, the current one, unless you had to reapply for your job and was re-hired.

The LoE would just explain that the company was bought out but you remained with that new company.

6scottishbarrons

That's brill thank you � ����