neusyjodie

Hey there guys,

So my wife and I have been looking into the EE process for a while now, have both done our IELTS and are almost (finally) complete going through the WES process. We did the calculation before and it seemed although our points would be low, we'd still be looking at over the lowest draw this year, which was 413. A few months on, and it seems we're in an even lower point position than we thought.

So now we're looking at ways of gaining more points realistically and in the short(ish term)

- my wife retaking her IELTS as she didn't get as high scores as we hoped for and she's the principle applicant
- look into provincial nomination (we know nothing about this so are starting from scratch)
- Longer term options might be looking at doing another year's study or learning French to do the French language test also.

I'm trying to figure out if there are other ways we can do this too. Like, once we are actually IN the pool, will employers be more interested in us approaching them than before we get into it? Getting a job offer would put us in a position to apply straight away.

All the major point extras seem to be only related to my wife rather than me as her spouse, so not much I can do to increase the points.

Any other suggestions or advice very welcome!

Thanks!

christmasoompa

What is your actual score, how far short of the ideal are you? And when will your points start to drop due to age?

I'd forget learning French personally, 'basic' is about French A Level standard, so unless you already speak it to a reasonable level, it'll take ages to get up to that standard.

Being in the pool makes no difference to an employer, you still need them to go through the paperwork/cost/hassle of a LMIA app usually.

PNP is a good option though, depending on where you want to go.

What do you both do, is a job offer/sponsorship likely? And would you both need to work? If not, then maybe one thing to consider is a study permit, so that you can do the extra years study to get more points in Canada, as then the other person would also get an open work permit, so you'd get more points for Canadian work experience, as well as being more likely to find an employer prepared to sponsor you.

neusyjodie

I know it's all looking a bit bleak at the mo points wise, things looked so much better when we checked a while back.

We're currently sat at 351. But if my other half, and it's a big IF, was able to get some of her points up on IELTS, mostly to the top, then we'd be getting up over 400, but only just.

We're both 35 so not sure when it goes down.

We did think learning French seemed just ridiculous!

My wife is a Senior Graphic Designer/Art Director and I work in Internal Communications/marketing I really thought that atleast being in the pool meant it might make it easier to approach potential companies but you're saying it doesn't? Do you know how much it costs them to bring in people from other countries via the pool? That's something I've not looked into at length.

Thanks!

christmasoompa

Definitely worth her re-sitting it then IMO, you never know, the points could drop down to 400ish, so worth a try for the small cost of the test (in the grand scheme of things).

OK, so she started losing points at age 30, every birthday she has she'll lose 5 points for age, to 40 years old, when it is 10 points lost for every year older, and then at 45 years old there are no points for age at all - but hopefully you'll have it all sorted and be out there by then.

Being in the pool is for PR, it's nothing to do with a work permit or job offer. If you're in the pool then you can register with Job Bank, but anybody can do that (you don't have to have applied for EE to be able to do so). So it doesn't really give you any advantage. To get the extra points for a job offer, your OH will usually need a LMIA/TWP - the LMIA costs the employer $1000, and to get one they need to prove that they have advertised the job across Canada (including on Job Bank) and been unable to find a Canadian willing, and able, to do the job.

Don't suppose either of you have companies with offices in Canada that you can transfer to?

neusyjodie

Do you know where to go to look for jobs in demand? I swear i've searched a 100 times and really struggle to find the right resource.

I work in Internal Communications (Marketing) and have about 10 years experience.

I guess it doesn't stop us approaching companies in Canada and applying for roles unless it specifies that you need to have the rights to work in Canada. They can always say 'thanks but no thanks' can't they.

She's just about to turn 35 so I think that's why it dropped a bit further as well. Dammit! Worth noting for sure.

christmasoompa

You just need to hunt on websites to see if your job is one that there are loads of vacancies for and employers struggling to fill vacancies, there's no 'list' as such unfortunately.

They're unlikely to say anything to you (most web applications will just be ignored), have you read the Job Hunting section of the Wiki yet? Plan a trip, get out there and knock on doors!

Best of luck.

neusyjodie

Bummer! I really thought there was a list of roles that were in demand in Canada. Maybe that was just 'one of them'.

I haven't read the job hunting section of the wiki yet, do you have a link for it at all?

christmasoompa

There used to be, it used to be that if you were on 'the list' you could get PR, or there was also a version that meant your job was LMIA exempt. Neither program is in effect now though.

Follow the link in my signature to the Wiki (or on the main page of the forum, the sticky thread titled 'Read Me') and it'll take you to it.

Can I also suggest you have another read of your previous threads? Just had a quick look and you've been given quite a lot of info before about LMIA's/job offers/how to find out how many vacancies there are for your jobs etc, so grab a cuppa and refresh your memory.

Good luck.

neusyjodie

Thanks for the tip! We are doing our due diligence outside of this forum and have even been working with a lawyer in part with this. We've been on this forum for a while but have asked a lot of questions in USA as well as Canada. I do look through my old threads but considering where we are now in this journey, it seemed best to ask this question separately!

That's all for now, thanks again!

christmasoompa

If you're to need a job offer/LMIA to get a visa, then I wouldn't bother with a lawyer personally - there is nothing they can do to help you. The employer has to apply for the LMIA, and you would then just get your TWP's at the airport when you arrive, so no paperwork for you to fill out at all. So definitely save your money and save it for a job hunting trip!

Good luck.

neusyjodie

Thanks, I simply meant that it's not like we've just come back on here without reading any of our old threads or having looked into this ourselves and progressed our application.

Agreed though that a job hunting trip seems like the best idea! Off to find the job hunting thread now and have a read! Cheers!

neusyjodie

Blimey! I forgot how much great info is on the wiki! Thanks for reminding me and thanks for putting that all together! Grabs a cuppa!

Siouxie

You could also look into the Atlantic Pilot Project. If you were able to obtain a job offer from a designated company, no LMIA is required to get a TWP whilst PR is processing. It's a long shot but perhaps worth a try.

How to immigrate to Canada through the Atlantic Immigration Pilot

neusyjodie

Huge thanks Siouxie!