Dexter2

Hi everyone,

We are hoping to move to Ontario next year and are going out there in a couple of weeks for 11 nights. All going well my husband will start applying for jobs after we come back and we are hoping to go over on a temporay work permit. He is a Purchasing Manager which is in the Occupations Under Pressure list so hopefully something will come up. My huge fear, which I am sure many people must have, is if for some reason the work permit becomes invalid before gaining permanent residence. We have four children and I can't bear the thought of us having to move back especially if they have settled in. Does anyone know of any kind of fall back we could have or any advice on what would happen would be much appreciated?

G586

It does happen.....search Posidrives's posts as I think it happened to them, though I can't seem to find that thread now.....someone will be along shortly who can help properly!

AmyDavid

If it does fall through, I believe your TWP then converts to a visitors visa (well not convert but you can stay on as a visitor until the expiry date of the TWP) and you can then search for another job in the meantime.

iaink

If the job falls through you are entitled to stay until the permit would have expired, but you will need to get a new LMO and get the permit revised (with the inherent risk of a refusal) for the new employer should you subsequently be able to find a new position within Canada.

Unfortunately as a temporary worker I dont think you would be entitled to claim employment insurance or benefits in the event of the worst happening, even though you are paying for it, but I have to confess Im not sure as I was laid off shortly after I had gone from a work permit to PR. Ironically after a few years working elsewhere I am now back where I set off from.

G586 is correct about Posidrive.

canbritdenise

We came here on a work permit while our PR was going through, and it ran out 6 months before PR came through.
We was told just to renew the work permit a good few months before it ended because it can take a long time to complete. It ran out before the new one came in, but we went to our local MP here and was told not to worry and to carry on working as normal, because at least we were still contributing to the country and not here without paying tax. What was hard though was the fees we had to pay again and then within a few months the PR came in so they had their fair share of money from us.I think once your in the system your over the hard part.

Dexter2

Many thanks for you replies they have been very beneficial. Could I ask a couple of other questions raised from your answers.

Do you think it would be beneficial for us to apply now under the skilled workers visa? Would this help in the event of things going wrong and would it speed things up with regards to permanent residencey once the temporary work permit was issued? In our position the sooner we have security, mainly because of the children and schooling, the better.

Once again, much appreciated.

bazzz

I think the general feeling is that it's better to wait until you're in Canada, then to apply for PR with arranged employment, letter from your company saying they'll make your job permanent upon obtaining PR, yadda yadda yadda. The good news is that if you get your act together, you can work a couple of months, get your employer to write the letter, send off PR application and get PR visas back easily within a year.

iaink

If you have an application to renew a permit for your current job in the system when your existing work permit runs out then you are safe to keep working until its approved/ denied. Thats a different situation entirely to loosing your job.

Having PR in process is of no help to you at all if you are here on a work permit and the job falls through, you would still need a new work permit / LMO


Of course it makes sense to apply for PR ASAP given the limited rights of a temporary worker, but its better to apply once you are here on the TWP as PR will be (allegedly) fast tracked.

Pretty Flowers

I was laid off from my last job while on a temporary work permit. It had another year or so to go before it expired. I could stay in Canada [b]and[\b] claim EI as I'd paid enough into the system. You are eligible if you are laid off while on a work permit. As it happens though, the maximum you can get on EI is approx $420 per month. This didn't even cover my mortgage but was better than nothing.

I now have a new job on a different WP, which I've just renewed for 2 years, and I'm about to put my application in for PR.

Either way, PR is very good cos of the flexibility it gives you. I'd get your application in as soon as you get here....

iaink

When I was laid off I was eligable for $800+ bi weekly EI, although as things worked out i ended up having to pay some of that back as I was hired again pretty soon after and my pay off from the first job exceeded some threshold or other. That actually ended up an expensive tax year as a result.

Good to know it at least applies to temporary workers if you have enough hours in the system, and glad you were able to move on after such a set back too Maybe its welfare you are ineligable for if you dont have the hours for EI..but it would be pretty odd for a company to go to the trouble to get you here and then have no work for you so soon after.

Dexter2

That's really interesting I didn't realise you would be eligible for anything. Do you know how many hours you need to work before being able to claim if the worst came to the worst?

Am I right in assuming then that the longer you can persuade you employer to give you a work permit for the better, obviously if 1-2 years is a option then it's added security. Would this mean that if it fell through you then have longer to look for another job if you can stay until the expiry date of the permit. I spoke to an immigration company who suggested that things like illness cover etc should be negociated with the individual employer I guess this would be something to negociate also.

Pretty Flowers

It was my second WP job here in Canada. Amongst other things the company lost 33% of its clients before and during my time there. Not my fault I hasten to add...

iaink

The length of work permit granted is up to CIC / the immigration officer at the point of landing, although it will be perhaps influenced by the letter of intent of the company.

EI eligability guidelines can be found somewhere on the Service Canada website I expect.
http://www1.servicecanada.gc.ca/en/e...r.shtml#Number,

The reality is that unless they decide they made a mistake selecting you in particular (and you would hpefully know they were unhappy early on in your relationship), its unusual for TWP holders to be made redundant...thats the point of the LMO process, to determine that the need for a particular employee is there. Shit does happen though as market conditions change etc, but it usually takes a bit longer for that to happen than it does to unpack your suitcases.

All things are negotiable, holiday allowance, renumeration, etc etc, however companies tend to tie into insurance packages for one or two distincts levels of employess, so its not always practical to get exact insurance needs met.

Tuppence

I was laid off whilst on a work permit too. I had been paying into the system for the required number of months (less than six though), and was eligible for maximum EI of around $720 bi-weekly. I was astounded at how much they actually wanted to give me! I was also quite pleased at my ability to become what all Daily Mail'ers hate - a benefit scrounging immigrant - all within a few months of arriving in the country

The key to being eligible seems to be the fact that EI is technically a "job hunter's allowance", not "unemployment allowance", so you need to be able to take a job if you are offered it. I think this is the bit that makes temporary workers think they aren't eligible. When the guy from HRSDC / Service Canada (I can't remember which) called me to ask what my intentions were, I said that if were to be offered a new job, I would just apply for the work permit in the say way I had previously. This appeared to make me eligible as a valid "job hunter".

Hope that helps.

Pretty Flowers

I'd already been offered a new job before I laid off. Working in the office next door to the CEO had its advantages in that I knew exactly who was going to be let go of well in advance of it happing. So I already had a new job when I left, I just needed to wait out the time to get a new LMO.