Hi,

I have an interview lined up with a local authority (city council) in a few weeks. Should I be successful I would come out on a TWP with a view to applying for PR as soon as arriving.

I hear a lot of horror stories at the mo of LMO's being refused. Do I stand a better chance of getting one as I am applying for local government - do they carry more weight so to speak or am I just being hopeful

They advertised the job on workopolis (and various other sites) in May (when I first applied), and then readvertised it a few weeks ago.

Any help, knowledge and/or experience gratefully received.

Wolstie

"I would come out on a TWP with a view to applying for PR as soon as arriving." - I'm just curious "typically" what is the timescale to get a PR from having a TWP ?

Going off what i've read on here, it looks like you could get PR within a year.

Depends on how you can obtain PR really.

The options as I see them are:

* Apply for FSW, part of which will gain you PR. If your occupation is not on "the list" (list of applications that do not require a Labour Market Offfer - LMO) then you'll need an LMO, and they might not be simple to get. Not sure how long, at least 18 months I think though

* Work for two years on TWP and then apply via the CEC (Canadian Experience Class) program. This was set up to specifically aid people who have a few years temporary work experience in Canada and wish to become permanent residents. I believe it takes about 3 - 6 months. A friend of mine recently got his and I think he said it took less than 3 months. So you're looking at about 2 1/2 years really

* Common-law / Spousal sponsorship. You need to be in a common-law partnership, or married to a Canadian citizen/PR and living together for at least 12 months, at which point they can sponsor you. You can apply either inland (if you are in canada) or outland (if you're inside or outside canada).

I'm told the outland applications don't take as long, typically 4 - 8 months. You would send the application to the UK (one presumes you're a UK citizen - if you're not then you'd need to consult the timelines for your local visa office) and then they send it to Canada (Mississauga office I think). Downside here, and why I did not do an outland app, is if an interview is required, you'd need to fly over to England, thus there is additional time and cost involved in doing that.

Inland applications, which is what I used, can take anywhere from 6 - 18 months, depends on how complex things are. My application took aprox 8 months to complete, and that's from the date of posting the application package off to Alberta, to obtaining PR and being landed.

You do not need a Labour Market Opinion (LMO) if you are already working in Canada.

According to the Wiki:

"Notwithstanding the fact that a temporary work permit has certain limitations, many British expats use the TWP route as a way of getting into Canada. Once they have secured work permits, they apply for permanent residence as skilled workers. The PR application process often goes more quickly if you already are working in Canada. As a ballpark figure, you might expect the PR application process to take a year if you already have a job, compared with the 5+ years that it typically takes if you don't have arranged employment."

Also, you do not have to wait for a year from when you arrive on your TWP to applying for PR. As long as your TWP is valid for a year or more, you can apply straight away.

Also, this page on HRSDC is also interesting in regards to taking this route

http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/workplace...workperm.shtml

Cheers Wolstie & Sharkus. Reason I ask is I,m currently in UK with a valid PR Dependent on when I return I may not have the 2 years required to renew the PR.

Therefore I would look to get a TWP through (hopefully) my employer then reapply for a new PR.

Anyone know if this is possible?

Cheers.

It's possible, but much harder than just keeping up your PR status if you can. Finding a job and getting a positive LMO are particularly difficult at the moment and can take a year or two, but obviously it will depend on what your occupation is.

Plus of course, you'd have to pay for PR, medicals, etc again, and I don't know what impact you having had PR before but let it go will have on your application and how CIC will view that.

Is there no way you can keep your current PR?

You do need a LMO or AEO to qualify for PR as a SW, but you'd obviously get that when applying for a TWP, so assuming it's still valid, you'd use that one. If it's not still valid then a new LMO/AEO would have to be applied for. Perhaps the Wiki doesn't make it clear enough.

Although the Wiki is actually out of date on one point - the 5+ years wait it's still quoting! It doesn't take that long any more and all applications are processed at the same rate, there is no longer a 'fasttrack' option.

I keep meaning to update the Wiki but never seen to get around to it! If anybody finds info in the Wiki that is out of date, do feel free to correct it!

Christmas,

I'm a bit out of it now when it comes to applying for PR
(I sent mine off in 2003 - took 20 months to get visa stamp in passport).

Re - the Skilled Worker route has that changed much ? I seem to recall a poster stating that a lot of the jobs had been removed ?

Welcome your comments,
Thanks.

It's changed massively - there are only 38 occupations that qualify without a job offer now, so unless your job is on 'the list', then you need a job offer approved by HRSDC to be eligible (plus all the usual i.e. minimum 67 points, pass medical etc).

The good news is that it's reduced the backlog and applications are now being processed within 6-12 months, but of course the downside is that much fewer people are eligible, and job offers are incredibly hard to come by with the recession.

This Wiki article will explain the changes.................http://britishexpats.com/wiki/THE_LIST-Canada

^ So a job offer together with a positive LMO is required before applying for PR from outside Canada - I just don't understand which employer is willing to wait 2 years for the PR application to be processed! So the only realistic route would be to get a job offer with an LMO and then apply for TWP - come to Canada and apply for PR from inside Canada.

Or a job offer with AEO - which is quicker usually. So would probably be 9-15 months in total.

But yes, very few employers are prepared to wait for that length of time unless you have specialist skills or are in an occupation in demand, so most go over on a TWP first and wait for PR.