Pipsqueak87

Hi everyone. I am currently a PR of Canada since 2017. My brother moved over in June 2020 on an IEC visa, and he’s now decided that he wants to stay here and become a PR. His current visa runs out in June 2022.

I checked how many points he would have, which wouldn’t be enough, about 250.

Although he was a qualified plumber back home, he wanted to get away from plumbing and chose not to pursue it over here. He started working as a “renovations specialist” for a rental company in Banff in April 2021. Although his plumbing and carpentry experience secured him the job, when looking at NOC codes it looks like he isn’t classed as a skilled worker.

the only way I can see that he may be able to get PR is through AINP. I have no experience of this, so would like some pointers.

it looks as though he needs to have been working at his current job for one year before he can apply via the paper route for AINP, that’s not until April 2022, and with the current processing times of 4-7 months, his current visa would run out before it was processed (June 2022). Is there such thing as a bridging visa so that he can stay and work whilst he waits for them to process the application?

and if he can, does the AINP mean he can stay and work whilst he waits to be invited to apply for Express entry with his additional points?

any advice welcomed and appreciated.

christmasoompa

Can you give us a bit more info - what is his NOC code? And what did he do between moving in June 2020 and starting his current job in April 2021? Also, what qualifications does he have?

Pipsqueak87

thanks so much for your reply.
when he arrived in June 2020 he did landscaping until November 2020, he was then laid off as it was the end of season, he was on EI until April when he was hired in his current job.

With regards to his NOC code, I’m finding it quite difficult to find one that matches well, the closest I assume would be “6733 janitors, caretakers and building superintendents” which is a D code, although he is quite a lot more than a janitor, he is literally renovating suites as people move out. Doing basic electrical and plumbing work.

I suppose the NOC code of “7294 painter and decorator” might also fit, although he has no qualifications in this, but he paints entire units often. This one is actually a “B” code.

He has no Canadian qualifications, but he’s a fully qualified plumber in the UK, he went to college for it, he has some tickets in carpentry too but never actually finished or fully qualified in it. Both those “qualifications” were the reason he was hired in this job.

Siouxie

I would suggest he use his years of working as a plumber in the UK to challenge the Certificate of Qualification for Alberta - he would need documented proof of about 9,000 hours of work prior to coming to Canada - (he isn't supposed to work in plumbing in Alberta without it anyway - it's a compulsary certificate trade). With that, he will gain additional 'points' - which could help him to apply under Express Entry Federal Skilled Worker (Trades) which has a much lower point threshold.
https://tradesecrets.alberta.ca/expe...ience-program/
and https://tradesecrets.alberta.ca/expe...-requirements/

250 points seems quite low - can you give a breakdown on the points using the CRS tool?

Pipsqueak87

hi, thank you so much for the response, and sorry for the time it’s taken me to reply.

upon further inspection he actually has 330 points. 265 was just the total for the first section.

age: 99
education: 30
language: 136
foreign work: 50
sibling: 15

thank you so much for letting me know about the certificate, I’m going to look into it this weekend! Score wise, I believe the certificate would bring him to 380…

also, upon further inspection, I’m not sure if I’m misunderstanding what I’ve read, but to do the cert of qualification; he would need a job offer in that trade, with an LMIA? Even though he does some plumbing in his renevations job, it’s not his actual job title, and the company are being a bit difficult about agreeing to get an LMIA…

Siouxie

He doesn't need any job offer for the Certificate of Qualification application.. he will need documentary proof (signed letters) of his previous experience (around 9,000 hours worth) to 'challenge' the Cof Q based on work experience.

What you are perhaps getting confused with is the Express Entry Federal Skilled Worker (Trades) application - where you need either a valid job offer (i.e. with an LMIA) OR a Certificate of Qualification.

They are probably reluctant to apply for an LMIA as it requires weeks of advertising and proof that there are no Citizens, Permanent Residents or open TWP holders in Canada who are willing / able / qualified to do the job - a highly unlikely scenario.

Under the regulations he should not be undertaking any plumbing or electrical work for an employer or as self employed, (job title or no job title) without certification - they are regulated industries with potential penalties ( it's not like the UK. https://trustedpros.ca/license-requirements/ab

Pipsqueak87

Thanks again for response.

so if he were to challenge the certificate, and pass. And he then has 380 points. Which EE program could he apply for, without an LMIA?

thank you ☺️

christmasoompa

He just applies to enter the EE pool, he doesn't get to select the program, he'll just be invited to apply for PR under whichever program he qualifies for. But it would be the FST program, he'd then have enough points for that (it has a lower points requirement than FSW apps).

As Siouxie has said, please ask him to be careful and not do any work he shouldn't be doing! He doesn't want to risk anything if he's trying to stay. My guess is that's why the company are being difficult about getting the LMIA for him, because they know he's doing something they shouldn't be asking him to do.

HTH, good luck.

Pipsqueak87

great thank you. I’ll make him a profile and get him onto trying for that cert.

The company he works for is huge, Canada wide probably the most well known rental company; they do a 2 week training program before he started where they taught him basic plumbing/painting/carpentry and electrical. No qualifications needed for the job, and I know he tells me that nobody there has qualifications. I did feel a bit weird about him doing electrical work with zero experience, but he said it’s just wiring light switches etc (that sounds complicated to me but I’m not very handy). I’m not sure how legal all of that is, I guess I assumed because they are a huge company that everything was above board…

Siouxie

Most welcome!

He doesn't necessarily need an LMIA for Express Entry programs; if he has a certificate of qualification he could apply under the Federal Skilled Worker Trades .which has a lower points threshold than some other EE route - or by waiting a year, Canadian Experience Class.

Try the CRS tool again, this time selecting that he has 1 year of work experience in Canada and has had his ECA (education) assessment done - 1 year college/trade school - plus the Certificate of Qualification - the points should be higher..

If he received an invitation to apply (ITA) then once he has an Acknowledgement of Receipt (AOR) completeness check he could potentially obtain a bridging open work permit when his IEC has 4 months left until expiry, which would enable him to remain and work until his PR application was finalised.

Does he speak French to A level standard (or could he), by any chance? There are still places on the temporary to permanent residence 'temp' program for French speakers (unfortunately the English only places are filled)..



Editing to add - has he looked at this? https://www.alberta.ca/ainp-alberta-...igibility.aspx His IEC work permit is a valid temporay work permit for the program - no LMIA required.
Taking note of this:
So the employer couldn't mention he has been doing plumbing or electrical work!
He would need a job offer that is for a position that he has been already working for a minimum of 12 months in Canada - or a minimum of 24 months in the last 3 years in UK/Canada..
If he was nominated by Alberta, potentially he could obtain a TWP - once he has his AOR - see: https://www.alberta.ca/ainp-alberta-...nd-work-permit

Pipsqueak87

Good morning Siouxie

Regarding the ECA, I read on one of the expat PR Facebook groups that none of the companies (WES etc) will assess a trades qualification from the UK. I’m not 100% sure, it’s just what I had read. Apparently it just equals the equivalent of finishing high school.

He speaks no French at all, he didn’t even study it to beginner level in school, so I would say unfortunatley that’s a no go, he’s not classically academic, more a hands on intelligence, so I don’t think he would be able to learn it in such a short timeframe.

one more question, sorry to be such a pain, I just want to make sure I’m giving him all the correct information regarding his points etc, (don’t want to fill him with false hope):
If I re-asses his points to say he has one years skilled work experience in Canada, can I do this when his current job title doesn’t appear to be a “skilled NOC code”? Also, if I can, he won’t have been in this job one year until April, therefore I assume I cannot say he has that experience until April, and his current IEC runs out in June.

yes, I have looked into AINP, I actually thought it was his only option. My reservations with that is this: he won’t have been in his present job 12 months until April, it takes 4-7 months to process AINP, meaning it wouldn’t be processed until August-November, and his IEC permit expires in June. I was wondering if a bridging permit would work in this place. He would then, if AINP was granted have to add it to his express entry profile I assume, bringing his points way up, but this whole time he would be “visa-less” from June of 2022.